CFL

• Winnipeg’s special team’s ace Mike Miller recorded two special teams tackles against Hamilton in Week 1. He is now three behind all-time leader Jason Arakgi (190).
• Avery Williams recorded 14 defensive tackles to lead all players in Week 1. That was good enough to tie the 5^th most in a single game and the most in Ottawa football history (Bruce Holmes, 1989).
• Abdul Kanneh’
  s 102-yard pick six against Edmonton was the second-longest interception return in Ottawa Football history. Only trailing Gerald Vaughn’s 109-yard return in 2002.

BUCKING THE TREND:

• Normally, teams that give up fewer sacks win games more frequently. During Week 1 play, winning teams allowed 11 sacks, losing teams allowed only six.
• Calgary lost despite
  not giving up a sack in Week 1. In 2019 teams were 22-4 when allowing 0 sacks.
• There was some defensive dominance as the games averaged 39.5 points in the opening slate of games.
• Ottawa defied the odds in Week 1 as each of their 14 possessions resulted in a kick and they still won. Ottawa recorded 94 net yards in the game, the lowest by any winning team in CFL history. The previous record was held by Edmonton who defeated Calgary 10-8 in 1968 with 104 net yards.

ROUR

• BC’s Nathan Rourke started his first game on Friday night against Saskatchewan. He joins five other Canadian quarterbacks to start Week 1. He follows the footsteps of Gerry Ducotte, Don Getty, Russ Jackson, Pete Ohler and most recently, Gerry Dattilio.
• Since 1970, ten Canadian quarterbacks have started a game: Eric Guthrie, Gerry Dattilio, Luc Tousignant, Greg Vavra, Bob Torrance, Giulio Caravatta, Larry Jusdanis, Brandon Bridge, Andrew Buckley and Nathan Rourke.
• Russ Jackson has won
  the most games as a Canadian quarterback with a career record of 85-47-5 (.620).
• The single-game passing record for a Canadian quarterback is 427 yards set by Gerry Dattilio on September 6, 1981. Dattilio also owns the Canadian passing records for passing TDs in a game (5) and completions in a game (31).
• Rourke threw 194 yards in the game against Saskatchewan, but he started off only 1/5 with an interception. After the slow start, he went 9/13 with two touchdown passes including a 75-yard major to Lucky Whitehead. The touchdown was the longest one for the BC Lions since Manny Arceneaux’s 82-yard major from Jonathon Jennings in 2015.
• When Rourke re-enter
  ed in the second half, he led a 75-yard BC touchdown drive to get within four points, going 4/6 and capping it off with a touchdown to Bryan Burnham.

Quick Slants:

• The average margin of victory in Week 1 was six points compared to the 12-point average in the last five seasons. 3 out of 4 games were decided in the last 3:00.
• Last year there were
  14 TD passes of 75+ yards. Lucky Whitehead had one of them, giving him one on back-to-back years. Eugene Lewis did so in 2018 and 2019. In 2018 Duke Williams had two in one season.
• Montreal will open their season on Saturday against Edmonton. Since 2008, the Alouettes are 6-6 in season openers.
• Montreal started last year with a 3-2 run out of the gate, despite losing their first two games. The spark was the return of Vernon Adams Jr. who led the to three victories in a row. With Adams at quarterback in 2019 the Alouettes were 10-5. Without, 0-3.
• Top 20 passers
  13; Micheal Reilly moved within 15 yards of Darian Durant who ranks 14^th all-time. Reilly pushed his career passing yards total to 31,725. Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell passed Kerry Joseph into 18^th all-time on the passing list (28,189).
• Toronto’s McLeod Bethel Thompson led all quarterbacks last season with nine games with 300+ yards in only 13 starts. He kicked off his campaign with 354 yards and two touchdown passes.
• The East Division won two of three interlocking games to take the series in 2021. Last year they only won 16 of 40 in such matchups. The last time the East won the series was in 2015.
• This week, Calgary f
  aces the possibility of starting the season 0-2 for the first time since 2002. That year, though, they rebounded and finish 10-7-1.
• BC came close to posting the largest comeback in CFL history, trailing 31 points against Saskatchewan.
• In Week 1, penalties averaged only 16 per game – 10% fewer than in 2019.
• Brady Oliveira was t
  he lone player to rush for more than 100 yards and did so in his first career start.
• In the Ottawa and Edmonton game, each team made a field goal from 50+ yards – a rarity in the CFL.
• There were only 14 turnovers in Week 1 but just one big kick play return.
• In a real quirk in t
  he schedule, the same four teams are at home in Week 2 as they were in Week 1.