- Davis Alexander leads Montreal’s offensive surge: Alexander earned a league-best 91.6 grade in under three quarters of play before exiting with injury.
- Saskatchewan’s defense takes over Week 3: Led by edge rushers Malik Carney and Habakkuk Baldonado, the Riders finished with a league-high nine players named to this week’s Team of the Week.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Week 3 of the CFL season featured standout performances on both sides of the ball.
For the second time this year, the Saskatchewan Roughriders led all teams with nine players selected to the Team of the Week, including a clean sweep of all four defensive line spots.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Alouettes continued establishing themselves as one of the league’s top teams. Quarterback Davis Alexander delivered one of the season’s best performances before exiting early with an injury, and cornerback Lorenzo Burns earned recognition for his lockdown play in coverage.
Want to know who topped the PFF grades in Week 3? Check out our full breakdown of the CFL’s top performers by position.
OFFENSE
- QB: Davis Alexander, Montreal
- RB: A.J. Ouellette, Saskatchewan
- Receiver: Dohnte Meyers, Saskatchewan
- Receiver: Dejon Brissett, Toronto
- Receiver: Cole Spieker, Montreal
- Receiver: Kevin Mital, Toronto
- Receiver: Keric Wheatfall, Winnipeg
- LT: Jarell Broxton, B.C.
- LG: Mark Korte, Edmonton
- C: Christopher Fortin, Calgary
- RG: Patrick Neufeld, Winnipeg
- RT: Jermarcus Hardrick, Saskatchewan
DEFENSE
- DI: Caleb Sanders, Saskatchewan
- DI: Micah Johnson, Saskatchewan
- Edge: Malik Carney, Saskatchewan
- Edge: Habakkuk Baldonado, Saskatchewan
- LB: Ben Hladik, B.C.
- LB: Jameer Thurman, Saskatchewan
- Cover LB: Deontai Williams, B.C.
- CB: Lorenzo Burns, Montreal
- CB: Adrian Frye, Ottawa
- HB: Jalon Edwards-Cooper, B.C.
- HB: Deatrick Nichols, Winnipeg
- S: Jamal Parker Jr., Winnipeg
SPECIAL TEAMS
- K: Sergio Castillo, Winnipeg
- P: Cody Grace, Edmonton
- Returner: Mario Alford, Saskatchewan
QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB DAVIS ALEXANDER, MONTREAL
No quarterback matched what Davis Alexander accomplished in Week 3 — and he did it in less than three quarters of action. He led the league with three big-time throws, a 91.7% adjusted completion percentage and a 0.0% uncatchable inaccurate throw rate, all without recording a single turnover-worthy play. His 91.6 overall grade was the highest of the week.
The Alouettes will be hoping his third-quarter injury isn’t serious. Alexander currently leads all CFL quarterbacks with an 86.8 overall grade and a league-high six big-time throws through three weeks.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR DOHNTE MEYERS, SASKATCHEWAN
Meyers played just 18 receiving snaps in Week 3, but he made the most of his limited opportunities. He caught four of five targets for 125 yards and two touchdowns, with all four receptions going for first downs, including two explosive plays. Meyers also forced a league-high three missed tackles after the catch. He led all receivers with an 84.7 overall grade for the week and now ranks fourth in the CFL with a 74.1 receiving grade through three games.
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Despite a tough loss in poor weather, Calgary’s offensive line delivered a strong performance in Week 3. The Stampeders averaged a league-high 2.8 yards before first contact in the run game, highlighting the push the unit generated up front. In pass protection, right tackle Joshua Coker and right guard Christy Nkanu combined to allow just one total pressure across 37 pass-blocking snaps each. As a unit, Calgary gave up only seven total pressures and finished as the league’s highest-graded pass-blocking group with a 68.6 overall mark.
PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED MALIK CARNEY, SASKATCHEWAN
It was a dominant week for the Roughriders’ pass rush, which overwhelmed the Toronto Argonauts from start to finish. Saskatchewan racked up a league-high 29 total pressures and added 15 more pass-rush wins. Defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II was the driving force, recording three quarterback hits and eight hurries, along with four additional pass-rush wins. His eye-popping 45.2% pass-rush win rate and 35.5% pressure rate both led the league in Week 3.
Following that performance, Carney now leads the CFL with 16 total pressures through three weeks. His 24.1% pass-rush win rate ranks second only to teammate Habakkuk Baldonado’s 34.0%.
RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB JAMEER THURMAN, SASKATCHEWAN
The Roughriders completely shut down Toronto’s ground game in their walk-off win, holding the Argonauts to just 55 yards on 17 carries — a league-low 3.2 yards per attempt in Week 3. Linebacker Jameer Thurman, one of the leaders of Saskatchewan’s defense and among the CFL’s top run defenders, showcased his impact throughout the game. He recorded three solo tackles and two solo run stops, didn’t receive a single negative grade on a run snap and finished with a league-best 85.6 run-defense grade.
COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CB LORENZO BURNS, MONTREAL
While Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford’s stat line looked solid on paper — 27-of-36 for 308 yards, two touchdowns and one interception — it doesn’t fully reflect the impact of Montreal’s defense. When the Alouettes jumped out to a 38-14 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Ford had completed 15-of-18 passes for just 126 yards and a pick.
A key contributor to that defensive dominance was cornerback Lorenzo Burns. The boundary defender was targeted five times and allowed four catches, but those receptions totaled just 12 yards and yielded zero first downs. Burns also added six tackles — three of them solo stops in coverage — and finished with a league-best 87.2 coverage grade for the week.
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