After a couple surprising outcomes last week, the East playoff picture is still not settled; the third spot remains up for grabs, of course, but even Montreal, still occupying the second seed, hasn’t clinched just yet. A win in Ottawa on Friday will change that, of course, but at least there’s a little intrigue left still in this 2022 regular season.

In league news this week:

• BC Lions QB Nathan Rourke was back at practise this week, seven weeks after surgery on his foot following a Lisfranc injury on August 19th. He’s not ready to go just yet, but Leos HC Rick Campbell said it really wouldn’t be that surprising for the team to get him back before the playoffs begin. If he really is healthy, the West playoffs just might become a lot more interesting.
• The Manitoba government announced $5.5 million in funding to help the Winnipeg Blue Bombers bid to land at least one of the 2024 and 2025 Grey Cup championships – which seems a little rich to me in these times, but I guess it’s not my direct tax dollars at play for this one, I suppose?
• The Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed DB Jordan Hoover, a former Edmonton Elk who played 13 games in 2021, recording 51 total tackles and one interception; as a Canadian, he should provide some roster ratio flexibility over the final few games of the season.
• The Edmonton Elks signed OL Samuel Thomassin, who was a second round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft by Montreal. Thomassin had a stellar USports career with the Laval Rouge et Or, but spent almost the entirety of his CFL career on the Alouettes’ practise roster. After being released in August, a guy like Thomassin seems like a cheap guy to take a flyer on for next season too.
• The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced last week that QB coach and former pivot Will Arndt would be calling offensive plays following the departure of head coach and OC Paul LaPolice, but they’ve given him some help, hiring Doug Malone as an offensive assistant for the remainder of the year. Malone has experience as an O-line specialist, having done that job in Saskatchewan in 2013-14 and BC in 2015; while on the Riders’ staff, he worked with Bob Dyce, who is currently serving as Ottawa’s interim head coach.

Onto the games!

WEEK 18 RECAPS

Saskatchewan 14 vs. Hamilton 18: Dane Evans completed fewer than half of his passes while also tossing two picks and no TDs, but the Tiger-Cats still got the job done at home and will keep their playoff hopes alive for another week. Despite an inept pass offence, Hamilton RB Wes Hills led the charge with 25 carries for 132 yards, while Seth Small kicked four field goals. More importantly, Hamilton’s defence was the clear catalyst for victory in this one – they racked up seven sacks on Riders QB Cody Fajardo, including three sacks by DE Malik Carney, while also forcing two interceptions as well, the last of which, by DB Ciante Evans, clinched the game for the Tabbies. Hamilton’s now just one game back of Saskatchewan for the final playoff spot in the East Division, and while they have a tough test this week coming up in Calgary, their final two games of the year are arguably much easier than Saskatchewan’s.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BC 20 vs. Toronto 23: After last week’s drubbing in Calgary, the Argos bounced back extremely well at home against the Lions this past week. BC had similarly clubbed Toronto 44-3 in the season, so the offensive response from Toronto was sorely needed. McLeod Bethel-Thompson made no major mistakes throwing the ball a lot, going 27-40 for 352 yards and a 37-yard TD to second-year receiver Tommy Nield; the Lions offence had some really good showings from Vernon Adams, Jr. and James Butler (21-32, 258 pass yards, 2 TDs for Adams and 9 carries for 82 yards for Butler), but unfortunately, Sean Whyte doinked the game-tying kick off the uprights, giving Toronto the ball back and letting them run the clock down over the final 90 seconds of the game. Both teams have already made the playoffs, of course, but the Lions now have matching 10-5 records with the Stampeders, making the final few weeks of the season a true dogfight to see who gets to host the West semifinal.

PICK: BC

RESULT: Toronto

Edmonton 11 vs. Winnipeg 48: If Dalton Schoen isn’t named rookie of the year this year, we riot. He’s been Winnipeg’s best receiver this season, and his most recent performance – 7 catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns (number 13, 14, and 15 on the season) – was the best of his young career. I see the NFL on the horizon for him. With the dominant victory over the lowly Elks, the Blue Bombers clinched the West Division for the second consecutive season and earned an automatic bye into the West final. In yet another dominant offensive performance by Winnipeg, all three of their QBs – Zach Collaros, Dru Brown, and Dakota Prukop – threw touchdowns in this game, while their defence limited opposing QB Taylor Cornelius to just 137 pass yards and a TD on 11-24 attempts. RB Brady Oliveira – who’s quietly had a very good season, emerging as the new #1 RB for Winnipeg – was an important contributor, running 14 times for 61 yards and a score and catching another TD as well. I expect that there will be a lot of starters resting over the final two games of the season – so we’ll see what happens with Winnipeg’s roster decisions in the weeks to come.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Ottawa 24 vs. Montreal 18: The REDBLACKS picked up a surprise win on Thanksgiving Monday – Bob Dyce’s first as interim HC – with an excellent second-half effort, scoring 17 points and neutralizing Montreal’s offence effectively. Trevor Harris threw for 338 yards on 30-38 pass attempts, but only managed a single touchdown to Eugene Lewis, in the 2nd quarter, before Ottawa’s D managed to shut him down. Nick Arbuckle rebounded from a few rough games with a really accurate performance, going 28-32 for 229 yards and an 87.5% completion percentage, moving the ball effectively up and down the field, allowing backup Caleb Evans to run in two scores from the goal line. Lewis Ward also had a solid day kicking, going 3-3 and consistently getting points on the board. With the REDBLACKS breaking up Montreal’s final drive to seal the win, which followed with some chippiness on both sides at the final whistle, it’ll be fun to see how the rivalry fares with a rematch coming up so soon.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Ottawa

BYE: Calgary (10-5)

WEEK 19 PREVIEWS

Montreal (7-8) vs. Ottawa (4-11), Friday, October 14th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): Will this be the REDBLACKS’ first home win of the season? I feel like this must be a zen koan by this point, because the answer is almost certainly “no”, and yet we can never quite be sure. Montreal has still yet to clinch a playoff spot, though they do hold a two-game lead on the Tiger-Cats with three games left, all but ensuring things – but they need to get this done so that they can focus on the postseason – preferably as the host of the East semifinal. It remains technically possible for the Alouettes to catch Toronto, but they’ll need a lot of luck on their side for this to happen.

PICK: Montreal

Hamilton (5-10) vs. Calgary (10-5), Friday, October 14th, 9:30 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): This is going to be a tough game for the Tiger-Cats. The offence remains extremely inconsistent – the coaching staff still clearly does not trust Dane Evans, which is entirely understandable – but Hamilton was fortunate to get the run game mobilized last week. Calgary continues to hum along, and coming off their final bye week of the season, have the chance to leapfrog BC to take possession of second in the West with a win here coupled with a Lions loss. Lots at stake on the table for both teams. If there’s any consolation for Tiger-Cats fans, it’s that even if the team does lose this one, they’ll have two games against Ottawa to close out the season to try and leapfrog the Roughriders, who have to close out their 2022 campaign with two contests against these same Stampeders. That’s an even tougher out than these Tabbies here, so buckle up, Saskatchewan.

PICK: Calgary

Toronto (9-6) vs. Edmonton (4-12), Saturday, October 15th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): Somehow – amazingly – Edmonton is not yet mathematically eliminated from the playoff race yet. I can’t think of a single person who expects the Elks to be there, particularly with the truly abominable state of their defensive corps, but for now, they’re still in the hunt. The Argonauts got back to basics last week and made time in the pocket for McBeth to throw – and heading into the playoffs, they’ll want to ensure the O-line play stays crisp. Edmonton, like Ottawa, is still searching for a home win. With Toronto on the schedule for this week, and BC up next before they finish on a bye, I think fans might have to wait until 2023 for this to happen.

PICK: Toronto

Winnipeg (14-2) vs. BC (10-5), Saturday, October 15th, 10:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): How many starters will the Bombers rest? That’s really the main question at play here, other than perhaps whether or not the Lions will be able to retain control of second in the West and host a home playoff game. BC faced a stout Argos’ D that was missing Wynton McManis and Shane Ray last week, and this time, if Winnipeg does play most of their starters on D, they’ll also be up against a tough task. That’s a difficult way to round out the last few weeks of the season, but at the very least, the team is going to the playoffs and finishing above .500 for the first time since 2016. That’s tremendous progress, no matter what happens in these last few games. At least the Lions won’t have to worry about Zach Collaros – the Bombers have already announced that Dru Brown will start this one for the visitors.

PICK: Winnipeg

BYE: Saskatchewan (6-10)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

x- clinched playoff spot
y- clinched division title
e- eliminated from playoff contention

Passing Yards 

1. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 4218
2. Collaros, WPG – 4115
3. Harris, MTL – 3503

Passing TDs

1. Collaros, WPG – 35
2. Rourke, BC – 25
3. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 20

Rushing Yards

1. Carey, CGY – 949
2. Oliveira, WPG – 919
3. Butler, BC – 809

Receiving Yards

1. Schoen, WPG – 1275
2. Rhymes, BC – 1241
3. Acklin, OTT – 1169

Sacks

1. Mauldin, OTT – 14
2. Lemon, CGY – 12
3. Ceresna, EDM – 10

Interceptions

1. Peters, TOR – 6
2. Peters, BC – 5
3. Kelly, HAM – 5

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 43
2. Ward, OTT – 41
3. Cote, MTL – 38

PICK POOL

Some of you are getting greedy trying to go for upsets, it seems… good luck on the final few weeks, everyone!

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=205786

Enjoy the games, everyone.