TORONTO — The more weeks go by, the more meaningful the evidence on the field becomes.
It’s only Week 2 but it’s possible to start projecting what some players are going to be able to do over the entire 2024 season. It seems to be the case with Bo Levi Mitchell, who has now two solid performances under his belt in 2024 and reminded everyone why he’s a future Hall of Famer.
The Ticats ended up losing the game to the Roughriders though, who had standouts of their own like defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II. The veteran finished with the top run defence grade of the week after shutting down James Butler and the Tabbies ground game.
Who else excelled in Week 2? CFL.ca brings you five PFF grades that standout from Week 2.
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PFF utilizes extensive review of game footage to provide additional context for every action on the field. Highly-trained PFF staff break down every game, player and play to provide over 200 unique data points, which are used to compile Player Grades – a numerical representation up-to-100 of performance at their specific position.
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Lanier finished with the second best defensive grade of the week while also registering the second highest run defence grade (85.0) behind teammate C.J. Reavis (85.2).
Saskatchewan’s run-defence kept Butler in check to the tune of 12 carries for 27 yards and no scores.
Mitchell has been amongst the league’s best pivots after two weeks and that’s a really good sign for the Tiger-Cats.
The veteran once again finished with a high passing grade (83.6) and was one play away from winning the game for Hamilton, throwing for 380 passing yards and three touchdowns.
It’s a Philpot world and we’re just living in it. With brother Tyson dominating the headlines in Week 1, it was his brother’s turn to turn heads in Week 2 by tying Justin Hardy with the highest receiving grade of the week (80.1).
The raw numbers might not seem that impressive (five catches for 56 yards) but of those five catches, three were contested for first downs, showcasing his ability to be a crucial chain-mover for Calgary and the potential to be a go-to guy for the Red and White.
The Global defensive lineman is making waves in the first two weeks of the 2024 season. Debaillie scored the first ever touchdown by a Global player last week and doubled it up in Week 2 by finishing with the highest pass rushing grade (82.3).
A big reason why the Lions were able to beat the Stampeders was a pass rush that finished with four sacks. Even though the Global player wasn’t one of the players that took down Jake Maier, he won 35.7 per cent of his duels at the line of scrimmage, pressuring Calgary’s quarterback on 14.3 per cent of his pass rushing snaps.
Stanback’s grade might not be that high but it’s the significance of it that matters the most here. The Lions need their running game to complement an explosive aerial offence and that’s exactly what Stanback provided on Saturday.
Not only his 72.0 rushing grade on 15 carries for 69 yards showcases development, but the veteran also provided an 82.0 pass blocking grade, giving Vernon Adams Jr. valuable time to find the receivers deep.