CFL Week 14 offensive line rankings: Winnipeg rises to No. 1

• A new No. 1: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive line helped pave the way for 2.8 yards before contact, eight explosive rushes and 263 rushing yards in Week 14.

• Alouettes falls to second place: They provided just 0.4 yards before contact last week, the lowest mark in the CFL.

• The Argonauts move to the top three: It was a near-perfect week in pass protection for the Argos offensive line. The unit allowed just one pressure on 30 pass-blocking snaps.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Few things are more important to a team’s success than the quality of its offensive line. Disastrous lines, or even disastrous mismatches of weak links, can determine the outcome of games, while strong units give an incredible advantage to an offense.

This CFL season, we’ll track PFF’s offensive line grades and highlight the weakest player and their next opponent to identify any obvious matchup advantages one way or another.

Key:
Red text = weakest link

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (up to 1)

Lieutenant Stanley Bryant
LG Geoff Gray
Chris Kolankowski
RG Patrick Neufeld
RT Jermarcus Hardrick

• In a stellar week, the Blue Bombers regain first place in the standings. Winnipeg’s offensive line helped pave the way for 2.8 yards before contact, eight explosive rushes and 263 rushing yards in Week 14. The rushing yardage total was the highest single-game mark in the CFL this season.
• Normally solid Jermarcus Hardrick struggled this week. He allowed four total pressures and a 15.4% pressure rate, earning a pass blocking grade of 27.0.

Next week: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

• Interior defender Casey Sayles racked up six quarterback pressures last week, earning a 74.2 pass rush rating.

2. Montreal Alouettes (below 1)

Lieutenant Nick Callender
LG Pier-Olivier Lestage
c Justin Lawrence
RG Kristian Mate
RT Jamar McGloster

• Montreal held the top spot for a long period of time, but a series of mediocre performances dropped it to number 2.
• Justin Lawrence struggled in pass protection this week, earning a 35.4 grade on 32 snaps.
• As a unit, the Alouettes couldn’t provide much space at the line of scrimmage. They gave up just 0.4 yards before contact this week, the lowest mark in the CFL.

Next week: Toronto Argonauts

• The Argos run defense was formidable against the Alouettes last week, earning a grade of 80.3 and posting an average tackle depth of 2.2 yards. They have the Alouettes again and will look to maintain those numbers.

3. Toronto Argonauts (up to 1)

LT Isaiah Cage
LG ryan hunter
C Darius Ciraco
RG Pedro Nicastro
RT Dejon Allen

• It was a near-perfect week in pass protection for the Argos offensive line. The unit allowed just one pressure on 30 pass-blocking snaps.
• All five starters earned pass-blocking grades over 72.0, and the interior three of Peter Nicastro (84.0), Ryan Hunter (83.7) and Darius Ciraco (82.2) posted grades over 82.0.

Next week: Montreal Alouettes

• The Alouettes’ pass rush was abysmal last week. Their team rating of 53.3 was the worst mark in the CFL last week.

4. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (below 1)

Lieutenant Joel Figueroa
LG Brandon Revenberg
David Barba
RG Coulter Woodmansey
RT Jordan Murray

• New right tackle Jordan Murray struggled in his CFL debut, earning a 43.3 overall grade, a 51.2 run-blocking grade and a 26.2 pass-blocking grade.
• This offensive line failed to get any push at the line of scrimmage in Week 14. The unit provided just 0.7 yards before contact on average.

Next week: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

• Defenseman Jackson Jeffcoat was a superstar last week. He earned a 92.6 pass rush grade with one sack.

5. British Columbia Lions (unchanged)

Lieutenant Jarell Broxton
LG Andrew Peirson
C.Michaek Couture
RG Sukh Chungh
Kent Perkins

• The inactive Lions remain at No. 5 this week.
• Left tackle Jarell Broston is putting together an All-Star season. He ranks third in overall grade (75.9), fourth in run blocking (76.0) and third in pass blocking (70.5) among qualified tackles.

Next week: Ottawa Redblacks

• Blessman Ta’ala was the CFL’s highest-rated pass rusher in Week 14. He earned a 93.6 grade with one sack.

6. Edmonton Moose (no changes)

LT Martez Ivey
LG David Focault
C Mark Korte
RG Tomas Jack-Kurdyla
RT Brett Boyko

• The right side of the Elks offensive line had a perfect week in pass protection. Tomas Jack-Kurdyla (84.4) and Brett Boyko (82.8) earned grades above 82.0 and allowed no pressure.
• However, Mark Korte had a tough week in protection, giving up three pressures and earning a 31.0 pass blocking grade.
• This unit paved the way for their running backs last week, helping them average 3.2 yards before contact, the highest mark in the CFL.

Next week: Saskatchewan Roughriders

• The Riders’ defense was exposed on the ground last week, allowing 263 yards and earning a team run defense rating of 54.8.

7. Saskatchewan Roughriders (no changes)

Lieutenant Eric Lofton
LG Logan Bandy
Peter Godber
RG Logan Ferland
RT Tip Brandon

• It was a tough week for Brandon Council (26.8), Eric Lofton (23.5) and Logan Bandy (21.2), who all earned pass-blocking grades below 30.0.
• The council was the CFL’s top blocker last week. He earned a grade of 85.7 and won 33.3% of his reps.

Next week: Edmonton Elks

• Mark McLaurin was solid in run defense last week. He earned a grade of 77.1 with two defensive stops.

8. Calgary Stampedes (no changes)

L.T. Brandon Weldon
LG Zack Williams
Sean McEwen
RG Ryan Sceviour
RT DJ Kitchen

• DJ Cooker was the best run blocker in this group last week, earning a 70.0 run blocking grade in 25 snaps.
• Sean McEwen (83.9) and Ryan Sceviour (81.0) each earned pass-blocking grades above 80.0.

Next week: GOODBYE