CFL Week 17 Recap: Jockeying For Positions

The CFL calendar has now turned to the month of October, which is always the final full month of the regular season. October features the last holiday of the season: Canadian Thanksgiving, which is always on the second Monday and has football scheduled. It is also the month where the last pieces of the Grey Cup Playoff puzzle are filled, and entering Week 17, two spots remain, as Week 16 saw the BC Lions, the Toronto Argonauts, and the Calgary Stampeders clinch playoff spots.

Originally, the scenarios for Week 17 were as follows: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers can clinch a home playoff game with a win or a Calgary loss, the Toronto Argonauts could clinch a home playoff game with a win or an Ottawa loss, and the Calgary Stampeders could clinch 3rd place in the West Division with a win and a Saskatchewan loss. Also, the Edmonton Elks faced elimination, as a loss and a Saskatchewan win would end the Elks season. More on the Argos later.

Week 17 actually began with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers facing each other for the last time this regular season, and it wasn't even close. It was all Bombers from beginning to end, with the back-to-back defending champs winning 31-13 over their neighborly rivals. With the win, the Blue Bombers will have a home playoff game, as they can finish no lower than 2nd in the West Division, which gives them home field in the West Semifinal. However, the Bombers can still wrap up 1st place and have that home game take place in the West Final. The Friday night doubleheader also included the BC Lions winning big over the Ottawa Redblacks, 34-19, keeping the Leos closely behind the Bombers in the West.

Saturday's action saw the Montréal Alouettes win a close affair against the Edmonton Elks, doing so by a score of 25-18, though the Riders loss actually keeps Edmonton's very faint playoff hopes alive. The Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders ended Week 17 against each other, and about the former, I mentioned that they needed a win or an Ottawa loss to get a home playoff game. As it turned out, that scenario was incorrect. A day after the scenarios were posted, the league announced that the Argos had already clinched a home playoff game, and it was due to the fact that they had clinched head-to-head tiebreakers over Ottawa and Hamilton, so Toronto could finish no lower than 2nd in the East Division. That was the good news. The bad news: the Boatmen sunk big time in Calgary, losing 29-2, with Toronto's only points coming via rouges.

So with four weeks left in the regular season, here's how things stand. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lead at 13-2, while the BC Lions improve to 10-4. The Calgary Stampeders improve to 10-5, the Saskatchewan Roughriders drop to 6-9, and the Edmonton Elks drop to 4-11. Calgary's win means that they can finish no lower than 3rd in the West Division, and for the Roughriders, it means that their only path to the Grey Cup Playoffs is via the crossover. Though if you look at the East Division, the Riders are better off. I think they'd rather deal with the Alouettes than the Lions in the playoffs.

Speaking of the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts' embarrassing loss drops them to 8-6, while the Montréal Alouettes improve to 7-7 with their road win. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats remain 4-10 due to their bye, but the Ottawa Redblacks drop to 3-11 and sit on the brink of elimination. The upper half of the East Division has now become interesting. The Alouettes gained ground on the Boatmen in the division, and it's made the final four weeks pivotal. Each team has four games left, but half of them are against each other. Even more crucial, the two head-to-head meetings take place during Weeks 20 and 21--the final two weeks of the season. Those games could decide 1st place in the East, though the good thing for the Boatmen: they only have to win one of those games to seal the deal.

Week 18 is Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada, and it will kick off on Friday, October 7 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On Saturday, October 8, the Toronto Argonauts will host the BC Lions, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have a possible chance to lock up 1st place in the West when they host the Edmonton Elks. On Monday, October 10 (Canadian Thanksgiving), the Montréal Alouettes will host the Ottawa Redblacks, and if the Als win, they will clinch a playoff spot, while the Redblacks will be eliminated.

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