CFL Week 8: PFF Team of the Week & Player Awards

• Montreal QB Davis Alexander comes up huge: Alexander had an 89.5% adjusted completion rate and made two big-time throws in leading Montreal to a come-from-behind victory

• Bryce Carter a menace rushing the passer for Ottawa: When all was said and done, Carter totaled a 30.0% pass rush win rate, the highest among edge rushers last week

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Week 8 of the CFL season is in the books, and there were plenty of top-level performances. While Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell and Montreal WR Tyson Philpot had big statistical games, it wasn't enough to earn them a spot on this week’s “Team of the Week.”

The makeup of this week’s team is pretty equal. Ottawa and Winnipeg lead the way with five players each making the team while Toronto and Hamilton each totaled four. The Calgary Stampeders found themselves at the back of the pack this week, as just center Sean McEwen made the team

OFFENSE

QB: Davis Alexander, Montreal
RB: Frankie Hickson, Saskatchewan
Outside WR: Ontaria Wilson, Winnipeg
Slot WR: Kiondre Smith, Hamilton
Slot WR: KeeSean Johnson, Saskatchewan
Slot WR: Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Edmonton
Outside WR: Shemar Bridges, Hamilton
LT: Isiah Cage, Toronto
LG: Pier-Olivier Lestage, Montreal
C: Sean McEwen, Calgary
RG: Dariusz Bladek, Ottawa
RT: Eric Lofton, Winnipeg

DEFENSE

DI: Casey Sayles, Hamilton
DI: Ralph Holley, Toronto
Edge: Bryce Carter, Ottawa
Edge: Lorenzo Mauldin IV, Ottawa
LB: Adam Bighill, Winnipeg
LB: Nick Anderson, Edmonton
Cover LB: Robert Priester, Toronto
CB: Tarvarus McFadden, Toronto

CB: Terrell Bonds, Winnipeg
HB: Michael Griffin II, Winnipeg
HB: Jonathan Moxey, Hamilton
S: Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Montreal

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Lewis Ward, Ottawa
P: Jake Julien, Edmonton
Returner: Kalil Pimpleton, Ottawa

QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB DAVIS ALEXANDER, MONTREAL

With QB Caleb Evans and Montreal’s offense struggling in the first half of their Week 8 game, they needed a spark to turn things around. Bringing in Alexander at quarterback did exactly that. In one half of football, Alexander had an 89.5% adjusted completion rate and made two big-time throws while leading Montreal to a come-from-behind victory. He finished with an 87.1 overall grade that led all qualified quarterbacks this week. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RB FRANKIE HICKSON, SASKATCHEWAN

With starting RB A.J. Ouellette unavailable, the running back duties fell to their backup. Hickson responded with one of the better rushing games of the season. He carried the ball 16 times for 117 yards and picked up five first downs and a touchdown. He forced a league-high six missed tackles and averaged nearly 3.0 yards after contact per carry. He also added a 16-yard catch to pick up another first down. Hickson led all running backs in Week 8 with a 90.3 rushing grade.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

The Tiger-Cats exploded offensively this week, and they can largely thank their offensive line for allowing that to happen. Their offensive line blocked for a rushing game that gained 113 yards, the second-most in the league. Nonetheless, they really shined in pass protection, allowing just one sack and no other pressures on 28 dropbacks. In fact, the line only lost eight pass block reps as a unit, the lowest number in the league. 

PASS-RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED BRYCE CARTER, OTTAWA

While Carter hasn’t had the dominant pass-rushing season that Ottawa was hoping for, he just had his best game of the season last week. Carter registered two sacks but also had an impressive eight additional pass-rush wins. When all was said and done, Carter accumulated a 30.0% pass rush win rate, the highest among edge rushers last week. Carter has an impressive 15.9% pass rush win rate on the season, but his pressure percentage is just 6.9%. If he can find a way to turn more of his wins into pressures, Ottawa’s defense is going to have a lot of success. 

RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB NICK ANDERSON, EDMONTON

While Edmonton didn’t have much success at any point in its blowout loss to Hamilton, the Elks did have one player stand out. Anderson was an absolute force in the run game, racking up a league-leading five tackles and three assists. He also forced a fumble and didn’t have a single negatively-graded run defense snap all game, finishing with a league-high 91.4 run-defense grade. Anderson has been one of the best run defenders all season, recording a 90.5 run-defense grade that ranks second in the entire CFL. 

COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CB TARVARUS MCFADDEN, TORONTO

The Argos secondary has had its struggles this season, but it seems like it may be starting to round into form. Bringing back McFadden may have been the key, as the cornerback had a dominant game in Week 8. McFadden allowed just two catches for 14 yards, neither of which went for first downs. He broke up two passes and then returned a tipped interception for a touchdown. McFadden finished the day with an 82.9 coverage grade, the highest among all cornerbacks last week.