CFL Week 6 Recap: It Ain't Over 'til It's Over

Week 6 of the 2023 CFL season was absolutely full of such nail-biting drama. Pretty much every game went down to the last possession, all of them were close. We have the CFL's rules to thank for this, because they create the mayhem and chaos that we love to see in this league. All four Week 6 games had their drama, but the best of the four had to be the battle between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.

It started off as another beatdown for the Bombers, as the Redblacks could not find an answer for Winnipeg for the most part. Ottawa was down 25-6 entering the fourth quarter, and when they kicked a field goal, I figured, "Well, at least the score looks better." The Redblacks defense held, and then they finally found the end zone, but even after the two pointer, they needed to do it again with less than a minute left. Ottawa's been in this movie before. Down 8, final drive, QB runs, falls short. Here we go again, this time, QB run...goes all the way! Two pointer is successful, and we have overtime.

Ottawa won the toss, but deferred, allowing Winnipeg to have the ball first. Thanks to good defense from the Redblacks, the Bombers had to settle for a field goal to go up three. Ottawa's turn saw a six yard run on first down, but after that, Dustin Crum would strike again. Kept the ball, ran the remaining 29 yards for his second clutch touchdown of the game, and that's all she wrote! Redblacks won 31-28, in overtime, an amazing comeback win for Ottawa.

Poor Edmonton. Can't win Stanley Cups even with their best player since some guy who wore #99. Can't win home football games. 20 straight home losses. That's how Week 6 began. The Elks did have a late burst in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. Edmonton lost, 37-29, to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, giving them their 20th straight home loss. The streak is tied for the longest home losing streak in sports, sharing the embarrassing nod with the St. Louis Browns, who lost 20 straight home games from June 3 until June 7 of 1953, which was the team's final season in St. Louis before they moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. One-third of their season is finished, and they are still looking for their first win of the season, while it looks like the playoffs are definitely out of the picture.

The Toronto Argonauts and the Montréal Alouettes engaged in an epic East Division clash on Friday night. This is the one I was looking forward to. First meeting between the clubs since last year's Eastern Final in Toronto, and I've said many times that Montréal appears to be the Argos' main rival in the East. This game proved that statement to be true, even though the Alouettes came up short. It was a back and forth battle as I expected, because, again, these two teams are evenly matched. It looked like the Als would have a chance to force overtime when Boris Bede's field goal went wide left for a rouge, but the defense clinched it with an interception. Toronto won, 35-27, striking first in the 2023 season series.

Week 6 ended with another nail-biter, this time in the West. The Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders faced off, and one thing I've noticed: it's always interesting when these two teams face each other. This meeting was not any different. Similar to the first half of the Saturday doubleheader, this game saw a blown lead, as Calgary was up big only to end up behind by one very late. Thankfully, the Stamps did not suffer the same fate as the Blue Bombers; they got into FG range, and Rene Paredes nailed it in the final seconds, giving the Stamps a 33-31 victory.

So after six weeks, here's how things stand. In the West Division, thanks to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' choke job, the BC Lions stand alone atop the division at 4-1 (they were idle in Week 6), while the Bombers dropped to 4-2. The Saskatchewan Roughriders dropped to 3-2 with their loss to the Calgary Stampeders, who improved to 2-3. The Edmonton Elks, as I said earlier, are now 0-6 to start the 2023 season.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts are still unbeaten at 4-0, and it's a commanding lead over the rest of the division, as the other three teams are all 2-3. Via tiebreaker, it's the Montréal Alouettes who sit in second place, thanks to their 2-1 divisional record, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in third via the head-to-head edge, meaning that, despite their comeback win, the Ottawa Redblacks are still in last place. Even so, the East has become quite interesting this season.

Week 7 begins on Thursday, July 20 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the winless Edmonton Elks. On Friday, July 21, the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will face off for the second time this season, and on Saturday, July 22, it's a Western battle between the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The week ends on Sunday, July 23, which will see the Calgary Stampeders host the Ottawa Redblacks.

If you like this story, click the heart and the subscribe button, and feel free to comment below! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!