CFL Week 15 Recap: Beasts of the East

In the 15th and penultimate week of the CFL season, not only could the Grey Cup Playoff picture become complete, but literally everything could be locked in. All four games in the Week 15 schedule had some semblance of playoff relevancy, and the vital week began with an East Division battle between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The scenario entering that game was simple. The winner enters the final week as the first place team in the East Division. The Tiger-Cats would get first place via tiebreaker, as well as clinch a home playoff game. For the Argos, it's much bigger. A win or a tie would lock the Boatmen in at first place in the East Division, and regarding their final meeting of the regular season, it was all Argos. The Tiger-Cats offense couldn't do a thing against the Argos, who went up 14-0 at the half, and saw their first drive of the 2nd half result in a field goal, though half of the 3rd quarter was killed off. By the time Hamilton found the end zone, it was too late. The Argonauts won, 31-12, and as a result, they are locked in at first place and will host the East Final on December 5. It will be the first time that the Argonauts will host the East Final since 2017, which saw the Boatmen win the Grey Cup.

Next up, the Calgary Stampeders faced off against the BC Lions in a very important game for both teams. Another simple scenario. Stamps are in with a win or a tie, Lions need to win to stay alive. This was a close one in Vancouver, though the Stamps started to run away and lead by 10 late. BC needed 10 points in the worst way, but also needed an onside kick in between. With under a minute left, the Lions reached the depths of the red zone, but instead of kicking the field goal on 3rd and 10, they opted to go for it. Mike Reilly's run stopped one yard short, and with that, the Stamps sealed their 33-23 win. The Stampeders are in the playoffs, and as for the Lions, their seventh straight loss ended their season.

Saturday's action kicked off with the second straight meeting between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Montréal Alouettes. The Alouettes still had a shot at a home playoff game, but a loss would lock them in 3rd place in the East Division. However, they faced a Bombers team who had nothing left to play for, and it resulted in the defending Grey Cup Champions being lax and resting up for the playoffs, leading to the Als winning 28-14. The second game featured the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting the Edmonton Elks, a close affair that ended with the Riders winning 29-24 and locking themselves in at 2nd place in the West Division, which gives them home field in the West Semifinal.

So Week 15 ended with almost everything settled. We now know that the Division Finals will emanate from Toronto and Winnipeg on December 5. As for the Division Semifinal games, the East game will feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats facing the Montréal Alouettes, and the West game will feature the Saskatchewan Roughriders facing the Calgary Stampeders. However, while the Riders will host the West Semifinal, it is still not known where the East Semifinal will emanate from. The Tiger-Cats and Alouettes are tied at 7-6 entering the final week, meaning that home field in that playoff matchup will be settled in Week 16.

Week 16 will kick off on Tuesday, November 16 with the Toronto Argonauts hosting the Edmonton Elks. On Friday, November 19, the Montréal Alouettes will host the Ottawa Redblacks, and the Elks will head to Vancouver to face the BC Lions. The regular season will end on Saturday, November 20 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders, followed by the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the regular season finale.

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