The playoff picture continues to take shape as the playoffs at the end of the tunnel come closer. Last week saw the Hamilton Tiger-Cats emerge victorious with a 33-31 victory over Toronto, tightening the race in both divisions. The Tiger-Cats now find themselves in a stronger position for a potential playoff crossover as they close in on the third spot in the West.
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Roughriders ended a 7-game winless streak with a much-needed win over Calgary. The Stampeders now find themselves on a 6-game winless streak. Montreal continued their dominance with a 24-12 win over Ottawa. Winnipeg won a battle between two teams that have been hot lately after slow starts to the season with a 27-14 win over Edmonton.
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats stole the Crown from Toronto with a 33-31 win on the road last week. Hamilton will travel to BC on Friday.
Court Jester 🃏 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders finally got rid of the undesired title of Court Jester after holding it for 7 straight weeks by defeating the Calgary Stampeders 37-29. Calgary is on the bye this week and will travel to BC in week 18.
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 (11-2-1)
Previous Rank: 1
Week 13: Bye week.
Week 14: Lost to BC 23-37 at home.
Week 15: Tied Calgary 19-19 on the road.
Week 16: Defeated Ottawa 24-12 on the road.
Week 17: Visiting Toronto on Saturday.
The Montreal Alouettes defeated Ottawa for the 2nd time this season with a 24-12 win on the road last weekend. The Alouettes have now won their last 10 road games which is now the third-longest road win streak in CFL history. Cody Fajardo completed 16 of his 27 passes for 226 yards. Charleston Rambo led the team in receiving with 4 catches for 77 yards. On the ground, Walter Fletcher rushed 8 times for 36 yards, 4.5 yards per carry.
On defense, Tyrice Beverette had a significant impact in multiple facets as he had 7 tackles, 4 pressures, a solo run stop, a shared run stop, and a solo stop against the pass. Mustafa Johnson and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund both had a sack and 5 additional pressures. Wesley Sutton also had a sack. Dionte Ruffin and Geoffrey Cantin-Arku both had an interception. Rookie safety Arthur Hamlin also had an interception that won’t show up on the official stats as it came on a 2-point convert attempt.
Montreal will travel to Toronto on Saturday for a rematch of last year’s Eastern Final.
#2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-6)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 13: Defeated Saskatchewan 35-33 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Saskatchewan 26-21 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
Week 16: Defeated Edmonton 27-14 on the road.
Week 17: Hosting Edmonton on Friday
If I told you after last season that Winnipeg would start the season 0-4 you likely would not believe it. After the 0-4 start people had them written off but here they are atop the West once again. Last week saw them extend their win streak to 6 games with a 27-14 win over Edmonton. Zach Collaros completed 19 of his 27 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception. Ontario Wilson led the team in receiving as he caught 5 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Winnipeg had success on their ground which has been a massive reason they made it to the last 4 Grey Cups. Brady Oliveira rushed 18 times for 127 yards, 7.1 yards per carry, and 2 touchdowns.
Linebacker Tony Jones led the team in tackles with 6 and also recorded a sack and an interception. Michael Griffin had the other sack while Michael Ayers had the other interception. Deatrick Nichols forced a fumble on Edmonton’s first drive which he recovered. Celestin Haba also had a forced fumble which was recovered by Tony Jones.
A big change in Winnipeg so far this season has been Zach Collaros’ touchdown production. Collaros has 9 touchdowns with 14 interceptions and 3,123 yards. By this time last year, he had 3,480 yards with 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Winnipeg will rematch Edmonton on Friday with this contest being on their own turf.
#3 Ottawa RedBlacks (8-5-1)
Previous Rank: 3
Week 13: Lost to BC 12-38 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Toronto 41-27 at home.
Week 15: Lost to Hamilton 21-37 on the road.
Week 16: Lost to Montreal 12-24 at home.
Week 17: Visiting Saskatchewan on Saturday.
The Ottawa RedBlacks for the second week in a row saw Jeremiah Masoli come into the game in relief of Dru Brown in a loss which was their first home loss of the season. Dru Brown completed 8 of his 16 passes for 69 yards. Jeremiah Masoli completed 17 of his 26 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. Justin Hardy led the team in receiving as he caught 9 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Khalon Laborn had a strong game on the ground in his 3rd CFL appearance as he rushed 13 times for 71 yards, 5.46 yards per carry.
Lorenzo Mauldin and Tyron Vrede finished the game tied with the most tackles on the team with 5 and were both also involved in 2 run stops. Vrede also had a sack as did Michael Wakefield and Cleyon Laing. Wakefield is now tied for first in the league in sacks with 7. Brandin Dandridge was having a successful day in coverage with 4 targets coming his way with only 1 being caught for 7 yards before unfortunately sustaining an injury late in the first half. Dandridge has since missed both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practices.
Ottawa will travel to Saskatchewan to take on the Riders on Saturday.
#4 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-9)
Previous Rank: 7
Week 13: Defeated Toronto 31-28 at home.
Week 14: Bye week.
Week 15: Defeated Ottawa 37-21 at home.
Week 16: Defeated Toronto 33-31 on the road.
Week 17: Visiting BC on Friday.
Watching the Hamilton Tiger-Cats claw their way back into the playoff race has been enjoyable to watch for the sake of making the playoff race exciting. They have now won their last 3 games after a 33-31 win in Toronto last week. Hamilton is now 2 games behind Toronto for 3rd in the East and a game and a half behind Saskatchewan for 3rd in the West. Bo Levi Mitchell completed 31 of his 40 passes for 362 yards and a touchdown. Shemar Bridges caught 6 of his passes for 82 yards with Kiondre Smith catching 5 for 79 yards. Jevoni Robinson had the touchdown pass. James Butler returned to the lineup for his first game since August 10 and rushed 11 times for 58 yards, 5.3 average.
Will Sunderland led the team in tackles with 5. Mario Kendricks recorded a sack while safety Stavros Katsantonis had his first interception of the season.
Hamilton will travel to BC on Friday to take on the Lions.
#5 Toronto Argonauts (7-7)👑
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: Defeated BC 33-17 on the road.
Week 16: Lost to Hamilton 31-33 at home.
Week 17: Hosting Montreal on Saturday.
The Toronto Argonauts last week lost by 3 points or less to Hamilton for the 2nd time this season. Chad Kelly completed 17 of his 26 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception and added 19 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. DaVaris Daniels led the team in receiving as he caught 4 passes for 118 yards. Makai Polk had the touchdown reception. Toronto had 3 backs rush at least 5 times last week. Ka’Deem Carey rushed 7 times for 65 yards (9.3 average), Deonta McMahon rushed 5 times for 29 yards (5.8 average), and Daniel Adeboboye rushed 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 average).
Wynton McManis led the team in tackles with 8. Both Fraser Sopik and Jake Ceresna recorded a sack. Ceresna now has 7 sacks on the season making him tied for first in the league in that category.
Toronto will travel to Montreal on Saturday.
#6 B.C. Lions (7-7)
Previous Rank: 6
Week 13: Defeated Ottawa 38-12 at home.
Week 14: Defeated Montreal 37-23 on the road.
Week 15: Lost to Toronto 17-33 at home.
Week 16: Bye Week.
Week 17: Hosting Hamilton on Friday.
The BC Lions were on a bye last week. They will host Hamilton on Friday night.
#7 Edmonton Elks (5-9)
Previous Rank: 4
Week 13: Defeated Calgary 35-20 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Calgary 37-16 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
Week 16: Lost to Winnipeg 14-27 at home.
Week 17: Visiting Winnipeg on Friday.
The Edmonton Elks hit a speed bump slowing down their incredible turnaround that saw them win 5 games in a 6 game stretch after starting the season 0-7. Last week the Elks lost at home 14-27 to Winnipeg. Edmonton has 2 wins at home this season but their fans will hope that the Commonwealth Curse does not return as Edmonton only has 4 home wins over the last 4 seasons.
Tre Ford completed 10 of his 17 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions. McLeod Bethel-Thompson came into the game in the 4th quarter and completed 5 of hsi 10 passes for 48 yards. Dillon Mitchell and Eugene Lewis both had 44 yards receiving with Lewis having the touchdown. On the ground, Justin Rankin had a massive day as he rushed 14 times for 157 yards, 11.2 yards per carry, with his longest being for 53 yards.
Derrick Moncrief led the team in tackles with 8 and also had a sack. Darius Bratton had the interception for the team in addition to his 5 tackles.
Edmonton will travel to Winnipeg on Friday.
#8 Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-7-1)
Previous Rank: 8
Week 13: Lost to Winnipeg 35-33 at home.
Week 14: Lost to Winnipeg 21-26 on the road.
Week 15: Bye week.
Week 16: Defeated Calgary 37-29 on the road.
Week 17: Hosting Ottawa on Saturday.
Rider Nation can breathe a sigh of relief after Saskatchewan ended a 7-game winless streak with a 37-29 win on the road in Calgary. The streak was far from flattering to their record but there was only 1 game in which they lost by more than 1 score in that stretch. Last week saw Trevor Harris complete 16 of his 18 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown, an impressive 89% completion rate. KeeSean Johnson led the team in receiving as he caught 6 passes for 90 yards. Kian Schaffer-Baker caught 5 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Ryquell Armstead tore up Calgary’s run defense as he rushed 25 times for 207 yards, 8.3 yards per carry. If the Riders can keep running the ball like that they will be strong contenders to put their name in the hat to make a run at a Grey Cup.
C.J. Reavis led the team in tackles with 8 including a sack. Habakkuk Baldonado at defensive end also had a sack in what was his first career CFL start. Jameer Thurman recorded an interception in addition to his 5 tackles.
Saskatchewan will host Ottawa on Saturday.
#9 Calgary Stampeders (4-9-1)🃏
Previous Rank: 9
Week 13: Lost to Edmonton 20-35 at home.
Week 14: Lost to Edmonton 16-37 on the road.
Week 15: Tied Montreal 19-19 at home.
Week 16: Lost to Saskatchewan 29-37 at home.
Week 17: Bye week.
The Stampeders now have the longest winless streak at 6 games after losing 29-37 to Saskatchewan. When Calgary started the season 2-1 while other Western teams struggled there was a feeling of hope but now Calgary is in last place. However, they are still very much alive in the playoff race being 2 games behind Saskatchewan but with how tight the race is there will be essentially no margin for error moving forward. Last week Jake Maier completed 25 of his 31 passes for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Marken Michel caught 6 passes for 48 yards, Jalen Philpot caught 6 for 47 yards and a touchdown. Clark Barnes also had a touchdown. Calgary saw contributions on the ground from multiple players. Dedrick Mills rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Tommy Stevens rushed once for a 69-yard touchdown. Jalen Philpot also rushed once which he turned into 29 yards and Peyton Logan had a 15-yard carry.
Calgary’s 1st round draft pick defensive back Ben Labrosse led the team in tackles with 8. Kobe Williams had 7. Defensive lineman Justin Sambu had the lone sack for Calgary.
Calgary will go on the bye this week and will return to play BC on the road in week 18. Calgary will likely need to win at least 3 if not all of their remaining 4 games to make the playoffs.
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