3DownNation CFL awards: the best and worst of Week 3

Photo: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography / 3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Week 4 of the Canadian Football League regular-season will soon be upon us, but let’s take one last look back at Week 3 for standout moments, players, and performances.

These awards are selected by 3DownNation’s contributors and will be presented weekly throughout the 2026 season. Enjoy.

Offensive player of the week: QB Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The future Hall of Fame inductee completed 15-of-18 pass attempts for 285 yards and five touchdowns on Friday night, chewing up B.C.’s defence like Joey Chestnut at a hot dog stand. There were lots of other good candidates for this award, but when a player throws almost twice as many touchdown passes as incompletions, it’d be wrong to give it to anyone else. Mitchell now has eight touchdowns and one interception on the year.

Honourable mention: REC Kian Schaffer-Baker, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Defensive player of the week: DB Stavros Katsantonis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Bakersfield Bandit did it again in Week 3, making a diving interception on an overthrown ball. The 29-year-old was named All-CFL for the first time in 2025 after recording six interceptions, and he already has two this season. Hamilton led the CFL in takeaways last year and Katsantonis appears primed to help the team do the same in 2026.

Honourable mention: LB Cameron Judge, Toronto Argonauts

Special teams player of the week: KR Tyreik McAllister, Calgary Stampeders

The 28-year-old kickstarted Calgary’s comeback bid on the final play before halftime when he returned a missed field goal 120 yards for a touchdown. The Stampeders had a major special teams blunder moments earlier when nobody pounced on a 37-yard kickoff into the wind, though the ball didn’t travel far enough for McAllister to have a reasonable chance to field it. He finished the game with 193 return yards on nine touches.

Honourable mention: K Brett Lauther, Ottawa Redblacks

Breakout player of the week: REC Nick Cenacle, B.C. Lions

Everything is going wrong in B.C. right now, except for the emergence of Nick Cenacle. Once considered a top prospect, the Montreal native fell down draft boards after he missed most of his senior year due to a knee injury and ran a slow forty-yard dash at the CFL Combine. After being taken in the fifth round by the Lions, they’ve already secured a good return on investment as he made nine catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns against Hamilton.

Honourable mention: DB Nate Beauchemin, Montreal Alouettes

Offensive line of the week: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The unit of Trevor Reid, Brandon Revenberg, Liam Dobson, Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay, and Quinton Barrow has now won this award in back-to-back weeks. The big men didn’t allow a sack in Hamilton’s rout of B.C. and helped Larry Rountree III rush 18 times for 62 yards. Revenberg is a four-time East Division nominee for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman. Could this be the year he finally wins the award league-wide?

Honourable mention: Edmonton Elks

Coach of the week: HC Mike Miller, Toronto Argonauts

The 56-year-old got his first win as a head coach and it came in one-sided fashion against Ryan Dinwiddie, who originally hired him in Toronto. The Boatmen put up 523 yards of offence in a 44-24 win over the Ottawa Redblacks, a victory that came despite committing five turnovers. If the team can do a better job of protecting the football, they’ve got a fighting chance against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 4.

Honourable mention: HC Scott Milanovich, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

HE CANNOT BE CONTAINED!!!

Two Alouettes have Justin Rankin stopped in the backfield, but he slips free for another major!#CFL #GoElks #AlwaysEdmonton pic.twitter.com/EtPV5djvFc

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) June 20, 2026

Best play of the week: RB Justin Rankin, Edmonton Elks

Midway through the third quarter, the Alouettes had Rankin dead to rights on third-and-two. Instead of being tackled for a loss and a turnover on downs, Rankin miraculously broke tackles from Najee Murray and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund to find the edge and break off a 47-yard touchdown run. Cody Fajardo threw a great block on Murray to help Rankin break contain, and the rest was history. The score gave Edmonton a 20-13 lead and they held on to win the game 32-29 in overtime.

Honourable mention: REC Tyler Snead, Montreal Alouettes

Worst play of the week: HC Buck Pierce, B.C. Lions

Pierce’s decision to kick a 14-yard field goal late in the first quarter on Friday night was awful. Rather than going for it on third-and-goal from the five-yard line to draw within four points of the Tiger-Cats, Pierce elected to kick the field goal and make the score 14-6. The field goal technically made it a one-score game, but it also felt like waving a white flag. Even if they’d failed to score a touchdown, B.C. would have saved 35 yards of field position with a gamble.

Honourable mention: KR Kalil Pimpleton, Ottawa Redblacks

Best game of the week: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Calgary Stampeders

This game looked like it was going to be a blowout until Calgary found the gas pedal, overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime. Trevor Harris was sharp, Dedrick Mills ran wild, Kian Schaffer-Baker was phenomenal, Clarence Hicks was a beast, and Tyreik McAllister scored a special teams touchdown. What more could you ask for in a rivalry game? It almost felt like a World Cup game, too, as the crowd cheered evenly for both teams.

Honourable mention: Montreal Alouettes at Edmonton Elks

Worst game of the week: B.C. Lions at Hamilton Tiger-Cats

You have to appreciate how well the Tiger-Cats played but this game simply wasn’t competitive, which diminished its entertainment value. Steeltown took a 27-9 lead shortly before halftime and it never really felt like the Lions were capable of clawing their way back. The 41-27 final score greatly flattered the visitors as B.C. added two meaningless touchdowns in the last four minutes of the game.

Honourable mention: Toronto Argonauts at Ottawa Redblacks