Week 17 of the 2023 CFL season has come and gone as the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats punched their tickets to the postseason, the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders failed to make ground on the resting Edmonton Elks, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers squeaked by the diminished Toronto Argonauts, and the Ottawa Redblacks showed they’re not ready to make a run at the playoffs.
These awards are selected by a panel of 3DownNation contributors and will be presented weekly throughout the 2023 season. Enjoy.
Offensive player of the week: QB Vernon Adams Jr., B.C. Lions
The 30-year-old torched the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday night, completing 27-of-36 pass attempts for 458 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The seven-year veteran became first quarterback in the CFL this season to reach 4,000 passing yards and has thrown for a career-high 28 touchdown passes. With an ultra-important matchup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coming up this week, Adams Jr. will look to remain at the top of his game.
Honourable mention: RB Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Defensive player of the week: DB Reggie Stubblefield, Montreal Alouettes
The 26-year-old has been an impact player since his recent move to strong-side linebacker as he made seven tackles, two sacks, and one interception to help the Alouettes clinch a playoff spot. It was a dominant performance by Montreal’s defence as a whole as they forced five turnovers and scored two touchdowns on a fumble recovery by Shawn Lemon and a pick-six from Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
Honourable mention: DL Mike Rose, Calgary Stampeders
Special teams player of the week: K Sean Whyte, B.C. Lions
This wasn’t a super flashy performance but it exhibited the solid consistency Whyte has embodied since breaking into the CFL in 2007. The native of White Rock, B.C. made all four of his field goal attempts against Saskatchewan, including kicks from distances of 47 and 50 yards, along with all three of his converts. Whyte currently leads the league in field goals made and field goal accuracy, connecting on 93.8 percent of his attempts.
Honourable mention: DB Carthell Flowers-Lloyd, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Breakout player of the week: QB Cameron Dukes, Toronto Argonauts
The former Indoor Football League passer surpassed all reasonable expectations in his first CFL start, overcoming a hostile crowd to complete 17-of-24 pass attempts for 231 yards and one touchdown along with four carries for 34 yards and one touchdown. Though the Argonauts were unable to come away with a win at IG Field, it’s clear that the team is in good hands even without Chad Kelly under centre.
Honourable mention: KR James Letcher Jr., Montreal Alouettes
Offensive line of the week: Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The unit of Stanley Bryant, Geoff Gray, Chris Kolankowski, Patrick Neufeld, and Jermarcus Hardrick allowed one sack but were otherwise close to perfect against the Argos, creating holes for Brady Oliveira and Dakota Prukop to rush 31 times for 187 yards and one touchdown. This is the sixth time Winnipeg’s offensive line has received this recognition this season, which is at least twice more than any other team.
Honourable mention: Toronto Argonauts
Coach of the week: HC Ryan Dinwiddie, Toronto Argonauts
The 42-year-old was criticized for his decision to rest franchise quarterback Chad Kelly and a handful of defensive stars, though his team was still ready to compete against Winnipeg. After an impressive performance from Cameron Dukes, it might be time to consider Dinwiddie the league’s best developer of quarterbacks as he has quickly turned Kelly and Dukes into effective CFL passers.
Honourable mention: DC Noel Thorpe, Toronto Argonauts
Best play of the week: Jeshrun Antwi’s onside punt
On second-and-eighteen from Montreal’s 27-yard line, Canadian running back Jeshrun Antwi caught a swing pass from Cody Fajardo and punted it one yard forward before recovering it himself. As per CFL rules, this counted as an open field kick and resulted in a first down for the Alouettes as they’d momentarily relinquished possession of the ball. Antwi had previously tried and failed to execute this play, so it was fun to see him successfully earn a first down using a quirky, little-known rule.
Jeshrun Antwi nails the onside punt for a first down 👀#AlsIn #MontreALS #Redblacks #CFLpic.twitter.com/bwyPf3qbOe
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 30, 2023
Honourable mention: Cameron Judge’s acrobatic interception
Worst play of the week: Dustin Crum’s pick-six
You’d like to see Dustin Crum avoid simple mistakes given that he now has 11 professional starts under his belt but instead, with his team in the red zone on third-and-two, the passer waited far too long to throw this out route to Bralon Addison. Montreal was in man coverage and Marc-Antoine Dequoy, one of the league’s fastest players, read the play easily as Crum delivered the ball well after Addison made his break. Dequoy made the interception easily and brought it back 102 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.
That’s the wrong team, Dustin!#AlsIn #MontreALS #Redblacks #CFLpic.twitter.com/XblY9H1510
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 30, 2023
Honourable mention: David Ungerer III’s fourth quarter drop
Best game of the week: Toronto Argonauts at Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This wasn’t the battle of heavyweights CFL fans were hoping for but it still ended up being the best of the bunch. The teams combined for 742 yards of offence and the result came right down to the wire as Winnipeg scored the game-winning touchdown just before the three-minute warning, after which Toronto had a chance to tie things up. Hopefully, if these clubs meet again this season — possibly in the Grey Cup — the game will be even better.
Honourable mention: Saskatchewan Roughriders at B.C. Lions
Worst game of the week: Calgary Stampeders at Hamilton Tiger-Cats
If anyone is still waiting for Calgary to have a break out performance, it might be time to give up hope. The Stampeders have lost six of their last seven games and look uninspired and unmotivated, particularly on offence. Credit to Hamilton for getting the win but this game wasn’t exactly elite entertainment, outside of a couple of impressive deep shots to Kiondré Smith and Tim White.
Honourable mention: Montreal Alouettes at Ottawa Redblacks
