Week 12 of the CFL season is in the books, featuring four close games that were decided by an averaged of 3.8 points. Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa kept streaking, Hamilton, B.C., and Saskatchewan kept skidding, the Argonauts welcomed their franchise quarterback back into the lineup, and Edmonton’s three-game winning streak was snapped.
Below we’ve recognized the best and worst performances of the week from across the country. These awards are selected by 3DownNation’s contributors and will be presented weekly throughout the 2024 season on Tuesday mornings. Enjoy.
Offensive player of the week: QB Dru Brown, Ottawa Redblacks
The 27-year-old shredded B.C.’s struggling secondary on Saturday night, completing 28-of-37 pass attempts for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Brown showed no ill signs of the injury that held him out of last week’s game against Calgary and helped the Redblacks improve to 7-2-1 as they remain on pace for the best 18-game regular season in the history of the Rough Riders, Renegades or Redblacks.
Honourable mention: REC Cole Spieker, Montreal Alouettes
Defensive player of the week: SAM C.J. Reavis, Saskatchewan Roughriders
The third-year strong-side linebacker was all over the field against the Argonauts, making 10 defensive tackles, one sack, and one pass knockdown. The 28-year-old native of Chester, Va. has now made 51 tackles and three sacks through 11 games this season and was part of a defence that made three impressive goal-line stands at BMO Field, holding Toronto to 20 points.
Honourable mention: LB Jovan Santos-Knox, Ottawa Redblacks
Special teams player of the week: K Brett Lauther, Saskatchewan Roughriders
The 33-year-old native of Truro, N.S. took responsibility for Saskatchewan’s recent loss to the Alouettes when he missed four field goals, a performance that led many fans in Rider Nation to call for his release. Lauther responded well against the Argonauts, going four-for-four on field goals with a long of 43 yards. He also made his lone convert attempt and averaged 66 yards on three kickoffs.
Honourable mention: P Jake Julien, Edmonton Elks
Breakout player of the week: REC Nick Mardner, Ottawa Redblacks
The six-foot-six, 208-pound native of Oakville, Ont. had a quiet first half to the season, recording only 95 receiving yards after being taken second overall in the 2024 CFL Draft. Mardner doubled that total against the Lions, making three receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns, breaking a tackle on an impressive 64-yard catch and run.
Honourable mention: DB Mark Milton, Toronto Argonauts
Offensive line of the week: Ottawa Redblacks
The unit of Dino Boyd, Drew Desjarlais, Eric Starczala, Jacob Ruby, and Zach Pelehos was the only offensive line not to allow a sack this past week despite being forced to deal with an injury to right guard Dariusz Bladek, who was a game-time decision. Ryquell Armstead had a relatively quiet night along the ground but it was still a solid showing from Ottawa’s blockers, who kept B.C.’s pass rushers at bay.
Honourable mention: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Coach of the week: DC Chris Jones, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The 56-year-old native of Pittsburg, Tenn. was out of work for barely a month before taking over from Mark Washington, who was let go as Hamilton’s defensive coordinator. The early results were impressive as the Tiger-Cats limited Winnipeg to only 19 offensive points and 177 passing yards as Zach Collaros was intercepted three times. Hamilton’s playoff chances are dire regardless but Jones appears to have had a positive early impact.
Honourable mention: STC Mike Miller, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This is what killing a Byrd with one Jones looks like 😳
Tony Jones (@_tjonesss) annihilates the returner and Michael Ayers (@mikeymike__5) is there to scoop up the loose ball for six.#CFL #Bombers #ForTheW
pic.twitter.com/qmXCKMTOpH— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 24, 2024
Best play of the week: LB Tony Jones, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The third-year linebacker out of Texas Tech University spoiled Jordan Byrd’s CFL debut, laying a massive hit on a punt return that forced the ball to go flying backward. Rookie linebacker Michael Ayers picked it up and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown late in the first half, accompanied by five teammates. The score ended up being critical as Winnipeg won the game by only three points.
Honourable mention: REC Cole Spieker, Montreal Alouettes
Worst play of the week: Scary injuries
Two CFL players suffered frightening injuries this past week, both of which required extra medical attention and ambulance trips to the hospital. The good news is that Winnipeg offensive lineman Stanley Bryant and Ottawa receiver Jaelon Acklin have since returned home from hospital and appear to be doing well, though they were concerning incidents nonetheless. Injuries are inevitable in a violent game like football, of course, but here’s hoping we don’t have any more scary moments for the rest of the season.
Honourable mention: QB Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Best game of the week: Edmonton Elks at Montreal Alouettes
This wasn’t a terribly high-scoring game but it featured several impressive catches, some impressive runs, and very few mistakes by either team. You wouldn’t know it from their record but Edmonton has been playing good football for the past month and the Alouettes are 10-1 for a reason. There wasn’t a huge difference between the best and worst game this week but this one was still a standout.
Honourable mention: Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Worst game of the week: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Toronto Argonauts
This ended up being a tight game but that’s only because the Argonauts failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities, getting stuffed on third-and-goal three times. The ending of this game wasn’t even satisfying as Lirim Hajrullahu missed a potential game-winning 40-yard field goal wide left but pushed it through the back of the end zone for a rouge, leading some critics to call for the rule to be changed.
Honourable mention: B.C. Lions at Ottawa Redblacks
