CFL Beat: Week 19

I woke up this morning and didn’t have to deal with the flood waters of Hurricane Milton. That makes my week better than a minimum of three million other people’s weeks. So that’s pretty cool. As always, our best wishes to everyone dealing with this terrible storm right now – stay safe and hopefully far away. That said, I will continue to wonder aloud why anyone would ever willingly choose to live in Florida. If the past two weeks isn’t proof, I don’t know what is. Better to be here in the far north in rapidly-dropping temperatures. That’s FOOTBALL weather, baby.

In league news this week:

• REDBLACKS kicker Lewis Ward signed a three-year contract extension with the team on Monday; he’s been a longtime member and key contributor on offense to Ottawa, and his roots in the city (he played USports ball with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees) made the extension a no-brainer for both sides. He’s been one of the best kickers in the league since his arrival in 2018. Ottawa also signed QB Tyrie Adams to a one-year extension; he’s the team’s current #4, but did start and win a game for them in 2023 before blowing out his ACL – he’ll have a chance to climb up the depth chart next year if and when Jeremiah Masoli’s contract expires.
• Calgary signed former NFL quarterback PJ Walker to their practise roster; as their playoff hopes have officially come to an end, the time is now to start auditions for 2025. Walker previously spent time with a number of NFL teams, predominantly on practise squads and in training camps, but he did have an extended stay with the Carolina Panthers back in 2020, where he backed up Teddy Bridgewater and even started one game – and won.
• Saskatchewan announced that WR Shawn Bane will be out for the remainder of the 2024 season following a hit by REDBLACKS’ DB Money Hunter back in Week 17. While Bane was having a decent year, with 49 catches for 581 yards and five TDs, the Riders are fortunate to have several other receivers, including Kian Schaffer-Baker, Sam Emilus, and KeeSean Johnson, who have stepped up to take the lead in the passing game this season.

Onto the games!

WEEK 18 RECAPS

Winnipeg 31 vs. Hamilton 10: Both teams were on a hot streak entering into this game, but it makes sense that the Blue Bombers, who have been absolutely on fire for the second half of the season, halted Hamilton’s late-season rally to a playoff berth. RB Brady Oliveira led the charge for the visitors with a season-high 147 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Zach Collaros was a tidy 13-19 for 201 yards and a passing score. The Tiger-Cats’ offence, which had really come along in the last few weeks, was halted in its tracks by a strong Bomber secondary; Bo Levi Mitchell had two passes picked off, and the Tabbies struggled to move the ball consistently. Hamilton is now firmly on the outside looking in for a playoff spot; they’ll need Toronto to lose out and them to win out in order to make it in. A crossover berth to the West also feels unlikely at this point, with Saskatchewan and BC currently duking it out for the rights to host a home playoff game. BC isn’t in yet, but are getting close. For Winnipeg, one more win and they’ll have their fourth straight division title, and a first-round playoff bye.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Calgary 15 vs. BC 32: Don’t be surprised at this score when I tell you that the Lions’ offence had a pretty mediocre night. Sean Whyte hit six field goals while defensive stalwarts Mathieu Betts and TJ Lee each had defensive TDs to guide BC to victory over Calgary and officially eliminate them from the playoffs; this is all good, but it doesn’t hide the fact that Nathan Rourke did not throw a touchdown pass in this game. The Stampeders hung around for much of the game and kept it relatively close before finally falling apart in the fourth quarter; this marks the first year they’ll miss the playoffs in twenty years, bringing the longest postseason streak in North American pro sports to a close. The Lions, despite a mediocre year by their franchise standards, have now clinched a playoffs spot. Now it’s up to see if they can have a late push to host the West semifinal as the #2 seed in the division.

PICK: BC

RESULT: BC

Saskatchewan 28 vs. Edmonton 24: The Riders are now back in the playoffs, and the Elks are officially out of the race. It was a pass-a-palooza in this game, with both Trevor Harris and McLeod Bethel-Thompson tossing two interceptions each to go along with all their TD passes. Unfortunately for the Elks, it was the timing of one of those interceptions that really killed them and their season; down late, they had a chance to rally to steal back a late lead and possibly a win – but leading DPOY candidate Rolan Milligan snagged his eighth interception of 2024, crushing the Elks’ chance of a comeback and allowing the visitors to safely run down the clock and clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2021.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Montreal (11-3-1), Ottawa (8-6-1), Toronto (8-7)

WEEK 19 PREVIEWS

Toronto (8-7) vs. Winnipeg (10-6), Friday, October 11th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Argos remain the favourites to clinch the remaining playoff spot in the East, but they’re up against a white-hot Winnipeg team that’s won eight in a row. Were I a more serious betting man, I’d hesitate to put money on them. They’ve also not had an excellent time out on the road this year. Coming off a bye is nice, sure, but the Bombers really seem to be carried by the momentum they’ve built over the back half of the year. One more victory and then the Bombers can start to rest key guys in time for the playoffs. That said, if Toronto decides to lean run-heavy, they have an outside shot. But between the tremendous secondary and ferocious pass rush that Winnipeg has, I sure don’t like Sex Pest Chad Kelly’s options every time he has to drop back to throw.

PICK: Winnipeg

Edmonton (5-11) vs. Calgary (4-10-1), Saturday, October 12th, 3:00 PM EDT (CTV, CFL+): For the first time since 1949, there will be no Alberta teams represented in the post-season in Canadian football. That predates the founding of the modern CFL by almost a decade. You’re looking at arguably the nadir of Alberta football right now; with Edmonton having had its glory days in the late ’70s and early ’80s with Hugh Campbell and Warren Moon, plus again in the late 2000s with Ricky Ray, that’s a long decline. Ditto for Calgary, who had the ’90s years of Doug Flutie to go along with their 20 years of playoffs under John Hufnagel and now Dave Dickenson, plus a few Grey Cups in the 2010s. At any rate, this game is the last of an old era of football in the province. Change will be coming to both teams in a significant way. Tre Ford will start at QB for the Elks, while the Stamps will likely be auditioning their successor to Jake Maier over the next few weeks.

PICK: Edmonton

BC (8-8) vs. Saskatchewan (8-7-1), Saturday, October 12th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): This game is going

PICK: Saskatchewan

Ottawa (8-6-1) vs. Montreal (11-3-1), Monday, October 14th, 1:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The Als already have the division locked up, as well as their season series against Ottawa. The REDBLACKS could lose this game and still likely be OK to hang onto second in the East, so long as the Argos also lose this week against the Bombers. So as we get closer and closer to the end of the year, we’ll see health and injury prevention become a priority for both teams. Dru Brown was hampered by an ankle injury for the last few weeks, but after sitting against Saskatchewan and resting over a bye week, I also expect he’ll be looking closer to his normal self. We’ve really seen the REDBLACKS’ offence crater in his absence and in injury – the team has no hope of a deep playoff run if he’s not at his healthiest.

PICK: Montreal

BYE: Hamilton (6-10)

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

x – clinched playoff spot
y – clinched division
e – eliminated from playoff contention

Passing Yards

1. Mitchell, HAM – 4576
2. Collaros, WPG – 3756
3. Bethel-Thompson, EDM – 3748

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 26
2. Bethel-Thompson, EDM – 24
3. Maier, CGY – 19

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 1254
2. Stanback, BC – 1112
3. Carey, TOR – 966

Receiving Yards

1. McInnis, BC – 1244
2. Hardy, OTT – 1241
3. White, HAM – 998

Defensive Tackles

1. Morgan, EDM – 98
2. Anderson, EDM – 98
3. Beverette, MTL – 97

Sacks

1. Wakefield, OTT – 7
2. Teuhema, BC – 7
3. Ceresna, TOR– 7

Interceptions

1. Milligan, SSK – 8
2. Ford, WPG – 7
3. Ruffin, MTL – 5

Field Goals

1. Hajrullahu, TOR – 49
2. Ward, OTT – 48
3. Whyte, BC – 48

PICK POOL

I FORGOT TO HIT SUBMIT LAST WEEK AAAAAARGH THERE GOES THE SEASON FOR ME.

Sigh.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=231808

Enjoy the games, everyone.