CFL Week 16 Recap: Kings of the Jungle

Detroit's Lions aren't the only ones making an impact.

Week 16 featured a pair of clinching scenarios, with one of them involving the British Columbia Lions. They had the simplest of scenarios: win and in. Even better for BC, they were facing the Edmonton Elks on the road, which seems quite easy. After all, the Elks had severe problems winning at home, even though they did end their long home victory drought this season. The Elks didn't make it easy on their West Division foes, it was pretty close throughout, but in the end, the Leos emerged victorious. 37-29 was the final score.

With the win, the Lions returned to the Grey Cup Playoffs, and they are motivated and hungry. The team was founded in 1954, but they've only won six Grey Cups in their history. In addition, their last Grey Cup Championship came in 2011, when they defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 99th Grey Cup, and their appearance a year later in the 100th Grey Cup is their most recent one. BC reached the Western Final last season, and they are looking to go a step further this year. Time will tell if Vancouver will have a huge reason to celebrate in November.

The game between the Lions and the Elks served as the second half of the Friday night doubleheader. The first half was the game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Redblacks, and for some reason, the Riders were absolutely lost. The Redblacks entered Week 16 with the league's worst record, but they did not play like it, as they dominated Saskatchewan for the most part. The Riders did attempt a comeback, but their effort was not enough, as the Redblacks won 36-28. As a result of Saskatchewan's loss, the idle Winnipeg Blue Bombers will start the playoffs at home.

The rest of the East Division played on Saturday, beginning with the Montréal Alouettes on the road against the Calgary Stampeders, with the Als easily winning, 28-11, over the lowly Stampeders. The week ended with the Battle of Ontario between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, and for the Argos, this was a meaningless game. First place in the East was locked up, so the Boatmen had nothing to play for. Meanwhile, the TiCats did have something to play for: playoff positioning in the East. Despite this, Hamilton could not capitalize on Toronto's lack of playoff urgency, and this final regular season meeting saw the Boatmen win 29-14.

With five weeks remaining in the season, here's how things stand:

In the West Division, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions are tied for first at 10-4, with the Bombers holding the tiebreaker. The Saskatchewan Roughriders drop to 6-8, while the Calgary Stampeders fall to 4-10, with only the 4-11 Edmonton Elks holding them up. From the looks of it, we do have a bit of an interesting race for third place in the West, which is the last qualifying playoff spot. The Riders do hold a bit of a sizable lead, but they need to have a good final stretch if they want to join the playoff party.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts are 12-1 and I can't believe I'm saying that. I've seen the Argos have good seasons, but nothing like this, 12-1 is a very monstrous tally. Regarding the race for second place, the Montréal Alouettes lead that battle at 7-7, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats trail at 6-8, and the Ottawa Redblacks have a bit of a pulse at 4-10.

Week 17 will end the month of September, and it will kick off with a doubleheader on Friday, September 29. First off, the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will battle it out, and that will be followed by the BC Lions hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On Saturday, September 30, the Ottawa Redblacks will host the Montréal Alouettes, followed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Calgary Stampeders.

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