CFL 'Quick Kicks' 2026: Week 19

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week nineteen of our weekly review of each week of the 2026 CFL season. ‘Quick Kicks’ brings you week-to-week news of how the games went, scores, surprises, and a general feel of ‘what we learned’ from the games.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone. Toronto took the week off, leaving four games, and all four are now in the books (dates at times referenced at Touchdown Towers are UK times), with the Thanksgiving Day Classic in Montreal on Monday closing out the weekend. In the spirit of the long weekend, each of the nine clubs also gets a moment to count its blessings, and some of them had to look rather harder than others. Special teams were at it again: a fake punt that became a pick-six, a missed convert that went the other way for two, and a kickoff return that opened the second half. Kettle on, biscuits out (or a slice of pumpkin pie, if you’re feeling festive), there’s a lot to get through.

The first game was in Hamilton, where Edmonton beat the Tiger-Cats 27-12 and, in doing so, guaranteed themselves a home playoff game for the first time since 2015, the year they went on to win the Grey Cup against Ottawa. However, back to this game.  It was not a thing of beauty. Through three quarters, the Elks had managed two field goals and a rouge, and they would punt on ten of their fifteen drives, but Hamilton’s offence was in no state to take advantage, producing just six points all night. Then came the fourth quarter, and with it the strangest play of the weekend. Trailing 14-6 with 4:28 to play, Hamilton lined up for a third-and-ten on their own 45, and punter Nik Constantinou pulled the snap down and threw an out route to Tyler Ternowski. Zach Mathis read it all the way, undercut the route and took it back 48 yards for a touchdown. If you want to know how Scott Milanovic felt about that, the replay will save you the trouble. Hamilton did get something back, Isaiah Wooden Sr. finding a seam after some missed tackles to take the next kickoff the distance, but the two-point try failed, and a late ShunDerrick Powell touchdown sealed it.

The real story was Edmonton’s defence. Malik Carney collected four sacks, a career high that leaves him one off the league lead on eleven and finished the night by stripping the ball from rookie Harrison Frost on the final play. Joel Dublanko added eight tackles, and Hamilton’s offensive line had a rough first half protecting Frost, with the only real explosive play the Ticats produced being a 43-yard screen to Larry Rountree III in the fourth quarter. Hamilton also made a questionable call before the break: facing a third-and-four on the Edmonton 45 at the three-minute warning, with Marc Liegghio, their most reliable performer this year, available for a 52-yard field goal, they went for it instead. Frost was sacked, the Elks took over on downs and kicked a field goal of their own. On the Edmonton side, the offence was patchy, with Cody Fajardo running nine times and being sacked three times, but there were good numbers lurking in the background. Austin Mack now has a career-best 1,229 receiving yards, and Fajardo sits on 4,668 passing yards with two games left, so a first 5,000-yard season is on the table.

Edmonton (12-4) host Winnipeg next Friday and need just one win from their last two games to secure first place and the right to host the West Final. Hamilton (5-12) now has a bye, then close the season at home against Ottawa on the 24th.

What they’re thankful for: Edmonton have a home playoff game at the Concrete Castle, the first in over a decade, and with it the first home playoff tailgate since tailgating began in 2016. Hamilton can be thankful that Bo Levi Mitchell has confirmed he’ll be back in 2027, that the defence has found form late in the year, and that their final game of 2026 comes against a team that hasn’t won one.

Player of the Game: Malik Carney, DE, Edmonton Elks. A career night off the edge, capped by a strip-sack on the last snap. 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble.

The second game was at BC Place, a 10 PM Eastern start that meant an early rise or a very late night for UK viewers, where the Lions beat the still-winless REDBLACKS 41-20 and clinched a playoff spot for the fourth season in a row, an impressive recovery for a team that started 1-5. It was closer than it should have been for a while. BC turned the ball over three times, Ottawa’s defence took three away between the second and third quarters, and the visitors cut the lead to three points. Then the Lions simply took over, outscoring Ottawa 20-3 over the final twenty minutes. Nathan Rourke finished with 360 yards and three touchdowns on 80.6 per cent passing, one interception aside, before giving way to Kaidon Salter in the fourth quarter. On the ground, Zander Horvath had 89 yards and two touchdowns, which puts him within one of tying Mike Pringle’s single-season CFL record, and James Butler, who has been in a lesser role since Week 9, had his best night of the year, with 141 all-purpose yards, a touchdown and a 55-yard screen late on that effectively ended it. BC finished with 531 yards and were five-for-five in the red zone, a nice answer to last week’s zero-for-four.

The Lions’ defence also had a good evening, with five sacks and four takeaways, and Darnell Sankey added eight tackles and a sack to become only the second player in CFL history, after Hall of Famer Willie Pless, with 100 tackles in three straight seasons. Special teams had their say too. Sean Whyte, with no field goals to kick after last week’s record eight, missed a convert, and Kalil Pimpleton ran it back 126 yards for two points for Ottawa. Whyte did get a cheer from the crowd late in the first half, though, when he caught a pass thrown out of bounds by Rourke and turned upfield as if he fancied his chances.

For Ottawa, the problem was the second half. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was solid enough, 71 per cent for 253 yards, a touchdown and an interception, plus two fumbles when sacked, but afterwards, for the second week running, he blamed a lack of half-time adjustments, saying this time that there simply wasn’t a plan for the second half. Daniel Adeboboye scored on an 18-yard catch, and rookie kicker Paul Geelen was four-for-four on field goals from 38, 24, 52 and 18 yards, but the offence managed only six points after the interval. Rookie quarterback Bryson Barnes got a few snaps at the end and was sacked on both without throwing a pass. It’s now 22 straight losses, with the 0-16 start equaling the 2017 Cleveland Browns & 2008 Detroit Lions for the most defeats in a single pro football season, and the Redblacks haven’t won at BC Place since October 2017. They have two games left, at home to Toronto on Friday and at Hamilton on the 24th. If they lose both, the run will stand at 24, which at least keeps it one short of the 25 set by the old Ottawa Rough Riders between 1928 and 1932, though the streak carries over into 2027, so that is only a stay of execution.

What they’re thankful for: BC can be thankful for Sean Whyte, who at 40 has no intention of retiring, and for a 1-5 start that now feels like it happened to somebody else. Ottawa can be thankful that the season ends soon, that Kalil Pimpleton exists, that Paul Geelen can kick, and that the schedule has only two games left for anyone to explain.

Player of the Game: Nathan Rourke, QB, BC Lions. James Butler is a close second, but Rourke ran the show, even with a mistake or two. 80.6 per cent, 360 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception.

The third game was in Winnipeg, where the Blue Bombers beat Calgary 33-28 in front of a sell-out crowd of 32,343, and a game that was essentially a playoff game for both sides went the way of the home side, at least for now. Zach Collaros, 38, turned back the clock, going 19-of-27 for 349 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception in the second quarter. Winnipeg had managed only 13 completions of 30-plus yards all year, and they had three in the first half alone, two of them to rookie Dorian Singer, who finished with five catches for 166 yards and now has 380 in five games. Tim White added a 41-yard grab, and touchdown passes to Ontaria Wilson and Nic Demski gave them a 17-9 lead in the first half. Calgary had a plan too, stacking the box to take away Brady Oliveira (eight carries, 40 yards), and they held the ball for over 36 minutes, but they were undone by special teams. Trey Vaval opened the second half with an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, only the second kickoff-return touchdown Calgary have surrendered this season, and Sergio Castillo went four-for-four on field goals.

Calgary kept fighting. Deonta McMahon scored twice, once on a six-yard run and once on an outlet pass that he took through a would-be tackler, and Vernon Adams Jr. brought them within two points late in the third quarter, only to be stopped short on the two-point attempt. A later two-point try failed, and an onside kick didn’t come off either. Rene Paredes, who announced his pending retirement this week, hit the upright from 46 yards in the second quarter, and Calgary scored with 17 seconds left to make the final margin look respectable. It was another defeat by less than a touchdown for the Stamps. Winnipeg’s defence forced no takeaways but was good enough: Adams didn’t complete a pass beyond 19 yards, and Calgary averaged 6.1 yards per play. There was some drama, too. Jaylen Smith delivered a huge, clean hit on McMahon in the second quarter, only to be hurt himself early in the second half, and he didn’t return.

The result leaves Winnipeg (8-8) and Calgary (8-9) level on 16 points with Saskatchewan (8-8), who lost in Montreal on Monday, in a three-way fight for what’s left in the West. Calgary would be in if both Winnipeg and Saskatchewan lose out, but a loss to BC next week ends their season if both of those teams win again, and even a win may not be enough if Winnipeg win once and Saskatchewan twice. The Bombers, meanwhile, almost certainly played their last home game of 2026, which may have been the last in Winnipeg for several long-serving veterans, perhaps including that 38-year-old quarterback, although he has said he wants to play on in 2027.

What they’re thankful for: Winnipeg can be thankful for Collaros, who still has plenty of throws left in that arm, for Dorian Singer and Trey Vaval, and for fans who finished the year at 99.4 per cent capacity, a record 321,356 across ten home games, with PA announcer Bob McGregor marking his 300th game along the way. Calgary can be thankful for Vernon Adams Jr., who came into the weekend with a league-high 34 touchdown passes and only five interceptions, for the career of Rene Paredes, a certain Hall of Famer, and for a crossover race that is still, just about, alive.

Player of the Game: Zach Collaros, QB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Dorian Singer and Trey Vaval both deserve a mention, but this was the veteran at his best when his team needed it most. 19-of-27, 349 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception.

The fourth game was the Thanksgiving Day Classic at Percival-Molson Stadium, a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup, and Montreal got a little bit of revenge, beating Saskatchewan 44-24 to complete a perfect home season. It was tight early. The Riders opened the scoring with a field goal after Marcus Sayles intercepted Davis Alexander, but the Als answered with a touchdown drive and led 17-13 at the break. Then, after Brett Lauther made it 17-16 with a 51-yard field goal, Alexander threw touchdowns on three straight drives: a spectacular 46-yarder to Tyson Philpot, a 51-yard throw on the run to Charleston Rambo, and a five-yard play-action pass to Tyler Snead. The Riders never recovered. Alexander finished 26-of-33 for 403 yards, five touchdowns and that one interception, his fifth 400-yard game of the year and his second in as many weeks, and he now leads the league with 5,257 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes. Snead, Rambo, Philpot and Jerreth Sterns each topped 75 receiving yards, with Rambo getting 96 on just two catches, both of them touchdowns. Alexander also ran more than usual, and completed a pass to Stevie Scott III while being dragged to the ground, which was something to see.

Montreal also fixed a habit. After struggling in third quarters for much of the year, they turned a 24-10 lead into 31-10 against Winnipeg last week and a 17-13 lead into 31-16 here. On defence, Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, who took over in the middle from Darnell Sankey (the man we praised earlier for his tackling record in a BC shirt), had six tackles and an interception. For Saskatchewan, it was the same old story: head coach Corey Mace said the game was winnable at the break but that the second half fell apart, with too many explosive plays given up, and Sayles agreed that the defence wasn’t good enough. The Riders have now lost four in a row and sit at 8-8, but they still control their own destiny: win at home against Montreal next Saturday and Edmonton on the 24th, and they’re in.

What they’re thankful for: Montreal can be thankful for a little Grey Cup revenge, a perfect home record, a quarterback who leads the league in passing yards, and Cantin-Arku, who has filled Sankey’s shoes better than anyone expected. Saskatchewan can be thankful that their fate is still in their own hands, and that the two games that decide it are both at Mosaic Stadium.

Player of the Game: Davis Alexander, QB, Montreal Alouettes. Five touchdowns, more than 400 yards, and a pass completed while being pulled to the turf. 26-of-33, 403 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception.

The State of Play

So that’s Week 19 filed away. Edmonton are now guaranteed a home playoff date and a win away from first place; BC are in and could still catch them, and Montreal and Toronto have the East sorted out between them, with Toronto locked into second and hosting the East Semi-Final on 31st October. Out west, it’s Winnipeg, Calgary and Saskatchewan fighting for what’s left, and the Riders, on a four-game losing streak, still control their own fate with two home games to play. Hamilton are out, Ottawa are winless, and the schedule has not been kind to either.

That leaves one club to count its blessings, because Toronto spent the weekend on the sofa. They can be thankful for a bye, with 12 days between games for Chad Kelly’s throwing hand to heal, and an East Semi-Final at BMO Field already booked.

Next week, the pick for UK viewers is Montreal’s return trip to Regina on Saturday, kicking off at a very reasonable 8 PM UK time (3 PM ET), with the Riders needing a win to stay in control of their own playoff fate. For the night owls, Toronto visit Ottawa at midnight UK time on Friday night (7 PM ET), with Chad Kelly expected back and the Redblacks desperate to avoid 0-17. Elsewhere, Winnipeg visit an Edmonton side one win from a bye, and Calgary host BC on Saturday in a game that could decide their season.

Until next week, CFL friends!

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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