A direct result of the higher-scoring brand of CFL football on display so far this season is that a number of individual offensive single-season benchmarks are under threat as we move into the second quarter of the 2026 schedule.
We’re talking about all-time records that have stood for decades, held by some of the greatest names ever to play the three-down game.
In Part I of our look at 2026 CFL record chasers, we study the quarterbacks and two Doug Flutie marks that have stood for more than three decades.
On Thursday we’ll look at which running back and receiver records could be eclipsed this season.
1. Most passing yards in a season – Doug Flutie’s 6,619 yards with the BC Lions in 1991
For all the success Flutie had as a Stampeder and an Argonaut, it was in his first full season as a starting quarterback with the B.C. Lions that Flutie set the all-time passing yards mark and was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player for the first time.
Flutie had 13 games of at least 300 yards passing in 1991 with the Lions, seven of at least 400 yards and one 500-yard game for an overall average of 367.7 yards. He played in all 18 games for an average of 367.7 yards per game.
Roughly 47 per cent of Flutie’s passing yards went to receivers Ray Alexander (104 catches, 1,605 yards) and Matt Clark (79 catches, 1,530 yards), while four others, including little brother Darren Flutie (52 catches, 860 yards), had at least 500 yards receiving. Flutie would break the 6,000-yard mark just one other time in his career, passing for 6,092 with Calgary in 1993.
Who could break it this season?
Remarkably, there are four CFL quarterbacks currently on pace to at least challenge Flutie’s single-season passing yardage mark.
Both Toronto’s Chad Kelly (6,678) and Montreal’s Davis Alexander (6,651) are on pace to break it, while Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris (6,381) and BC’s Nathan Rourke (6,313) are within striking distance.
Kelly’s passing yardage totals have dropped for three consecutive weeks after his season-opening performance of 445 against the Montreal Alouettes. Kelly also leads the league in interceptions with eight, so there remains the possibility he may want to become less aggressive to reduce his rate of turnovers.
Kelly leads all starting quarterbacks with an average of 10.5 yards per thrown and has not been reliant on any one receiver, with five Argonauts clustered with 16 to 21 receptions on the season.
Kelly leads the CFL with 12 passing plays of 30 yards or more yards and ranks second in passing plays of 20 or more yards with 31. Alexander’s 154 throws this season leads all quarterbacks, so there’s no shortage of passing volume.
His 336 yards versus Toronto in the Alouettes’ season opener is his season low and he is yet to throw an interception.
Alexander has relied heavily on two players – Tyson Philpot (587) and Tyler Snead (384) for almost two-thirds of his yardage so far this season, so an injury to either one of them could diminish his chances of catching Flutie.
Harris is the most surprising member of this list just because his career has been noted more for his accuracy and efficiency than eye-popping yardage totals.
Harris had 400-yard performances in two of his first three outings but was held to just 243 last week against Ottawa. More than 79 per cent of his passing yards so far this season have gone to three players – KeeSean Johnson, Kian Schaffer-Baker and Samuel Emilus, who all rank in the league’s top nine for yardage. Injuries to any one of those players could play a factor.
Harris’s career high for passing yards in a season came in 2017 when he threw for 4,679. Breaking Flutie’s record would require him to throw for nearly 2,000 more yards than he has in any of his previous 14 CFL seasons.
Like Alexander, Rourke has been a high-volume thrower this season, averaging more than 37 attempts per game. Rourke hasn’t gone deep as often as some quarterbacks, but leads the league with 46 pass attempts in the 10-19 yard range.
Rourke has achieved his early pace despite missing receivers Jevon Cottoy and Stanley Berryhill for three games each and Keon Hatcher, last season’s league leader in yardage, for one.
2. Most touchdown passes in a season – Flutie’s 48 TDs with the Stampeders in 1994
Flutie started 17 of 18 games for Calgary in 1994, throwing at least two touchdown passes in 14 of those games, three or more in 10 games, and four or more in five games, including one five-touchdown performance.
It’s notable that 19 of Flutie’s 48 touchdown passes went to receiver Allen Pitts, a 6-foot-4 target who is considered a CFL all-time great. Pitts’ 21 touchdown receptions that season is second only to Milt Stegall’s 23 receptions in 2002, although two of his were not thrown by Flutie, but Steve Taylor during his only start that season.
Who could break it this season?
As in the case of Flutie’s single-season yardage record, there are multiple players on pace to set or challenge for a new passing touchdown mark in Kelly (54), Vernon Adams Jr. (49) and Harris (45).
Kelly has had multiple touchdown throws in all four games so far this season. The Argos are tied for the league lead in trips to the red zone with 20, converting 12 of those into touchdowns.
The Argos have 13 passing touchdowns this season and just three on the ground so, their play-calling should give Kelly plenty of opportunities to keep finding the end zone. Five Toronto players share Kelly’s 12 touchdown throws so far this season, so he has not been overly reliant on any one of them in the red zone. Kelly had 23 touchdown throws in his MOP season of 2023.
Adams has entered the all-time TD pass conversation fresh off his six-touchdown performance against Toronto. And with nine touchdown throws in his past two games and not a single interception on the season, VA looks as locked in as ever.
Adams has always had the ability to produce some big statistical performances, including a year ago when he had four games in which he threw three touchdowns in a 21-touchdown season. His career high for a season came in 2023 with the Lions when he had 31, so challenging Flutie’s record would require a big step up.
Calgary’s efficiency in short yardage could get in the way of some of Adam’s TD passing production. The Stamps have six rushing touchdowns so far this season.
In 11 seasons as a CFL starter, Harris has just one year where he completed 30 passes to the end zone. Reaching Flutie’s record would require a jump of more than 50 per cent more touchdown passes than he’s ever achieved before.
Harris was remarkably consistent finding the end zone during his only 30-touchdown season in 2017, with 12 games featuring multiple touchdown throws. He’s managed to do that every week so far this season.
His 10 touchdown throws have been shared among five players, with Johnson, Emilus and Schaffer-Baker owning eight of them.
