B.C. Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke has been named the CFL’s top performer for Week 16, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The Canadian pivot earned a grade of 93.4 in his team’s 52-23 win over the Calgary Stampeders. Rourke completed 20-of-24 passes (83.3 per cent) for 331 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing six times for 43 yards and three majors. Amidst the performance, he moved past Russ Jackson to set a new single-season passing yardage record for a homegrown QB (3,935) and surpassed Doug Flutie for eighth on B.C.’s all-time passing leaders chart.
Toronto Argonauts’ defensive end Andrew Chatfield Jr. had the top defensive performance of the week, recording a grade of 88.9 in his team’s 21-19 loss to Montreal. The 26-year-old did not record a single tackle on 38 total defensive snaps, but helped generate the pressure that led to four sacks for his team.
The Ottawa Redblacks had the top offensive line unit, grading out at 72.4 overall in their 26-18 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Right guard Jacob Ruby led the way with an individual grade of 72.6.
The CFL partnered with PFF for the first time ahead of the 2023 season. The company uses game footage to review every player on the field and grades their individual performances on a scale from zero to 100.
The league unveils the top-graded players from PFF each week. Offensive and defensive players must play a minimum of 25 snaps to be eligible, and special teams players must play at least 10. Ties are broken by the number of snaps played.
The top-graded players from each position were as follows for Week 16.
- QB | Nathan Rourke | BC | 93.4
- RB | Zander Horvath | BC | 79.7
- REC | Keon Hatcher Sr. | BC | 90.9
- OL | Jacob Ruby | Ottawa | 72.6
- DL | Andrew Chatfield Jr. | Toronto | 88.9
- LB | Adarius Pickett | Ottawa | 85.3
- DB | Deatrick Nichols| Winnipeg | 78.4
- RET | Erik Brooks | Calgary | 82.9
- K/P | Marc Liegghio | Hamilton | 85.4
- ST | Jake Kelly | Winnipeg | 91.9
Below are the top-graded offensive and defensive performances of the season, dating back to Week 1.
- 99.3 | W9 | DL | Willie Jefferson | Winnipeg
- 93.4 | W15 | QB | McLeod Bethel-Thompson | Montreal
- 93.4 | W16 | QB | Nathan Rourke | BC
- 93.2 | W11 | QB | Nathan Rourke | BC
- 93.0 | W7 | QB | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan
- 92.6 | W7 | DB | Destin Talbert | Hamilton
- 92.6 | W14 | RB | Justin Rankin | Edmonton
- 92.2 | W15 | REC | Tyson Philpot | Montreal
- 91.6 | W13 | DL | Malik Carney | Saskatchewan
- 91.6 | W3 | QB | Davis Alexander | Montreal
