CFL Week 5 Recap: Black Sheep

Week 5 of the 2022 CFL season only consisted of three games due to 3/4 of the East Division being idle. So all three games emanated from the Western half of Canada, beginning with this season's second Battle of Alberta meeting...which was over at opening kickoff. The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Edmonton Elks by a score of 49-6. Yes, you read that right: 49-6. Blowout games like this are immensely uneventful, but if there was any highlight, it was Peyton Logan returning a missed field goal 122 yards all the way! That's the beauty of the CFL, you see numbers like 122 when it comes to returns. Other than that, it was basically the Elks being picked apart by their provincial rivals.

The only East team in action was the Ottawa Redblacks, who were still looking for their first win of the season. They would not get it, though; they were defeated, 28-13, by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, improving the West Division's record over the East Division to 12-1 this season. Ironically, the one loss belongs to the Riders, who lost to the Montréal Alouettes in Week 3. The week ended with another West Division battle between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions, and this one wasn't close either. The Bombers totally tamed the Lions in Vancouver; a 44-23 victory over their West Division foes.

So let's take a look at the standings. First, the West Division. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 5-0 and mean business. They want that third straight Grey Cup, and I don't really see anyone getting in their way. The Calgary Stampeders are 4-0, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are 4-1, and the BC Lions received their first loss of the season and drop to 3-1. And then, there's the Edmonton Elks at 1-4. I've been wondering about the Elks. As strong as the West Division has been, the Elks seem to be the black sheep of the division. They had a terrible 2021 campaign, and it looks like this year won't be any different, even though the season's only a quarter in the books. The Elks have plenty of time to try to turn it around, but if 2021 is any indication, it looks like they'll be the only West team out of the hunt.

As for the East Division, well, nothing really changes much with only the Ottawa Redblacks playing that week. The only change is that the Redblacks and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are tied for last place at 0-4. The Toronto Argonauts are still the best of the worst at 1-2, while the Montréal Alouettes stand at 2nd place at 1-3. That's what I find so humorous about the dilapidated state of the East Division this season--at least two teams from this division will be in the playoffs. And yes, it will be two, because as bad as the teams are, the crossover will definitely come in to play this season. Even crazier, the top two teams will have home playoff games, which means that we could see (for example) a 12-6 West crossover team on the road against a (for example) 7-11 East team. The CFL never disappoints!

Week 6 will kick off on Thursday, July 14 with the Montréal Alouettes hosting the Edmonton Eskimos, followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Calgary Stampeders in a battle of unbeatens on Friday, July 15. The doubleheader on Saturday, July 16 will feature the Toronto Argonauts hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders, followed by the Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats battling each other in an attempt to get their first win of the season.

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