Saskatchewan and Hamilton continue to set the standard: The two teams combined for 13 Team of the Week selections, fueled by standout performances from QB Trevor Harris, WR Dohnte Meyers and HB Destin Talbert.
Calgary surges with dominant defensive play: Interior defensive linemen Justin Sambu and Jaylon Hutchings anchored a front seven that powered the team to its fifth win of the season, already matching last year’s total.
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Week 7 delivered plenty of statement wins across the CFL. The Montreal Alouettes rallied from a 25-7 deficit to edge out a 26-25 victory. The Calgary Stampeders blew past the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-20, matching their win total from last season. The Saskatchewan Roughriders kept pace atop the West Division behind another strong offensive showing, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats extended their winning streak to four with a 30-15 triumph over the Ottawa Redblacks.
As expected, the winning teams dominated this week’s Team of the Week selections. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats led the way with seven players honored, followed closely by the Saskatchewan Roughriders with six. Meanwhile, the B.C. Lions were the only team shut out of the list.
Want to see how every player graded out this week? Check out PFF’s CFL grades database for full team and player breakdowns, and don’t miss the top-graded CFL players from Week 7.
OFFENSE
QB: Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan
RB: Deonta McMahon, Toronto
Receiver: Dohnte Meyers, Saskatchewan
Receiver: Tevin Jones, CalgaryÂ
Receiver: Nic Demski, Winnipeg
Receiver: Samuel Emilus, Saskatchewan
Receiver: Tim White, Hamilton
LT: Nick Callender, Montreal
LG: Brandon Revenberg, Hamilton
C: Coulter Woodmansey, Hamilton
RG: Donald Ventrelli, Montreal
RT: Quinton Barrow, Hamilton
DEFENSE
DI: Mike Rose, Saskatchewan
DI: Justin Sambu, Calgary
Edge: Lorenzo Mauldin IV, Ottawa
Edge: Folarin Orimolade, Calgary
LB: Rayshawn Wilborn, Hamilton
LB: A.J. Allen, Saskatchewan
Cover LB: Adarius Pickett, Ottawa
CB: Tevaughn Campbell, Saskatchewan
CB: Tarvarus McFadden, Toronto
HB: Destin Talbert, Hamilton
HB: Amari Henderson, Ottawa
S: Damon Webb, Calgary
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Sergio Castillo, Winnipeg
P: Nik Constantinou, Hamilton
Returner: James Letcher Jr., Montreal
QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB TREVOR HARRIS, SASKATCHEWAN
What a week it was for Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offense. Harris was in complete command, carving up defenses and finding success at every level of the field. He finished 23-of-30 for 395 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Harris led the CFL in Week 7 with an 82.8% adjusted completion rate, a league-best five big-time throws and an incredible 63.3% of his passes thrown past the sticks. His performance earned a 92.8 passing grade, the highest in the league for the week.
On the season, Harris leads the CFL in passing grade (89.3), adjusted completion rate (81.1%), and big-time throws (11).
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR NIC DEMSKI, WINNIPEG
While Saskatchewan receivers Dohnte Meyers and Samuel Emilus both posted impressive outings — helped by Trevor Harris’s stellar quarterback play — Demski found success without the same level of support. Catching passes from both Zach Collaros (64.8 passing grade before his injury) and Chris Streveler (53.5), Demski didn’t miss a beat. He hauled in seven of nine targets for a league-high 146 yards and a touchdown, adding two contested catches and three explosive receptions. His 3.84 yards per route run was among the best marks of the week.
Demski is quietly piecing together another standout season, currently ranking fourth in the CFL with a 72.7 receiving grade.
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: MONTREAL ALOUETTES
It was an impressive showing from the Alouettes’ offensive line, which played a key role in Montreal’s dramatic comeback win over the Toronto Argonauts. Despite a limited run game due to game flow, the unit posted a league-best 87.5 run-blocking grade. On 42 pass-blocking snaps, the Alouettes didn’t allow a single sack and gave up just eight total pressures. Their 90.5 pass-blocking efficiency score was the highest of any offensive line in Week 7. LG Pier-Olivier Lestage and RG Donald Ventrelli led the way, not losing a single pass-blocking snap in the game.
PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: DI JAYLON HUTCHINGS, CALGARY
Week 7 didn’t feature many dominant pass-rushing performances and even saw the second-lowest league-wide pass rush win rate of the season at 11.3%. One notable exception was Calgary’s Jaylon Hutchings. The interior defender recorded a sack, three hits and two hurries, finishing with a league-best 16.7 pass-rush productivity score. His 77.9 pass-rush grade ranked second among all defenders this week. Hutchings now leads all CFL interior defenders this season with 22 total pressures.
RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: DI JUSTIN SAMBU, CALGARY
On paper, Winnipeg seemed to find success on the ground against Calgary, rushing for 145 yards on 26 carries. But 46 of those yards came on two wide receiver runs, and the Stampeders limited reigning M.O.P. Brady Oliveira to just 68 yards on 15 attempts. A big reason for that was Justin Sambu. The interior defender notched three solo defensive stops in the run game, didn’t earn a single negative grade on his run snaps, and finished with a league-best 87.0 run-defense grade.
COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: HB DESTIN TALBERT, HAMILTON
This award had plenty of contenders in Week 7, with seven defensive backs earning coverage grades above 86.0. But even among that group, Destin Talbert stood out as the clear top performer. The TiCats’ halfback was targeted six times and allowed just three catches for 21 yards and one first down. He also made four tackles in coverage.
Of the three incompletions he forced, Talbert broke up one pass, blanketed his receiver on another, and intercepted the third. He added a second interception later in the fourth quarter, reading a wide-receiver pass perfectly to prevent a potential game-changing play. Talbert capped off his dominant outing with a 92.9 coverage grade — by far his best of the season.