CFL Week 19 Recap: Who Wants it Less?

The 2023 CFL season is coming down to the home stretch, and usually, those last moments are full of nail-biting playoff races. The number of them is a variable; there could be a plethora of teams competing for about two or three spots, or all could be settled and the teams are just ready to either prepare for next year, or get ready for the postseason. In the case of this CFL season, a lot is settled, especially entering Week 19...except for one thing.

The Saskathchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders have been battling for the one remaining playoff spot, and from the looks of it, neither of them seem to want it. Their head-to-head battle, their last of this season, was the only really important game during Week 19, and for the struggling Roughriders, all they needed to do was win this game and they'd be in. They would be off to either Winnipeg or Vancouver, and they had a pretty big advantage in Calgary...until they didn't.

Saskatchewan's double digit lead went kaput. The Stampeders came back and actually won 26-19. The spot's still up for grabs, even after the Riders had so many chances. Neither of them wants that spot. It is an absolutely crazy race that may need both of the final weeks. More on that later.

Outside of the Riders and Stamps battle to be (possibly) blown out in the Western Semifinal, the only other game with some semblance of playoff relevancy was the BC Lions on the road against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Both teams were looking for good positioning; the Tiger-Cats still had a chance to host the Eastern Semifinal, while the Lions looked to keep pace with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The game was high-scoring and very close, with BC needing a last second field goal to get the victory; 33-30 was the final score.

Thanks to Hamilton's loss, the Alouettes/Elks game became meaningless, as the Als were now locked in at second place in the East, and would host the Eastern Semifinal against Hamilton. The Alouettes won their game in Edmonton, 35-21, while the Toronto Argonauts won, 40-27, over the Ottawa Redblacks.

With two weeks remaining, here's how things stand. The idle Winnipeg Blue Bombers remain at 12-4, though the BC Lions improved to 12-5 and are close to possibly taking the division. The Saskatchewan Roughriders' sixth straight loss dropped them to 6-11, while the Calgary Stampeders improved to 5-11, and the Edmonton Elks are 4-13. The Riders' loss in Calgary not only screwed them, it pretty much killed their season. Calgary has the head-to-head tiebreaker over them, and Saskatchewan's season could end as early as Week 20. If that elimination happens, the Riders will have no one to blame but themselves. They had so many chances. So many chances.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts improved to 14-2, the Montréal Alouettes are 10-7, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dropped to 8-9, and the Ottawa Redblacks are 4-13. Everything is signed, sealed, and delivered in the East Division. All that's left to determine is the possibility of seeing two sub-.500 teams in the playoffs.

As for the playoff picture, we know just a bit more now. It will be the Alouettes hosting the Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Semifinal, with the winner heading to Toronto. The West still needs some things to settle. We don't know where the Western Final will take place. We don't know where the Western Semifinal will take place. We do know that either the Roughriders or the Stampeders will be heading to Winnipeg or Vancouver for the Western Semifinal on Saturday, November 4.

Week 20 is the first of back-to-back three-game weeks that will end the regular season, and on Friday, October 20, the week will kick off in Vancouver with the BC Lions hosting the Calgary Stampeders. On Saturday, October 21, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the Toronto Argonauts, and that will be followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Edmonton Elks.

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