- Zach Collaros dominates early: The two-time defending Most Outstanding Player came out firing, throwing for 189 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone, finishing the game with a league-leading 85.2 passing grade.
- Eugene Lewis shows out in Week 1: He caught five passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. All five of his catches went for first downs, with the highlight, of course, being the 102-yard touchdown reception to start the second quarter.
- Anthony Lanier was unblockable: He finished with a sack, a hit, five quarterback hurries and an additional three pass-rush wins for a 90.2 pass-rush grade.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The CFL started off with a bang this past weekend with some big individual performances, highlighted in this week's awards for Week 1. On offense, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers led the way with five selections. Defensively, it was the Montreal Alouettes with five selections as well.
Offense
- QB: Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- RB: Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Outside WR: Austin Mack, Montreal Alouettes
- Slot WR: Eugene Lewis, Edmonton Elks
- Slot WR: Nic Demski, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Slot WR: Dominique Rhymes, BC Lions
- Outside WR: Drew Wolitarsky, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- LT: Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- LG: Andrew Peirson, BC Lions
- C: Peter Godber, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- RG: Kristian Matte, Montreal Alouettes
- RT: Jermarcus Hardrick, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Defense
- DI: Woody Baron, BC Lions
- DI: Almondo Sewell, Montreal Alouettes
- Edge: Anthony Lanier, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Edge: James Vaughers, Calgary Stampeders
- LB: Avery Williams, Montreal Alouettes
- LB: Jameer Thurman, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Cover LB: Chris Edwards, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- CB: Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- CB: Garry Peters, BC Lions
- HB: Ciante Evans, Montreal Alouettes
- HB: Najee Murray, Montreal Alouettes
- S: Marc Antoine-Dequoy, Montreal Alouettes
Special Teams
- K: David Cote, Montreal Alouettes
- P: Joseph Zema, Montreal Alouettes
- Returner: Chandler Worthy, Montreal Alouettes
Quarterback of the Week: QB Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
What a start to the season for Collaros. The two-time defending Most Outstanding Player came out firing, throwing for 189 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone. Collaros didn’t have to do much for the rest of the game and still finished with a couple of big-time throws and a league-leading 85.2 passing grade.
Offensive Player of the Week: WR Eugene Lewis, Edmonton Elks
If switching teams in the offseason affected Lewis, he didn’t show it in Week 1, as he caught five passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. All five of his catches went for first downs, with the highlight, of course, being the 102-yard touchdown reception to start the second quarter. Lewis led all offensive skill players with an 80.0 overall grade.
Offensive Line of the Week: BC Lions
The Lions opened the season with a big offensive performance that was anchored by their very strong offensive line. They gained 102 yards on 21 designed runs, with an impressive 68% of those yards coming before contact. Their pass protection was even better, as they allowed 0 sacks and a mere four total pressures all game, finishing with an 86.7 pass block grade as a unit.
Pass-Rusher of the Week: Edge Anthony Lanier, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Lanier was an absolute beast rushing the passer in Week 1, finishing with a sack, a hit, five quarterback hurries and an additional three pass-rush wins for a 90.2 pass-rush grade. He was virtually unblockable for the Riders, as he ended up with a ridiculous 52.9% pass rush win percentage that helped stifle the Elks' passing game.
Run Defender of the Week: LB Avery Williams, Montreal Alouettes
The Alouettes allowed just 40 rushing yards on 14 designed attempts in their game against the Ottawa Redblacks, and it was largely thanks to the strong play of Williams in the middle. He finished with a 90.1 run defense grade after recording six tackles in the run game, with four of them being defensive stops.
Coverage Player of the Week: HB Ciante Evans, Montreal Alouettes
It really was a great defensive game for the Alouettes, and Evans was the star in the secondary. He was thrown at five times in this game. On two of those targets, he intercepted it. On another two of them, he forced an incompletion. The other target was a swing pass completion in which he made the tackle for a loss of three yards. Have a game Ciante.
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