• Despite no wins, Edmonton QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson is shining: Bethel-Thompson has been outstanding this season in his return to the CFL, currently ranking third in the CFL with a 91.5 passing grade.
• Toronto’s offensive line carries them to victory: They were led by All-Star RT Dejon Allen, who didn’t allow a single pressure and finished with an 89.7 run-blocking grade and an 84.3 pass-blocking grade.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Week 3 in the CFL saw some high-scoring games and exciting results. The good teams looked great, and even the losing teams had strong moments. The “Quarterback of the Week” actually came from a losing team in Edmonton’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
The Montreal Alouettes led the way with six players selected to this week’s “Team of the Week,” while the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats both finished with five. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, without a doubt the most disappointing team this season, had just one player make the list.
Offense
QB: McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Edmonton
RB: Ka’Deem Carey, Toronto
Outside WR: Alexander Hollins, BC
Slot WR: Nic Demski, Winnipeg
Slot WR: Justin McInnis, BC
Slot WR: Justin Hardy, Ottawa
Outside WR: Tyson Philpot, Montreal
LT: Isiah Cage, Toronto
LG: Pier-Olivier Lestage, Montreal
C: Justin Lawrence, Montreal
RG: Coulter Woodmansey, Hamilton
RT: Dejon Allen, Toronto
Defense
DI: Casey Sayles, Hamilton
DI: Jared Brinkman, Toronto
Edge: Robbie Smith, Toronto
Edge: Malik Carney, Saskatchewan
LB: Tyrice Beverette, Montreal
LB: Josh Woods, BC
Cover LB: Adarius Pickett, Ottawa
CB: Jamal Peters, Hamilton
CB: Marcus Sayles, Saskatchewan
HB: Dionte Ruffin, Montreal
HB: Darrius Bratton, Edmonton
S: Stavros Katsantonis, Hamilton
Special Teams
K: David Cote, Montreal
P: Nik Constantinou, Hamilton
Returner: DeVonte Dedmon, Ottawa
Quarterback of the Week: QB Mcleod Bethel-Thompson, Edmonton
Choosing between Bethel-Thompson and BC’s Vernon Adams Jr. was splitting hairs this week. The two quarterbacks recorded identical 92.6 passing grades, and both played outstanding football. Bethel-Thompson gets the nod on the back of his six big-time throws and an impressive 81.1% adjusted completion rate. He had a 12.8-yard average depth of target and a ridiculous 90.1% of his yards thrown were air yards. Bethel-Thompson has been outstanding this season in his return to the CFL, currently ranking third in the CFL with a 91.5 passing grade.
Offensive Player of the Week: WR Alexander Hollins, British Columbia
As close as the quarterback award was, the “Offensive Player of the Week” was a no-brainer. Hollins caught seven passes for an insane 215 yards and two touchdowns while the other five all went for first downs. Five of his receptions were explosive plays, and he averaged a ridiculous 5.81 yards per route run and finished with a 90.5 overall grade, the highest among all receivers. Hollins has been the top receiver in the CFL this season through three games, leading the league with a 3.62 yards per route run average and an 86.7 receiving grade.
Offensive Line of the Week: Toronto Argonauts
It was a huge week for the Argonauts offense, putting up over 370 yards of offense and 39 points on its way to Toronto's second win of the season. The offensive line was the driving force behind that success. The Argos allowed just one sack and five total pressures in the passing game while rushing for 173 yards on 28 carries. They also averaged a ridiculous 4.1 yards before contact per carry. They were led by All-Star RT Dejon Allen, who didn’t allow a single pressure and finished with an 89.7 run-blocking grade and an 84.3 pass-blocking grade. So far this season, Toronto has the two highest-graded offensive linemen in LT Isiah Cage (79.3 overall) and Allen (77.4).
Pass-Rusher of the Week: EDGE Malik Carney, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan acquired Carney this offseason to bolster an already strong defensive line. It’s taken him a few games to get going, but he was near-unblockable this past weekend. The edge rusher didn’t record a sack but totaled a hit and three hurries while also recording six other pass-rush wins. Carney won 30.8% of his pass rush snaps and had a 7.7 pass rush productivity score, one of the highest marks of the week. He also batted a pass down at the line. Carney’s 85.1 pass-rushing grade was his highest of the season and ranked first among edge rushers.
Run Defender of the Week: LB Josh Woods, British Columbia
The Lions didn’t exactly stop Winnipeg’s RB Brady Oliveira and the Blue Bombers rushing attack, but they did slow it down enough to help pull out the win. Woods was the key to that, flying around the field against the run. He finished with three solo tackles and four tackle assists in the run game. He also didn’t record a single negatively-graded play. His 80.5 run-defense grade ranked second among all defenders this week. Through three games, Woods ranks first in the CFL with 19 total tackles against the run.
Coverage Player of the Week: CB Jamal Peters, Hamilton
Another new addition to his team, Peters has been one of the best corners in the CFL over the past few seasons, and he showed up big this weekend. He was targeted just twice in 34 coverage snaps and didn’t allow a reception. He knocked one of them down on a slant and then picked off the other on a go route in which he essentially ran the route for the offense. This was a big bounceback for him after allowing seven receptions for 83 yards in Week 2 against the same Saskatchewan team. Hamilton needs more of these games from Peters if they want to turn this season around and get their first win.
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