The CFL playoff race is shaping up to be a tight race. In the West, Winnipeg holds first place due to a tiebreaker over BC with both teams having 7 wins. Saskatchewan and Edmonton both have 5 wins with Calgary close behind with 4. Edmonton has risen from the ashes of a 0-7 start to bring their record to 5-8.
In the East, Ottawa is now only a game and a half behind Montreal for first in the East. Hamilton is last in the league with a 3-9 record but despite being on the bye last week did not see the distance to third place increase. They still trail Toronto by 3 games and are 2 and a half games behind Saskatchewan for the possibility of a Western crossover.
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – The BC Lions took the Crown by defeating the Montreal Alouettes 37-23. The Lions will defend the Crown this Friday as they host Toronto.
Court Jester 🃏 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders were unable to pass the title of Court Jester off as they lost to Winnipeg 21-26. Saskatchewan will be on the bye this week.
If a team defeats the Crown Holder they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder.
If a team loses to the Court Jester they become the new Court Jester thus freeing the previous team from being the Court Jester.
#1 Montreal Alouettes (10-2)
Previous Rank: 1
Week 13: Bye week.
Week 14: Lost to BC 23-37 at home.
Week 15: Visiting Calgary on Saturday.
The Montreal Alouettes fell at home for the 2nd time this season by a score of 23-37 to the BC Lions. Cody Fajardo completed 27 of his 37 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception. Cole Spieker caught 6 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown over the shoulder just before halftime. Montreal’s run game was essentially absent as the Alouettes only handed Walter Fletcher the ball 6 times who rushed for 21 yards, 3.5 yards per carry. Fletcher was the recipient of 8 short passes that he turned into 72 yards, 69 of which were YAC.
On defense, Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund got the quarterback for 2 sacks and Tyrice Beverette had one as well. 3 players recorded an interception which came from Bryce Cosby, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, and Dionte Ruffin.
Montreal will look to refocus on the road against Calgary on Saturday.
#2 Ottawa RedBlacks (8-3-1)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 13: Lost to BC 12-38 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Toronto 41-27 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
Ottawa had a strong win last week over the Toronto Argonauts 41-27. Dru Brown completed 30 of his 40 passes for 349 yards with 1 touchdown. Dominique Rhymes had over 130 yards in a game for the 2nd time this season as he caught 10 passes for 138 yards. Andre Miller made a big impact as well in what was just his 2nd CFL game as he caught 5 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Khalan Laborn made his CFL debut as he rushed 10 times for 47 yards and a touchdown, 4.7 yards per carry.
The RedBlacks generated 6 sacks in the game, 4 from defensive linemen including Cleyon Laing, Aidan John, Lorenzo Mauldin, and Michale Wakefield. Bennett Williams and Davion Taylor also had a sack. Alijah McGhee led the team in tackles with 11 and had an interception. Brandin Dandridge also had a pick and Damon Webb had 2 interceptions.
Ottawa will look to keep the good times going as they hit the road next week to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who will be rested after a bye week.
#3 B.C. Lions (7-6)👑
Previous Rank: 4
Week 13: Defeated Ottawa 38-12 at home.
Week 14: Defeated Montreal 37-23 on the road.
Week 15: Hosting Toronto on Friday.
The BC Lions became the 2nd team to defeat the reigning Grey Cup Champs this season as they won in Montreal 37-23. Nathan Rourke completed 22 of his 28 passes for 304 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. 2 of the interceptions were on tipped balls. Alexander Hollins led the team in receiving as he caught 6 passes for 78 yards. Ayden Eberhardt had the touchdown. William Stanback had a fantastic game in his return to Montreal as he rushed 20 times for 128 yards, 6.4 average, with 1 touchdown. Stanback also caught 2 passes for 28 yards. Stanback has been impressive this season in extending runs far beyond the first point of contact on his runs. Offensive lineman Kory Woodruff started at left guard making his season debut and by my count did not allow any pressures.
Four different Lions recorded a sack which came from Christian Covington, Sione Teuhema, Tibo Debaillie, and Jonah Tavai. TJ Lee had an interception which came in the 4th quarter.
BC will look to pick up their third straight win on Friday as they host the Toronto Argonauts.
#4 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-6)
Previous Rank: 3
Week 13: Defeated Saskatchewan 35-33 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Saskatchewan 26-21 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won both the Labour Day Classic and the Banjo Bowl over their rivals for the 2nd year in a row. The Bombers won last week 26-21. Zach Collaros completed 24 of his 31 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown. Kenny Lawler caught 6 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Brady Oliveira was limited by his standards as he rushed 11 times for 41 yards, 3.9 yards per carry. Oliveira added 60 yards receiving on 6 receptions.
Michael Griffin led the team in tackles with 6. Canadian defensive back Tyrell Ford had 2 interceptions including one late in the game that secured victory for the W in the W.
Winnipeg now holds first in the West and will have a bye this week.
#5 Edmonton Elks (5-8)
Previous Rank: 7
Week 13: Defeated Calgary 35-20 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Calgary 37-16 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
The Commonwealth Curse is Broken (again)! The Elks had another big win last week as they defeated the Calgary Stampeders 37-16. Edmonton has now won 5 of their last 6 games which has seen them blitz back into the playoff race after an 0-7 start. McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 15 of his 25 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Eugene Lewis led the team in receiving with 6 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Hergy Mayala caught 2 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. The Elks continue to see success with a committee approach to the run game with contributions from multiple backs. Last week Kevin Brown rushed 12 times for 91 yards (7.6 average), Javon Leake 10 times for 55 yards (5.5 average), and Justin Rankin rushed 4 times for 34 yards (8.5 average). Receiver Tevin Jones also had a rush which was a 13-yard touchdown.
Calgary changed their quarterback for this contest and the Elks defense turned into carnivorous Elks and ate him. The Elks did not allow a touchdown while generating 5 interceptions. Devodric Bynum had 2 interceptions. Nick Anderson, Loucheiz Purifoy, and Kai Gray all had an interception as well. Noah Curtis had the lone sack of the game for the Elks.
#6 Toronto Argonauts (6-6)
Previous Rank: 5
Week 13: Lost to Hamilton 28-31 on the road.
Week 14: Lost to Ottawa 27-41 on the road.
Week 15: Visiting BC on Friday.
The Toronto Argonauts lost on the road to Ottawa 27-41 last week. Chad Kelly completed 36 of his 56 passes for 463 yards and 3 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. It was the second week in a row in which Toronto’s opening drive ended on an interception. Ottawa’s first 2 touchdowns in the games were pick 6s. David Ungerer III led the team in receiving with 8 catches for 131 yards. Makai Polk caught 7 passes for 105 yards in his first CFL game over 100 yards. Damonte Coxie had 6 catches for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Toronto only handed the ball off to Ka’Deem Carey 5 times who rushed for 46 yards, 9.2 yards per carry. It was the game in which Toronto ran less than any other game so far this season. Toronto passed 56 times while giving it to the RB just 5 times making for a 1-dimensional offense. Often times abandoning the run can lead to problems in pass protection and Toronto gave up 6 sacks in this game.
Royce Metchie and Isaac Darkangelo tied for a team-leading 8 tackles. Milton forced a fumble that resulted in a turnover late in the 4th quarter but the game was too far out of reach at that point although the turnover did lead to a touchdown.
The Argos will travel to take on the BC Lions on Friday.
#7 Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-7-1) 🃏
Previous Rank: 6
Week 13: Lost to Winnipeg 35-33 at home.
Week 14: Lost to Winnipeg 21-26 on the road.
Week 15: Bye week.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders lost a close game last week. That’s beginning to be too common of a sentence for Rider Nation to hear. Saskatchewan has now gone 7 games without a win and are in danger of falling out of playoff positioning. Last week Trevor Harris completed 21 of his 33 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Kian Schaffer-Baker had a strong game catching 6 passes for 120 yards. Samuel Emilus and KeeSean Johnson had the touchdowns. Frankie Hickson rushed 9 times for 46 yards, 5.1 yards per carry.
Jameer Thurman had 7 tackles. Miles Brown and Bryan Cox Jr. both had a sack.
Saskatchewan will have a bye week to prepare for their week 16 matchup on the road against Calgary.
#8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-9)
Previous Rank: 9
Week 13: Defeated Toronto 31-28 at home.
Week 14: Bye week.
Week 15: Hosting Ottawa on Saturday.
Hamilton was on the bye last week. They will hope to build on week 13’s 31-28 win over Toronto when they host the Ottawa RedBlacks on Saturday. Hamilton has allowed the most points defensively in the league while on offense they lead the league in total yards per game. They have the most pass attempts in the league while also having the fewest rushing attempts. If Hamilton can tighten up their defense moving forward and mix in a healthy run game to their offense it would not surprise me to see them go on a run and take a crack at making the playoffs.
#9 Calgary Stampeders (4-8)
Previous Rank: 8
Week 13: Lost to Edmonton 20-35 at home.
Week 14: Lost to Edmonton on the road 16-37.
Week 15: Hosting Montreal on Saturday.
The Calgary Stampeders are having a tough go of it lately. In week 13 Jake Maier had 1 touchdown with 4 interceptions. Last week the Stamps started Logan Bonner at quarterback and he completed 21 of his 36 passes for 284 yards with 5 interceptions. Calgary did not score a touchdown in the 16-37 loss to Edmonton last week who has now passed them in the standings after defeating them in back-to-back weeks. Reggie Begelton led the team in receiving with 8 catches for 123 yards. Jalen Philpot caught 4 passes for 57 yards. Dedrick Mills rushed 14 times for 65 yards (4.6 average) and Peyton Logan rushed 5 times for 25 yards (5 average). In hindsight, it may have been beneficial for Calgary to be run heavy in Bonner’s first CFL start.
On defense, Branden Dozier had a team-leading 8 tackles. Charles Wiley had the sack. Mike Rose had an interception.
Calgary will be on the bye next week to figure out how they will rebound for week 16’s match against Saskatchewan.
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