CFL Week 19: PFF Team of the Week, Player Awards

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• Samuel Emilus, healthy and thriving: Despite missing nine games this season, the Saskatchewan wide receiver has earned a position-best 84.0 PFF grade.

• Winnipeg HB Deatrick Nichols shuts down Edmonton pass attack: Nichols saw just three targets and allowed one catch for 8 yards on a screen, breaking up the other two.

With just two weeks remaining in the CFL regular season, several key races remain unsettled. The Edmonton Elks kept their playoff hopes alive with a critical 25-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Meanwhile, the Montreal Alouettes closed the gap in the East Division — their victory, coupled with a Hamilton Tiger-Cats loss, brought them within one game of securing the top spot and a first-round bye.

As always, we’re recognizing the league’s top performers from last week in this edition of the CFL Team of the Week.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders led all teams with seven selections, while the Toronto Argonauts — despite a loss to Saskatchewan — placed five players on the list, tied with Montreal for the second-most. The Ottawa Redblacks were the only team without a representative this week.

Offense

• QB: Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan
• RB: Dedrick Mills, Calgary
• Receiver: Samuel Emilus, Saskatchewan
• Receiver: Kenny Lawler, Hamilton
• Receiver: Kian Schaffer-Baker, Saskatchewan
• Receiver: Austin Mack, Montreal
• Receiver: Tim White, Hamilton
• LT: Nick Callender, Montreal
• LG: Zack Williams, Calgary
• C: David Beard, Edmonton
• RG: Patrick Neufeld, Winnipeg
• RT: Brett Boyko, Edmonton

Defense

• DI: Mike Rose, Saskatchewan
• DI: J-Min Pelley, Toronto
• Edge: Clarence Hicks, Calgary
• Edge: Habakkuk Baldonado, Saskatchewan
• LB: Aaron Casey, Toronto
• LB: Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, Montreal
• Cover LB: Najee Murray, Montreal
• CB: Benjie Franklin, Toronto
• CB: Benny Sapp III, Saskatchewan
• HB: Kordell Jackson, Edmonton
• HB: Deatrick Nichols, Winnipeg
• S: Derek Slywka, Toronto

Special Teams

• K: Jose Maltos Diaz, Montreal
• P: John Haggerty, Toronto
• Returner: Mario Alford, Saskatchewan

QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB TREVOR HARRIS, SASKATCHEWAN

Trevor Harris continues to build a compelling case for Most Outstanding Player, and performances like last week’s only strengthen it. Harris completed 22-of-27 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns, posting an average depth of target of 10.2 yards while throwing past the sticks on nearly 50% of his attempts — all despite an ultra-quick 2.08-second average time to throw. He added two big-time throws and recorded zero turnover-worthy plays.

For the season, Harris has tallied 28 big-time throws and holds an 88.0 passing grade, both second-most in the CFL. His 90.4 overall grade ranks second among all quarterbacks.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR SAMUEL EMILUS, SASKATCHEWAN

Given Trevor Harris’ standout performance, it’s no surprise that one of his top targets earned recognition as well. Samuel Emilus has been outstanding when healthy, and in this game, he hauled in six catches for 142 yards and four first downs. He made two contested grabs and led all receivers with an impressive 5.68 yards per route run. Emilus also chipped in as a blocker, earning a 70.1 run-blocking grade, and finished with the highest overall offensive grade of the week at 88.7.

If Emilus had played enough snaps to qualify, he would lead all CFL receivers in overall grade (84.0), rank second in receiving grade (82.2), and sit comfortably atop the leaderboard in run-blocking grade (78.9).

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: EDMONTON ELKS

With their playoff hopes on the line, the Edmonton Elks’ offensive line delivered one of the best performances of the season in a crucial win. The unit paved the way for 144 rushing yards on 22 designed runs, averaging 3.4 yards before contact per carry, the second-highest mark in the league last week. Their dominance earned them a league-best 74.5 run-blocking grade.

As good as they were in the run game, the Elks were even better in pass protection. On 27 dropbacks, left guard Mark Korte surrendered the unit’s only hurry — the lone pass-block loss for the entire offensive line. It marked the first time in the PFF CFL era that four offensive linemen on the same team weren’t beaten on a single pass-rush snap. The group finished with a staggering 94.9 pass-blocking grade — the highest by any offensive line this season.

PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: DI MIKE ROSE, SASKATCHEWAN 

It’s been a standout season for Saskatchewan’s Mike Rose, who is currently posting career highs in both overall defensive grade (78.3) and pass-rush grade (85.7). He turned in his best pass-rushing performance of the year this past week, earning a league-high 88.2 pass-rush grade. Rose recorded four quarterback hits, two hurries, and three additional pass-rush wins. His 31.0% pass-rush win rate ranked second across the league, while his 20.7% pressure rate led all defenders.

On the season, Rose ranks third among interior defenders with 44 total pressures, and his 85.7 pass-rush grade trails only one at the position.

RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB AARON CASEY, TORONTO

While Toronto struggled to contain Saskatchewan’s ground game last week, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort from rookie linebacker Casey. He made three tackles in the run game — including a solo stop — and forced a fumble in Saskatchewan territory, which he also recovered. Casey earned an 88.7 run-defense grade, the highest in the CFL for the week.

Casey has been a standout against the run all season, and this performance was no exception. Although he hasn’t played enough snaps to officially qualify, his 90.2 run-defense grade would rank first among all defenders league-wide.

COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DEATRICK NICHOLS, WINNIPEG

Despite a tough loss, Winnipeg’s pass defense held strong against Edmonton in Week 19, limiting quarterback Cody Fajardo to just 13-of-24 passing for 142 yards and no touchdowns. Defensive halfback Nichols played a key role, allowing only one catch on three targets — a screen pass on first-and-20 that he stopped immediately. On the other two targets, he successfully broke up the pass before the receiver could secure the ball. Nichols was in tight coverage on 13 of his 15 coverage matchups and earned a league-best 83.9 coverage grade for the week. His season-long coverage grade of 77.5 ranks fifth among all defensive halfbacks.

This news was originally published on this post .

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