CFL Week 11 Recap: Playoff Bound

As I said before in my story about how I became a CFL fan, Canadian Thanksgiving often begins the final push for the Grey Cup Playoffs, and even in this slightly abbreviated season, it's no different. Let me set the scene: it's mid-October, the season is nearly 3/4 done, and the league's playoff races are getting intriguing. As I figured, the first playoff clinching scenario was set for Week 11, and it was a simple one: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers could get in with a win. That's all. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened to kick off Week 11.

Despite the teams being on opposing ends of the overall CFL standings, the Blue Bombers' game against the Edmonton Elks was a close one. A 3-2 Bombers lead after one quarter, which became a 10-8 lead at halftime. It was even tied at 16 entering the final frame; however, Edmonton's quest for an upset came to a bitter end with a 10-0 fourth quarter in favor of the defending Grey Cup Champions, resulting in a 26-16 victory for Winnipeg.

As a result of their seventh straight win, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers become the first team to clinch a spot in the 2021 Grey Cup Playoffs, meaning they have received the chance to defend their 2019 title in the three-week tournament. Five playoff spots remain, and two are left in the West Division.

The only East Division game in Week 11 featured the Ottawa Redblacks hosting the Montréal Alouettes, and this game was further apart than the score dictated. The Redblacks are completely lost; it becomes harder and harder to believe that this team won the Grey Cup just five years ago, and played in the Grey Cup Championship just three years ago. Ottawa committed so many turnovers and miscues, that it was a miracle that they only lost 27-16. This really should have been a blowout, but it doesn't matter; the Alouettes will definitely take the win to keep in pace in the East Division.

So my rumors and stories about the Calgary Stampeders' demise have been greatly exaggerated. The Stamps went to Vancouver for a pivotal West Division game against the BC Lions, though from what I and others saw, only the road team appeared to show up. It was 7-6 after one quarter, but after that, it was all Stampeders, all the time. The Lions had literally no answer for Calgary, who won 39-10--their third straight win. The Stampeders are 3-0 in the second half. Only the Blue Bombers have that exact same record in the second half of this season. Wow!

So that's that; only three games were played in Week 11. Here's how things stand. In the West Division, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 9-1 and headed to the playoffs. The second place Saskatchewan Roughriders are 5-4, while the left-for-dead Calgary Stampeders are now 5-5 and leapfrogged the 4-5 BC Lions for third place. The Edmonton Elks bring up the rear at 2-7. The West Division race is over. It's a foregone conclusion that the Blue Bombers will be sealed in as the #1 team in the West Division; in fact, from the looks of the standings, they could lock in that #1 spot and a bye straight to the West Final as early as Week 12. The Roughriders, Stampeders, and Lions are now in a tight race for spots in the West Semifinal, and we could see Calgary actually end up hosting that game if they continue their hot streak. As for the Lions, they've lost three straight now, they are behind the playoff line, and they go on the road for the next three games. Oh boy.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts lead at 6-3, the Montréal Alouettes improve to 5-4 and increase their hold on 2nd place in the division, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are 4-5, and the Ottawa Redblacks are a league-worst 2-8. It's still amazing that the Als have moved up in the standings while Hamilton falls a bit. Montréal also has a bit of a chance at the East lead, meaning that the final five weeks of the season will be very nail-biting, especially for this Argos fan.

In fact, next week's batch begins with a very important East Division game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Montréal Alouettes on Friday, October 22, with the winner making a drastic change to the East Division standings. This will be followed by three games taking place on Saturday, October 23: the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Ottawa Redblacks, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the BC Lions, and an important meeting between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders in the race for 2nd place in the West Division.

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