CFL Week 16 Recap: Smooth Sailing

I've been watching the Canadian Football League since 2013, and every year I've watched, I've been a fan of the Toronto Argonauts. I had been quite fascinated with the city of Toronto, a very large city in Canada that has loads of pro sports history. The Blue Jays, the Raptors, and of course, the Maple Leafs. The Argos, however, had been the centerpiece of Toronto all this time, having won the prestigious Grey Cup 19 times, the most on CFL history. I've seen the Argos win three of these championships in 2017, 2022, and 2024.

The 2024 championship, our 19th, was a dominant win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and I expected 2025 to be just as explosive. As I would see, the Cup hangover kicked out asses, winning only five games last year. My excitement for the 2026 season was due to my belief that we had nowhere else to go but up. It was a rocky ride, but good news: the Boatmen are sailing to the Grey Cup Playoffs!

The abbreviated Week 16 saw the Argos needing a win and a Tiger-Cats loss to get in, and the TiCats played first that Friday against the Montréal Alouettes. No surprise, the red hot Als got the job done, 37-25, moving them one win closer to locking up first place in the East, while Hamilton is closing in on elimination. So all Toronto needed to do was defeat the Edmonton Elks, and we did! A close battle; 24-19 was the score, and with that, the Boatmen are not only playoff bound, but we'll start the playoffs at home, as we can finish no lowered than second in the East. The only other game saw the Calgary Stampeders need a last second field goal to win a high-scoring battle over the Ottawa Redblacks. 40-38 was the final score, keeping the Redblacks winless, and keeping the Stamps alive in the playoffs race.

So half of the playoff field is set; three spots clinched, three to go. The Elks' loss helps out the idle Roughriders, but they're still quite a bit behind Edmonton for first place. The defending champs remain ahead of the Lions and Blue Bombers for second place, while BC and Winnipeg are still in a third place tie, with BC holding the tiebreaker. The Bombers are in the crossover position, while the Stampeders are chasing Winnipeg.

In the East, well, there's not much there. It's only the Alouettes and the Argonauts, and that's it. It shocks me how far the Tiger-Cats are falling this season. They were 2-1, but after that? Lost nine of their next 11 games! I can't believe that this team is on the verge of elimination, which would activate the crossover for the final time in the CFL.

The playoff picture remains unchanged as a result; it would be Lions @ Roughriders in the West, Blue Bombers @ Argonauts in the East, and the Elks and Alouettes would have the byes. I have a feeling this may be the bracket once the regular season ends, but we'll see how things end up.

Week 17 will kickoff with a doubleheader on Friday, September 25. First off, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Toronto Argonauts, followed the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a possible playoff preview. On Saturday, September 26, the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks face off again, followed by the Edmonton Elks hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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