CFL Week 12: PFF Team of the Week, Player Awards

CFL Sports

add

• Excellent day for Calgary QB Vernon Adams Jr.: The Stampeders’ pivot led the league with an 84.5 passing grade and earned this week’s Quarterback of the Week award.

• Is Brady Oliveira back to MOP status? The Winnipeg running back earned this week’s Offensive Player of the Week award after gaining 210 yards on the ground and through the air and finishing with an 83.6 overall grade.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Week 12 in the CFL saw plenty of action, starting with the Montreal Alouettes losing their fourth-straight game, and ending with the Calgary Stampeders soundly beating the first-place Saskatchewan Roughriders. As always, we’ll be highlighting the top individual performances in this week’s ‘Team of the Week’

With Calgary’s massive win, it’s no surprise that they lead the way with six players earning a spot on the team this week. The Edmonton Elks ranked second after their big win, with five players. Three teams (Toronto, Montreal, B.C.) tied for the fewest players, with just two each. 

OFFENSE

• QB: Vernon Adams Jr., Calgary
• RB: Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg 
• Receiver: Keon Hatcher, British Columbia
• Receiver: Jake Herslow, Toronto
• Receiver: Kevin Mital, Toronto
• Receiver: Daylen Baldwin, Calgary
• Receiver: KeeSean Johnson, Saskatchewan
• LT: Nick Callender, Montreal
• LG: Zack Williams, Calgary
• C: David Beard, Edmonton
• RG: Patrick Neufeld, Winnipeg
• RT: Joshua Coker, Calgary

DEFENSE

• DI: Jake Ceresna, Edmonton
• DI: Michael Wakefield, Ottawa
• Edge: Mathieu Betts, British Columbia
• Edge: Clarence Hicks, Calgary
• LB: Tony Jones, Winnipeg
• LB: Jameer Thurman, Saskatchewan
• Cover LB: Adarius Pickett, Ottawa
• CB: Godfrey Onyeka, Calgary
• CB: Trey Vaval, Winnipeg
• HB: Kobe Williams, Edmonton
• HB: Gavin Heslop, Ottawa
• S: Arthur Hamlin, Montreal

SPECIAL TEAMS

• K: Vincent Blanchard, Edmonton
• P: Joe Couch, Saskatchewan
• Returner: Javon Leake, Edmonton

QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB VERNON ADAMS JR., CALGARY

There’s been plenty of debate this week over whether Nick Arbuckle or Trevor Harris had the better performance, but neither was the top quarterback of the week. That honor goes to Vernon Adams Jr., who led all passers in passing grade (84.5).

Adams tied for the league lead with two big-time throws and recorded just one turnover-worthy play. He ranked first in average depth of target (15.1 yards), rate of throws past the sticks (57.1%) and accurate pass percentage (68.4%), while also posting the lowest uncatchable pass rate (5.3%) of the week.

Through 12 weeks, Adams ranks second in the CFL with a 90.2 passing grade and leads the league with 65.2% of his yards coming through the air.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RB BRADY OLIVEIRA, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

This week’s award shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched the CFL action. Brady Oliveira looked every bit like the 2024 Most Outstanding Player, touching the ball 25 times for 210 yards and a touchdown. He forced four missed tackles and averaged 5.4 yards after contact per carry, earning an 83.1 rushing grade that ranked second among running backs. He added 73 receiving yards on nine catches, picking up three first downs and posting an 82.9 receiving grade. All told, Oliveira led all offensive skill players in overall grade (83.6).

While his season-long grade of 82.2 may fall short of his previous three years, he’s trending upward and has an 85.3 rushing grade over the past three weeks.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Montreal’s offense struggled in a loss to Winnipeg, but the offensive line stood out as the clear bright spot. While the ground game took a backseat, Alouettes rushers still gained over 41% of their yards before first contact, an indicator of solid blocking up front.

In pass protection, the unit excelled at keeping fourth-string-turned-starter James Morgan clean. He wasn’t sacked on 34 dropbacks and faced pressure just three times. Montreal posted a league-best 95.6 pass-blocking efficiency score — the only team above 90.0 for the week. Individually, center Cyrille Hogan-Saindon was dominant, not losing a single pass-blocking snap all game.

PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED MATHIEU BETTS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Mathieu Betts may not be replicating his 2023 sack totals, but he’s still having a stellar season as a pass rusher. In this week’s outing, Betts recorded a sack, a hit, four hurries, and three additional pass-rush wins. His 18.8% pressure rate ranked second among all defenders, and his 10.9 pass-rush productivity score ranked third. He finished the game with an impressive 85.3 pass-rush grade.

On the season, Betts owns the second-highest pass-rush grade in the CFL at 87.6. He’s tied for second with 43 total pressures and ranks fourth in pass-rush win rate at 17.1%.

RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: S DAMON WEBB, CALGARY

It’s uncommon for a free safety to take home Run Defender of the Week honors, but Damon Webb earned it with a standout performance. He made four total tackles against the run, including a solo stop late in the first quarter and a key stuff on a two-point conversion attempt before halftime. Webb didn’t receive a single negative grade in run defense and finished with a league-best 81.6 run-defense grade.

COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: LB JAMEER THURMAN, SASKATCHEWAN

This one’s a rarity—Jameer Thurman, known primarily for his run-stopping prowess, takes home Coverage Defender of the Week honors. While he did allow a 16-yard first-down reception, he made up for it with a key interception off a deflected Vernon Adams Jr. pass midway through the third quarter. Thurman also added two tackles in coverage and finished with a league-best 77.1 coverage grade.

This news was originally published on this post .