Videos: CFL's on pace for record defensive scoring, thanks to phenomenal plays

We noted that CFL scoring was way up over last year after two weeks, and that's continued heading into Week Four thanks to Week Three's games averaging 55.8 points per game. As per the league's "This Week In the CFL" newsletter, CFL games are averaging 53.5 points per game; that's 26.8 points per team per game, even better than the 26.0 through two weeks and well above last year's 21.0. As we discussed last week, much of that is thanks to improved passing offences, but there's another surprising component: defensive touchdowns. The league has seen nine defensive touchdowns so far, eight of which were interceptions returned for touchdowns, and that pace would set records in both areas (63 and 54, respectively; the current respective records are 43 and 27). Here's one of those touchdowns, a spectacular 100-yard pick-six from Toronto's A.J. Jefferson off Saskatchewan's Kevin Glenn in the Argos' Week Two 42-40 double-overtime win over the Riders:

And here's another one from Week Three, where Ottawa defensive tackle Zach Evans picked off Edmonton's Matt Nichols and took the ball back 66 yards for a touchdown:

So, while the scoring is up, and while a lot of that is thanks to the play off passing offences, there are lots of defenders out there making big plays as well and producing some of the CFL's best highlights, whether they're from big linemen like Evans or smaller defensive backs like Jefferson. It's too early to conclude that this pace is actually going to lead to records, as three weeks is a very small sample size, but the impressive plays CFL defenders are making should be noted. Also, this isn't just about the players who come up with the touchdowns; on these big returns in particular, they're getting a lot of help from teammates who are quickly making the shift from defender to blocker. That ability to transition quickly has been seen many times this year, and it's a big reason for the increase in defensive touchdowns. We'll see how that holds up as the season progresses, but the CFL's defences deserve a lot of credit for what they've done so far.