CFL Week 17 Recap: Pieces Coming Together

I want to apologize for being so late with this; the NFL and especially postseason baseball kept me tied up, but I clearly have been watching and following the CFL as well. The 2023 CFL season is at the home stretch, with Week 17 occurring at the very end of September. Entering that week, three teams have locked in spots in this year's Grey Cup Playoffs: the Toronto Argonauts, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the BC Lions. During Week 17, two more spots can be clinched, and because of this, I'll start this recap with the Saturday games.

Week 17 was a tale of two stories in two days, and regarding Saturday's action, it was two teams looking to clinch playoff spots. One of them was the Montréal Alouettes, and all they needed to get in was a win. The Als were in the Capital City against the Ottawa Redblacks, who faced elimination but a lot needed to happen for that to occur. A loss definitely didn't help; the Als dispatched of the Redblacks, 32-15, and locked in a spot in this year's Grey Cup Playoffs. Montréal's win was part of what the other team looking to clinch--the Hamilton Tiger-Cats--needed. Hamilton needed a win from their division rivals, and a win of their own to get in, and after the first part of that scenario was filled, the TiCats did their part, winning 22-15 over the lowly, lowly Calgary Stampeders.

The other story took place a day prior: the battle for the West Division. Week 17 actually kicked off in Winnipeg, as the Blue Bombers faced the Toronto Argonauts, who were resting quite a few players, including QB Chad Kelly, due to the fact that the Argos clinched everything and have a lot of meaningless football to play. Despite this, the Boatmen hung in, but in the end, the Bombers handed Toronto their second loss of the season, winning 31-21. This was followed by the BC Lions easily taking care of business against the struggling Saskatchewan Roughriders, though the only reason why it ended 33-26 is because of a late attempted rally by the Riders--the Leos were crushing them at the start.

With four weeks left, here's how things stand:

As it stands in the West Division, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions stand tall with identical 11-4 records, leagues ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who dropped to 6-9. Both Alberta teams are 4-11, and regarding the Edmonton Elks, the only reason why they're somehow still alive is because of the Riders loss. As for the two teams on top, they have a big night ahead of them. More on that later.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts dropped to 12-2 (still a kick-ass record), while the Montréal Alouettes improved to 8-7, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats improved to 7-8. The Ottawa Redblacks are 4-11, but somehow, they are still alive as of now. Ottawa's only way in, however, is via the crossover.

And now, here's how the playoff picture looks like now. The Toronto Argonauts will host the Eastern Final on Saturday, November 11. The Montréal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will face each other in the Eastern Semifinal on Saturday, November 4. We do not know where the Eastern Semifinal will take place. A playoff game will be played in Winnipeg. A playoff game will be played in Vancouver as a result of BC's win. We do not know which game will be in which city. One spot remains in this year's Grey Cup Playoffs, and mathematically, it's a league-wide chase.

It is now the pivotal month of October, and Week 18 will kick off on Friday, October 6 with the Toronto Argonauts hosting the Edmonton Elks. The big game comes after that: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions duking it out for first place in the West Division. On Saturday, October 7, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and on Canadian Thanksgiving Monday (October 9), the Montréal Alouettes will host the Ottawa Redblacks.

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