- MOP Race warm-up: Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell helped his cause, making some big throws and earning a league-leading PFF grade of 84.9.
- Julian Howsare wreaks havoc on Toronto’s passing game: The Hamilton edge rusher recorded a ridiculous five sacks and 12 total pressures en route to a pass rushing grade of 92.4.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Week 18 only had three games, but all three ultimately had playoff implications. The Ottawa Redblacks lost 20-13 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, eliminating them from the playoffs. The Toronto Argonauts were also ousted after a 47-29 loss to Hamilton. Ultimately, the BC Lions clinched a playoff spot with a 38-24 win over Calgary. As always, we highlight the highlights of the week in our Team of the Week.
With their big win, it’s no surprise that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats led the way with nine players on this week’s team. Saskatchewan came in second with eight, while British Columbia had five. Ottawa and Calgary both saw only one player make the team.
OFFENCE
- QB: Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton
- RB: James Butler, British Columbia
- Recipient: Dohnte Meyers, Saskatchewan
- Recipient: Keon Hatcher, British Columbia
- Recipient: Jevon Cottoy, British Columbia
- Recipient: Makai Polk, Toronto
- Recipient: Brendan O’Leary-Orange, Hamilton
- LT: Payton Collins, Saskatchewan
- LG: Brandon Revenberg, Hamilton
- C: Peter Nicastro, Toronto
- RG: Liam Dobson, Hamilton
- RT: Jermarcus Hardrick, Saskatchewan
DEFENSE
- BY: Mike Rose, Saskatchewan
- BY: Caleb Sanders, Saskatchewan
- EDGE: Julian Howsare, Hamilton
- EDGE: Malik Carney, Saskatchewan
- L.B.: Micah Awe, British Columbia
- L.B.: Micah Teitz, Calgary
- Coverage LB: Antoine Brooks Jr., Saskatchewan
- CB: Garry Peters, British Columbia
- CB: Jonathan Moxey, Hamilton
- HB: Rolan Milligan, Saskatchewan
- HB: Destin Talbert, Hamilton
- S: Stavros Katsantonis, Hamilton
SPECIAL TEAMS
- K: Lirim Hajrullahu, Toronto
- P: Nik Constantinou, Hamilton
- Returner: Kalil Pimpleton, Ottawa
QUARTER OF THE WEEK: QB BO LEVI MITCHELL, HAMILTON
We’re nearing the wire and it looks like the Most Outstanding Player award is a two-man race between Mitchell and BC QB Nathan Rourke.
While both had good weeks last week, Mitchell takes the spot here thanks to his excellent performance. Mitchell posted an adjusted completion percentage of 79.2% and made two big throws with only one turnover-worthy play. He posted an average target depth of 12.1 yards, second-highest in the league, and led all quarterbacks with a PFF grade of 84.9.
Mitchell leads the league this season with 29 big throws, but also has the most turnover-worthy plays with 28. That’s the main reason his passing grade is “only” 84.1, despite a 32-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR DOHNTE MEYERS, SASKATCHEWAN
There were a few receivers with impressive performances last week, but what Meyers did deserves all the credit.
He was targeted seven times and caught six passes for an impressive 157 yards and a touchdown. That score was an impressive 66-yard catch and run in which he broke a tackle and then outran four Ottawa defenders into the end zone. Meyers also added two contested catches, forced two other missed tackles and averaged 4.49 yards per route run (second only to Hamilton’s Brendan O’Leary-Orange).
Meyers is quietly having a fantastic season for the Roughriders. He currently ranks in the top 10 in explosive receptions (22), contested catches (12) and average yards per route (2.14).
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Saskatchewan’s season of offensive line dominance continued last week with another impressive performance. The Roughriders didn’t have much success in the run game, but that had more to do with their running backs only averaging 1.5 yards after contact per play. As a unit, the team’s PFF run-blocking grade of 69.5 was the second-highest last week.
It was Saskatchewan’s pass blocking that really shined. On 39 dropbacks, the Riders’ offensive line allowed just six total pressures. That 15.4% pressure rate was the best mark in the league, as was their 74.5 PFF pass-blocking grade as a unit.
The pack was led by Lieutenant Payton Collins, who did not tolerate any pressure throughout the entire match. RT Jermarcus Hardrick, perhaps the favorite for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman this year, had a down game by his standards. For him, that meant giving up one sack (his fourth surrendered all year) and two total pressures (his fourth game all season where more than one pressure was possible).
PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: EDGE JULIAN HOWSARE, HAMILTON
Howsare didn’t just have the best pass-rush game of the week. He had one of the best pass-rush games of the season.
Howsare recorded a ridiculous five sacks in this game, along with two hits and five hurries. He totaled four additional pass rush wins. Howsare led the league with a pass rush win rate of 28% and a pass rush productivity score of 17.0. It’s no surprise that his PFF grade of 92.4 led the league.
Howsare now ranks first on the season with 14 sacks, 68 total pressures and a 91.6 pass-rushing grade.
RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: DI JAYLON HUTCHINGS, CALGARY
There weren’t too impressive run-defense performances this week, but Hutchings was at the top.
Calgary held BC RB James Butler to just 42 yards on 15 carries, and Hutchings was a big reason for that. He made three tackles in the run game, including a huge tackle for loss. Hutchings did not record a negative grade on any of his 15 run-defense snaps and finished with a PFF run-defense grade of 80.5.
Hutchings has made 18 solo stops in the run game this year, the second-most among non-linebackers. His run-defense grade of 89.7 ranks third in the league for the season.
COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: S STAVROS KATSANTONIS, HAMILTON
It wasn’t a perfect match for Katsantonis last week. He allowed four catches in coverage for 44 yards and a pair of first downs.
However, he more than made up for it with three interceptions of Toronto QB Jarret Doege. One of them was based on luck, because it came after a pass from Makai Polk. However, the other two were excellent at reading deep-seed passes, jumping in front of the ball and taking the ball the other way. Katsantonis could also have had a fourth: early in the game he jumped a short route and got his hands on the ball, but couldn’t quite bring it in.
Katsantonis also recorded six tackles in the passing game, the most of any player this week. Katsantonis is in the midst of a phenomenal season. He is currently the highest-rated safety in the league this year, with a grade of 88.2 overall.
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