CFL Week 18 Recap: Les Bêtes de l'Est (Beasts of the East)

You know, when it comes to discussing anything Quebec, I can't help but show off what little French I either know, or just learned. This is especially true when it comes to pro sports in Canada's largest province, as well the only province where French is the primary language. I've displayed some Francais when discussing the Expos, the team who played from 1969-2004 before moving to DC. I really do it when it comes to the Canadiens, as well as leur petit frère (their little brother), the Quebec Nordiques. And of course, part of the subject of this story, the CFL's Alouettes.

The Alouettes entered Week 18 with a chance to lock up first place in the East Division, only needing a win and an Argonauts loss. Now, I'm an Argos fan, but I conceded the division weeks ago. While the Boatmen did improve from last year, Les Alouettes were on a tear all season. They were not going to be knocked off that perch this season. No chance. The East Division scenario took place that Saturday, and on that day, the Argos lost at home to a BC Lions team looking to move one step closer to the playoffs. So all the Als needed was a win, and they absolutely tore apart the struggling Blue Bombers, to the tune of a 37-10 victory.

Prior this, Week 18 started with a very meaningless game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Redblacks--the eliminated half of the East Division. Even though Hamilton was not going anywhere, they were still happy to have this game to feast on; a 34-16 victory over the Redblacks, who have now lost 21 straight games and are 0-15 this season. No team in the modern CFL (since 1958) has ever run the table of futility. I've seen two winless NFL teams in my lifetime (2008 Detroit Lions & 2017 Cleveland Browns). In three weeks, I could be seeing my first winless CFL team.

Elsewhere, the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders battled it out in a very important game, as the Riders looked to clinch, while the Stampeders looked to move up in the race. In typical West Division fashion, this battle was back-and-forth, and high-scoring, but it would be the Stamps who won it, 37-31.

So what does the playoff picture look like entering the final three weeks?

The playoff picture is shaping up! We know that the Eastern Semifinal will be in Toronto. We know that the Eastern Final will be in Montréal. That's all we know at the moment, because while we know that the West will have the Crossover spot, we don't know which team it'll be. Hell, it looks like second place in the West (as well as hosting the Western Semifinal) is up for grabs. The Edmonton Elks have a healthy hold on first place, and will most likely stay there. The BC Lions have been rolling and have been in second place for the last three weeks, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders dropped to third place. Right now, it's the Calgary Stampeders in the Crossover spot, meaning that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are danger of actually missing the playoffs. WOW!

Week 19 is a special week in the CFL: it's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend! First off, on Friday, October 9, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will host the Edmonton Elks, and that's followed by the BC Lions hosting the still winless Ottawa Redblacks. On Saturday, October 10, the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers face off in a highly important playoff-relevant matchup, and on Canadian Thanksgiving Monday, October 12, it's the Grey Cup rematch between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montréal Alouettes!

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