Jake Maier and Chad Kelly had a showdown in week 12. Tre Ford brings new hope to Edmonton as the 22-game at home losing streak is broken. QB rankings heading into week 13, 3 Stars of the Week for weeks 11 and 12.

Stars of Week 12:

1st Star: Tre Ford (EDM)

18 attempts, 15 completions (83%), 317 yards, 1 touchdown, and 10 rushes for 74 yards and 1 rushing touchdown.

2nd Star: Jake Maier (CGY)

42 attempts, 24 completions (60%), 387 yards, 4 touchdowns.

3rd Star: Chad Kelly (TOR)

31 attempts, 20 completions (65%), 361 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 2 rushes for 9 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Stars of Week 11:

1st Star: Vernon Adams Jr. (BC)

41 attempts, 26 completions (63%), 455 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 2 rushes for 24 yards.

2nd Star: Tre Ford (EDM)

18 attempts, 13 completions (72%), 174 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 5 rushes for 60 yards.

3rd Star: Jake Dolegala (SSK)

29 attempts, 18 completions (62%), 239 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 4 rushes for 27 yards.

Other Articles:

Mike Mitchell’s Week 13 Power Rankings

Midseason All-Star Team, Awards

Week 11 Team of the Week

Week 11 QB Weekly, Week 11 RB Weekly Week 11 WR Weekly

Week 10 Stars of the Week (1st and 2nd Team)

CFL First Period All-Star Team (Weeks 1-7)

@JonathanClink on Twitter

1. Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts, Previous Ranking #QB1

Week 12: Toronto vs. Calgary was a shootout as Jake Maier and Chad Kelly combined for  748 passing yards in a highly exciting game. Kelly completed 20 of his 31 passes (65%) for 361 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also rushed twice for 9 yards and a touchdown. Kelly showed tremendous poise and maintained a high level of accuracy in the face of pressure.

Three Bad Plays

There were 3 plays in this game that stood out as low points for Kelly in this match. The first interception was thrown over Gittens Jr. in the red zone. He was almost picked off an on-out route in the 2nd quarter that likely would have been a pick 6 but was fortunate to not have the defender catch it. Kelly was intercepted the next play he may have misread the defender underneath on a throw pushing the ball down the left side of the field as he was pressured and his arm was hit as he threw causing the ball to be underthrown. 

Shopping List of Good Plays (Pressure Proof)

Kelly started the game off with a 25-yard play to Damonte Coxie on a slant route. He found Cam Phillips over the middle in the face of a safety blitz for 29 yards. Kelly was pressured by Julian Howsare before rolling left and finding Andrew Harris for a 15-yard pass. He was incredibly patient waiting for a receiver to get open before finding Kuleigh Gittens Jr. for 16 yards down the left side with pressure closing in.

Kelly was pressured in the 2nd quarter and on a 2nd and 3 and ran up the middle for an 8-yard run setting up a 1st and goal at the 1. The next play he rushed 1 yard for a touchdown to the left.

Kelly Slipped under a tackle in the backfield before launching a pass for a 67-yard touchdown to Damonte Coxie deep down the right side before taking a hit near halftime.

On a flea flicker play he threw a 54-yard touchdown to DaVaris Daniels in the third quarter. He later made a quick read as he was pressured throwing it to Daniels 7 yards downfield on a quick slant for a 17-yard play.

Week 11: Was on the bye in week 11.

Week 11: Did not play in week 11 due to injury.

2. Vernon Adams Jr., BC Lions, Previous Ranking #QB3

Week 12: VA completed 26 of his 40 passes (65%) for 326 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception in the loss to Hamilton. It is not said enough how well Vernon Adams Jr. plays in the face of a good pass rush.

Vernon Adams Jr. threw a great ball to Keon Hatcher down the middle for 28 yards during the first drive of the game.

Adams had a great play stepping around a blitzing linebacker in the third quarter before stepping into a 25-yard throw to Keon Hatcher down the middle. The next play he stepped around a defender again who got a hand on him before sending the ball 34 yards downfield to Alexander Hollins near the left sideline.

Adams Jr. stepped into a throw with good protection and threw it 20 yards downfield accurately but it was dropped by the targetted receiver.

The interception came with 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter trailing by 14 on a 3rd and 10. It was not a great read throwing at a receiver who was covered well but it was a play in which there would have been a turnover on downs in the event of an incompletion.

Found Lucky Whitehead for 15 yards near the left sideline with pressure coming down the middle with 2 minutes left in the game. On the next play, he threw very accurately into a tight window to Keon Hatcher for an 11-yard touchdown.

Week 11: Completed 26 of his 41 passes for 455 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception in the loss to Saskatchewan. Also rushed 2 times for 24 yards. Vernon Adams Jr. was a highlight machine in week 11. BC lost 34-29 but nearly pulled off a comeback after trailing 31-13 to start the 4th quarter.

Had a great throw to Hollins running down the left sideline for 28 yards. Great catch Hollins turning to the ball. Picked up a first down on the ground when pressured for a 1st down on a 2nd and 10 in the 2nd quarter and then went down with an apparent right leg injury but returned to the game not much later. He looked good when he came back deciding to run on a play picking up 13 yards in the final minute of the first half to the right side.

Adams Jr. made a great play rolling right after being pressured in the 4th quarter before finding Hatcher down the right side for a 16-yard completion. He threw a great pass in the 4th quarter dropping it to Hollins who was running a corner for 23 yards. He hit him again on the opposite sideline the next play for an extremely accurate pass on a 30-yard gain.

He threw a great ball to Hatcher in the endzone hitting him in stride before he hit the right sideline. Hit Lucky Whitehead in stride deep down the middle who took it for a 78-yard touchdown.

3. Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Previous Ranking #QB2

Week 12: Week 12 was Collaros’ first game back after missing 2 games following an injury sustained in Edmonton.  Collaros completed 16 of his 24 passes for 24 yards and 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions 2 of which were pick 6s.

Collaros faked a handoff before rolling right and finding an open Dalton Schoen for a 4-yard TD. He found Dalton Schoen for a 22-yard touchdown to the right in which he was wide open. The 25-yard touchdown to Kenny Lawler he was open in the end zone down the middle. The longest play was a 45-yarder to Demski that consisted of a lot of YAC on a short pass over the middle.

The Winnipeg receivers did a lot to elevate Collaros’ stat line making good plays.

Collaros did not have any interceptions in the 2nd half which was much more clean but it was not a performance that lived up to his reputation as the back-to-back MOP. Collaros has made some poor interceptions recently when pressured.

4. Cody Fajardo, Montreal Alouettes, Previous Ranking #QB4

Week 12: Cody Fajardo missed the 2 games prior due to a left shoulder injury. Fajardo did not look bad in this game but it was not a good stat line at all as he completed 14 of his 25 passes for 137 yards and an interception.

Fajardo’s first throw was a good one deep down the right side to Austin Mack for 17 yards. He made a good throw in the face of pressure to Austin Mack for an 8-yard completion. Fajardo continued to display good escapability ducking under a defensive back blitzing in the end zone before escaping the pocket and throwing the ball out for an incompletion to avoid a safety. He ran 15 yards when pressured for a first down on a 2nd and 10 deep in Montreal’s own zone.

Stepped into a throw with good protection to Austin Mack near the left sideline.

Stepped into a throw targetting Hergy Mayala that was not caught despite being a good throw into coverage

Jackson Jeffcoat had a good game for Winnipeg generating pressure along with other Bombers players. Regardless no matter how you slice it 137 passing yards and an interception is just not going to get it done.

Week 11: Did not play in week 11 due to a shoulder injury.

5. Tre Ford, Edmonton Elks, Previous Ranking #QB7

Tre Ford has been just what Edmonton needed. With Taylor Cornelius, Cornelius was not playing bad football but he was not playing the right football for what they needed. The offensive line was often struggling early in the season to provide Cornelius with the protection he needed. The O-line played the best game of their season coming off their bye week which was Ford’s first game. Ford is a quarterback who can really mitigate the pass rush because of his legs he can outrun most players on the field and has shown himself to be very good at throwing while on the move.

Week 12: The Mustang has led the Edmonton Elks to a 2-game win streak as the Elks have broken the Commonwealth Curse and ended a 22-game at-home losing streak. Tre Ford completed 15 of his 18 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Ford had a 15-yard pass to Eugene Lewis near the right sideline near the end of the first quarter. The next play he made a great throw with pressure coming down the middle for a 30-yard pass to Steven Dunbar Jr. 2 plays later he connected with Manny Arceneaux over the middle for 15 yards. He capped off that drive with an 8-yard run to the left for a touchdown. Ford rushed 22 yards after dropping back to pass and not seeing a target.

In the final minute of the first half, Ford was pressured and made a pump fake resulting in the defender leaving their feet and he took off for a 10-yard rush. The next play he found Dunbar over the middle for 12 yards. The next play he threw it deep to Eugene Lewis 30 yards downfield near the left sideline who went up and made the catch before ducking away from the defensive back’s attempted tackle and running the remaining 37 yards for a touchdown.

Early in the third quarter, Ford aired it out deep to Gavin Cobb over 40 yards downfield down the middle for a 68-yard gain.

Ford was pressured midway through the third quarter and took off down the middle quickly escaping for 9 yards.

Found Eugene Lewis in the middle for 31 yards in the 4th quarter. Was pressured again and escaped down the middle for a 14-yard gain.

Week 11: Tre Ford completed 13 of his 18 passes (72%) for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed 5 times for 60 yards in the win in Hamilton. Tre Ford Showcased a great ability to throw the ball accurately when rolling out of the pocket. His ability to pick up yards with his legs forces defenses to respect the threat of him rushing which creates movement in defenders when he is leaving the pocket that can help receivers get open more easily.

On the first play, Ford made a move on Simoni Lawrence to gain some space that helped him gain an additional 5 yards after the initial contact on a 12-yard run after scrambling. 

On the first drive, there was a 3rd and 3 in which he aired it out down the left field and threw a really good ball 40 yards downfield but Eugene Lewis was unable to secure the ball before he hit the ground. There were open receivers available for short passes that would have been a high-percentage play to keep the drive alive.

Had a good throw to Mitchell when rolling to his right by the sideline in the first quarter for 20 yards. Ford took a shot on a touchdown pass to Steven Dunbar Jr. down the middle for a 29-yard pass. Hit Dunbar Jr. in stride on a post route and he picked up some YAC on his way to a 47-yard gain. He made a good throw while running to his right to an open Steven Dunbar for a 9-yard touchdown.

Ford started the 2nd half off running to his left and making a defensive back miss him on his way to an 18-yard gain.

In the third quarter, Edmonton went for it on 3rd and 5 and Ford targetted a receiver deep down the field to a receiver in double coverage the throw was pretty good but was an incompletion.

Threw accurately to Manny Arceneaux for 20 yards while rolling right after a fake handoff.

6. Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders, Previous Ranking #QB10

Week 12: It feels like Calgary can exhale after this game despite the loss to Toronto. Jake Maier had gone 3 games without surpassing 200 passing yards before this one and 4 games without a passing touchdown. Maier looked incredibly sharp as he completed 25 of his 42 passes (60%) for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns without an interception. Jake Maier handled pressure from Toronto very well and played with great poise. Up to this point, pressure was limiting his performances in many games.

Two Balls Underthrown

Underthrew Cole Tucker over the middle hitting the turf about 5 yards before him in the first quarter. Skipped away from a tackler scrambling to the right before throwing an incompletion under throwing Tucker on a play he did not square his shoulders.

The Mayor Was on a Campaign

Made a fantastic play slipping under a would-be sack before scrambling to his right and finding Reggie Begelton at the right sideline for 25 yards.

Made a good throw to Marken Michel hitting him in stride 20 yards downfield who ran the rest of the way for a 65-yard touchdown.

Hit Hakunuvunhu on a quick slant who scored an 18-yard touchdown.

Made a good pass that was near completion that hit his receiver’s hands in the end zone after scrambling to the right on what would have been a 39-yard score. The very next play he hit Begelton in stride down the middle for a 39-yard touchdown in the face of pressure.

Threw a 47-yard touchdown to Begelton who got open down the left sideline.

Showed good patience before airing it out to Reggie Begelton for 45 yards down the middle.

Made a great throw to Begelton on a 2nd and 15 that would have been a 20-yard touchdown in the back of the endzone but unable to hold on as he hit the ground.

Jake Maier avoided a tackle then flipped the ball to his running back as he went down in the endzone avoiding a safety and turning the play into a 6-yard gain.

Week 11: Winnipeg’s pass rush made things very difficult for Jake Maier in week 11 and he often had incompletions as a result of pressure. Maier completed 11 of his 24 passes for 190 yards with 1 interception.

Maier made some plays such as a good throw to Michel for 14 yards near the right sideline in the face of pressure in the first quarter. He threw a good ball to Reggie Begelton in the 2nd quarter in the face of pressure for 31 yards down the middle. In the third quarter, he passed 23 yards to Markeith Ambles down the middle. Maier had a great pass for 46 yards down the right side of the field in the 4th quarter.

7. Taylor Powell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Previous Ranking QB#8

Week 12: Did you pick Hamilton to win on the road in BC with Taylor Powell who started the season as the third-string quarterback? I did not. Powell had another efficient game completing 18 of his 23 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Lions.

Powell hit Tim White over the middle for 14 yards on a 2nd and 14 on his first throw of the game. He made a very good throw to Kiondre Smith near the sideline when rolling right away from pressure for 14 yards. 2 plays later he threw to Mc

In the third quarter, Powell threw to Tim White for 16 yards near the left sideline with pressure coming off the edge. The touchdown was a short pass to Butler who ran for the piling scoring a 12-yard touchdown.

Powell connected with Tim White in the 4th quarter for 35 yards with pressure getting close to him around the left edge but he stayed calm and stepped into the pocket.

Week 11: Taylor Powell completed 20 of his 26 passes (77%) for 218 yards and rushed 3 times for 18 yards in the loss to Edmonton. Jake Ceresna put pressure on Powell often on pass plays yet Powell played a pretty good game considering the effectiveness of Edmonton’s pass rush in this game.

Powell made a good throw over the middle in the first quarter through a tight window to Duke Williams for 21 yards. Powell had an open man in the middle for a short pass and had good protection with his running back in pass blocking but scrambled forward into pressure for a sack.

Made a good play on a 2nd and 6 when pressured scrambling to his right and finding Tim White for a first down in the 2nd quarter. He threw a nice ball sidearm while rolling to his left to McAllister for an 18-yard gain. Made a great throw to Tim White near the left sideline putting the ball over a defender very accurately.

Powell did a great job scrambling to his right away from pressure before finding Johnson near the sideline who made a great catch keeping both feet in bounds for 10 yards. He completed a pass to Tim White over the middle as he was getting tackled for 26 yards. He later made a great throw to Tim White near the left sideline with a player closing in. Had an 11-yard scramble after being pressured to his right.

8. Dustin Crum, Ottawa RedBlacks, Previous Ranking #QB6

Week 12:  Crum completed 17 of his 26 passes for 172 yards in the loss to the Elks. He also rushed 5 times for 28 yards. Dustin Crum played a pretty good game against Edmonton and was rather efficient however he tended to primarily make shorter passes and did not push the ball downfield often.

Dustin Crum had an excellent pass down the left sideline for 35 yards to Shaq Evans near halftime.

Crum threw a good ball to Shaq Evans for 10 yards despite having to throw it awkwardly as he ran from pressure away from the line of scrimmage to his right in the third quarter. The next play he stepped into a throw and sent a dart to Jaelon Acklin for a 20-yard gain.

Crum had an excellent play going dancing around pressure in the pocket before escaping and launching the ball away taking a big hit as he threw it 20 downfield but it did not result in a completion despite hitting a receiver’s hands. Crum proceeded to make some good hard throws to get a drive going late in the fourth quarter picking up first downs and helping Ottawa get a touchdown with a little over a minute left to stay alive but they were unable to.

Week 11: Crum completed 14 of his 19 passes (74%) for 130 yards and an interception, He also rushed 4 times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Crum made some good plays but ultimately did not have a big stat line against Montreal in a loss against a defense playing well.

Did a great job throwing around a defensive back who was blitzing finding Shaq Evans quickly on a slant route in the first quarter on a 20-yard play that set up 1st and goal from the 1.

Made a good throw to Jaelon Acklin in the third quarter for 13 yards just before getting hit in the face of pressure. Did a good job on the ground picking up 13 yards up the middle after being pressured in the third quarter. Took a hit at the end of a 13-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter.

9. Jake Dolegala, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Previous Ranking #12

Week 12: On the bye week in week 12.

Week 11: Completed 18 of his 29 passes for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win hosting BC. Dolegala also rushed 4 times for 27 yards. Dolegala was very accurate in this game leading the Roughriders to a win that not many people picked BC to lose in.

Dolegala threw a 46-yard pass which Emilus went up in tight coverage from BC’s Garry Peters and then the next play he threw a great pass to Sterns over the middle for 22 yards that was placed perfectly over the middle linebacker.

Dolegala had a 12-yard gain running out to the right after he was pressured in the third quarter. He ran down the middle near the end of the third quarter for a 12-yard gain when an opening near the line of scrimmage appeared.

He threw an inaccurate pass on his running back’s out route too far behind him to be catchable in the 4th quarter.

Dolegala threw a dart to Schaffer-Baker in the 4th quarter over the middle for a first down between 2 linebackers. He threw a great pass when running to his left to Picton on a 2nd and 10 in the final 3 minutes of the game for 12 yards.

10. Mason Fine, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Previous Ranking #QB9

Week 12: On the bye week in week 12.

Week 11: Did not play due to an injury.

11. Dru Brown, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Previous Ranking #QB5

Week 11: After a very strong performance in week 10 coming in place of an injured Zach Collaros, Downtown Dru Brown was held by Calgary to a stat line that looked more like Downtime Dru Brown as he completed 17 of his 27 passes for 171 yards. 

Brown had a good quick throw to Wolitarsky after a fake handoff for 10 yards. He made a very bad read in the 2nd quarter in which he was lucky not to be intercepted on throwing it essentially at a Stampeders chest. He found Shoen over the middle for a 30-yard gain in the face of pressure. Had a good 13-yard pass down the middle to Schoen.

Brown’s production was far less than the 307 yards and 4 touchdowns in 3 quarters of play in week 10. It was a combination of a lower quality of play from Brown and Calgary’s defense playing a very good game.

12. Caleb Evans, Montreal Alouettes, Previous Ranking #11

Week 12: Did not play in week 12 as Cody Fajardo was healthy again.

Week 11: Completed 24 of his 36 passes for 333 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Also rushed 8 times for 49 yards and a touchdown.

We didn’t really get to see a lot of what Caleb Evans can do in the pass game in week 10 as he only attempted 13 passes which was the fewest amount of pass attempts by a CFL team since 1980. In week 11 Evans threw the ball quite a lot more and showed some of the indicators of good potential that we have seen in the past.