- Saskatchewan dominates Week 1, with eight Team of the Week selections: The Roughriders nearly swept the offensive line honors and were led by standout performances from wide receiver Samuel Emilus and interior defender Caleb Sanders.
- Nathan Rourke returns to form as B.C.’s leader: Rourke earned top quarterback honors in Week 1 after recording 376 total yards and a league-best 90.8 overall grade.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
The 2025 CFL regular season kicked off this past weekend with standout performances across the board. As always, we’ll be spotlighting the league’s top players each week with our ‘Team of the Week’ selections.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders led the way in Week 1 with a dominant showing and a league-high eight players named to the team. The B.C. Lions also impressed, earning five selections. Despite a convincing win, the Calgary Stampeders placed just two players on the list—still more than the Edmonton Elks, whose lone representative was punter Cody Grace.
OFFENSE
- QB: Nathan Rourke, B.C.
- RB: Dedrick Mills, Calgary
- Receiver: Samuel Emilus, Saskatchewan
- Receiver: Justin Hardy, Ottawa
- Receiver: Bralon Addison, Ottawa
- Receiver: Stanley Berryhill III, B.C.
- Receiver: Damonte Coxie, Toronto
- LT: Payton Collins, Saskatchewan
- LG: Trevon Tate, Saskatchewan
- C: Logan Ferland, Saskatchewan
- RG: Donald Ventrelli, Montreal
- RT: Jermarcus Hardrick, Saskatchewan
DEFENSE
- DI: Caleb Sanders, Saskatchewan
- DI: Dewayne Hendrix, B.C.
- Edge: Mathieu Betts, B.C.
- Edge: Habakkuk Baldonado, Saskatchewan
- LB: Tyrice Beverette, Montreal
- LB: Darnell Sankey, Montreal
- Cover LB: Tiawan Mullen, Montreal
- CB: Garry Peters, B.C.
- CB: Adrian Frye, Ottawa
- HB: DaMarcus Fields, Saskatchewan
- HB: DaShaun Amos, Hamilton
- S: Derek Slywka, Toronto
SPECIAL TEAMS
- K: Rene Paredes, Calgary.
- P: Cody Grace, Edmonton
- Returner: Isaiah Wooden, Hamilton
QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB NATHAN ROURKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Rourke benefited from a full offseason back in Canada to reacclimate to the CFL game after struggling in his return last year. If Week 1 is any indication, he’s back in top form. Rourke threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, leading the league with a 72.7% accuracy rate and two big-time throws. He didn’t log a single turnover-worthy play and earned an 86.6 passing grade. He also contributed on the ground, scrambling five times for 52 yards and forcing five missed tackles.
His 90.8 overall grade led all CFL players in Week 1.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR SAMUEL EMILUS, SASKATCHEWAN
The game got off to a rough start for Emilus, who fumbled on his first catch. But he quickly put that behind him, delivering the highest grade of the week for any non-quarterback at 88.9 overall. Emilus caught all eight of his targets for 133 yards and a touchdown, picking up six first downs, making two contested catches and leading the league with 4.43 yards per route run. He also excelled as a blocker, earning an 87.7 run-blocking grade.
After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Emilus looks poised for a third with performances like this.
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
The Roughriders’ offensive line was dominant in Week 1, coming just one player short of a full sweep of the offensive line spots on the Team of the Week. As a unit, they allowed just one pressure—a quarterback hurry early in the third quarter—and were charged with only four total pass-blocking downgrades.
Left guard Trevon Tate and center Logan Ferland led the way, not losing a single pass-protection rep all game. Their performance in the run game was equally strong, as the Riders averaged 1.4 yards before contact per carry, the third-highest mark in the league.
PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED MATHIEU BETTS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Two years ago, Mathieu Betts set the single-season sack record for a Canadian with 19. While he was held without a sack in Saturday’s game, that stat doesn’t tell the full story. Betts was a constant presence in the backfield, racking up a league-high nine quarterback hurries and adding another pass-rush win. He posted a league-best 27.3% pressure rate and led all players with an 84.1 pass-rush grade.
RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB ADARIUS PICKETT, OTTAWA
Ottawa’s defense didn’t completely shut down Saskatchewan’s rushing attack, but they did manage to contain it, largely thanks to the efforts of SAM linebacker Adarius Pickett. Pickett led all players in Week 1 with five solo tackles and one assist against the run. He notched three solo stops and didn’t record a single negatively graded run defense snap. His 86.2 run-defense grade was the highest in the league for the week.
COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CB GARRY PETERS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Garry Peters used Week 1 to reinforce his reputation as the CFL’s closest thing to a shutdown corner. On 34 coverage snaps, he was targeted just three times, producing two forced incompletions and allowing only a single reception that went for a loss of 7 yards. He also added a solo stop on a jet sweep pass.
Unsurprisingly, Peters leads the league after one week with an average of -0.19 yards allowed per coverage snap. His 84.3 coverage grade topped all secondary players.
This news was originally published on this post .
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