CFL 'Quick Kicks' 2026: Week 20

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week twenty 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 what we learned. This week we learned that records can be broken, matched and, in one very important case, avoided.

Four games, a handful of playoff spots decided and one team finally, mercifully, getting off the mark. Special teams had plenty to say again too, with one kicker bowing out, one reaching a landmark and one leaving on a cart. So kettle on, biscuits out, there’s a lot to get through.

The first game was in Ottawa, and for the first time since the 5th of  September 2025, it ended with the home fans going home happy.

Redblacks 40, Argonauts 39. Read that again, because the Redblacks haven’t been able to say it for 406 days. Ottawa came in 0-16 after a 22-game losing streak, the longest in modern CFL history and the second-worst in the history of Canadian football, behind only the 25 straight defeats of the Ottawa Senators/Rough Riders between 1928 and 1932. The 0-16 start also went past the 1994 Shreveport Pirates as the worst opening to a season the league has seen. The win means Ottawa will not become the first winless team in modern CFL history. It is also Ryan Dinwiddie’s first victory as head coach since arriving in the capital.

It was not subtle, and it was not dull. Rookie quarterback Bryson Barnes, making his first CFL start, finished 27-of-37 for 339 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover, and added 62 yards on the ground. He started 8-of-9 and kept going. With under 30 seconds left and Ottawa trailing by six, he scrambled for 21 yards and then found Ayden Eberhardt in the end zone for the 24-yard game-winner with six seconds on the clock. Eberhardt finished with nine catches, 101 yards and two touchdowns, and passed 1,000 career receiving yards on the way. Kalil Pimpleton added 82 receiving yards and 138 return yards, becoming the 11th player in CFL history to reach 3,000 combined yards in a season. He’s on 3,171, and the franchise record of 3,353 set by Jason Armstead in 2005 is within reach. Anthony Gosselin also tied Nigel Romick’s franchise record of 128 games, which is a lovely thing to do on a day when everyone’s watching something else.

Do the sums on Toronto’s evening, because the Argonauts will be doing them for a while. Ottawa led by nine with about seven minutes left, Toronto drove 86 yards to cut it to two, and then, with 33 seconds left and the ball on the Ottawa four-yard line, a chip-shot field goal would have put them ahead. They ran the ball into the end zone instead, took a six-point lead with 30 seconds left and handed a rookie quarterback a full 30 seconds to work with. The clock management has been defended by Mike Miller and Nick Arbuckle, who was excellent in relief (27-of-35, 315 yards, two touchdowns) after Chad Kelly limped off in the first quarter with a lower-body injury. Kevin Mital had six catches, 110 yards and two touchdowns for his trouble. Toronto, 9-8 and already locked into second in the East, can afford the loss. Their quarterback situation is a bigger worry.

Player of the Game: Bryson Barnes, QB, Ottawa. First start, first win, 339 yards, no turnovers and a game-winning drive that probably aged Toronto’s coaching staff by several years. 27-of-37, 339 yards, 2 TD, 62 rushing yards.

Now, a word on perspective, because this is the biggest story of the weekend, and every other game on the list had something riding on it. Ottawa still isn’t out of the woods. They finish in Hamilton next Saturday, and a loss would leave them 1-17, level with the 2003 Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the most defeats in a CFL season. But the winless season, the one nobody wanted to see, the 0-18, is gone. And it isn’t that long since this franchise was a playoff team. In 2024 the Redblacks finished 9-8-1 and made the post-season, losing 58-38 at Toronto in the East Semi-Final. Two seasons on, it has been coaches let go, a president out, a VP of football operations fired and the old field at TD Place, which hosted its last regular-season game this week, about to shrink for 2027. Sometimes you just need a rookie, a short pass and a bit of luck.

The second game was in Edmonton, where the Elks beat the Blue Bombers 35-27 and finally got the thing they’ve been waiting a decade for. Edmonton (13-4) clinched first place in the West Division with the win, their first division title since 2015. They’ll get a first-round bye and host the West Final at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday the 7th of November, their first home playoff game in 11 years. Their last post-season appearance was 2019. Fans in the Alberta capital have been patient. Very patient.

Cody Fajardo threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more, one of the throws a third-down out-and-up to Austin Mack just before half time after a 65-yard kickoff return from Montrell Washington. Justin Rankin ran for 133 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, including eight straight carries for 53 yards on a 13-play, 95-yard drive in the fourth quarter that made it a two-score game. Zach Collaros was 28-of-33 for 331 yards and two touchdowns for Winnipeg, but he threw two interceptions, and the Bombers took nine penalties for 101 yards, their most flag-ridden game of the season. Tim White passed 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth straight season, the first Winnipeg receiver to do so in 2026, and Ontaria Wilson had 11 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown to move to 991 for the year. Sergio Castillo, meanwhile, missed from 57 and 55 yards before hitting a 53-yarder late, because kickers are contractually obliged to try everything.

Player of the Game: Cody Fajardo, QB, Edmonton. The man doing it with his arm and his legs, and just in time for a bye week. 2 passing TD, 2 rushing TD, plus a mention for Justin Rankin’s 133 yards.

The third game was in Regina, where Saskatchewan beat Montreal 16-12 to clinch a playoff berth.

The Alouettes had already wrapped up first place in the East, and they rested accordingly. No Davis Alexander, no Tyson Philpot, no Tyler Snead, and no Stevie Scott III, with Dustin Crum starting instead (20-of-26, 185 yards, one touchdown, a 37-yard first-quarter strike to Alexander Hollins). Shomari Lawrence ran for 109 yards. Montreal very nearly stole it anyway. Jason Maas was resting his Most Outstanding Player favourite after a 403-yard, five-touchdown game the week before and still saw his backups go toe-to-toe with a team fighting for its season.

Trevor Harris was 27-of-39 for 253 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and spent the first half looking more like a man trying to pass a driving test. Montreal’s defence held Saskatchewan to 111 net yards in the first half. Then Harris scrambled for a key gain on the last drive and threw a 17-yard touchdown to KeeSean Johnson (seven catches, 85 yards) for the winning score. Kian Schaffer-Baker passed 1,000 receiving yards in a season for the first time in his six-year career, and the Riders are now 5-2 this year when Johnson, Samuel Emilus and Schaffer-Baker start together. They were 2-6 when trailing at half time coming into this one, so the comeback is a bit of a novelty.

It was the kickers who made the worst of the news. José Maltos Díaz was carted off with a left arm injury. Maltos Díaz told Maas he could have kicked had it gone to overtime, which is exactly what a kicker would say, and it also isn’t a medical opinion. Defensive lineman Dylan Wynn (head, first play) and Faion Hicks (leg) are hurt as well, and none of the three is expected to play at Toronto on Friday. With a first-place finish in the bag and a long wait to the East Final, the Als will take the rest, but a kicking question just before the playoffs is a strange problem to want.

Player of the Game: Trevor Harris, QB, Saskatchewan. Ugly for 30 minutes, ice cold on the last drive. 27-of-39, 253 yards, 1 TD, plus the run that mattered.

The fourth game was in Calgary, where the Stampeders beat the Lions 32-13 and the Lions did a very kind thing for them.

Saturday’s game saw a farewell at McMahon Stadium. René Paredes played his last home regular-season game, and he did it in style, kicking four field goals (24, 22, 29 and 32 yards) as the Stamps turned a 13-13 half-time tie into a comfortable win. He’s 41, announced earlier this month that he’ll retire after this, his 15th CFL season, and says he made the decision before his 62-yard walk-off field goal against Ottawa, the longest of his career and his 13th game-winner at the final whistle. Entering the day, he was second in Stampeders history in games, points, field goals and converts, with two Grey Cup rings, five all-CFL selections and a perfect 11-for-11 across five Grey Cups. He has a job lined up with DKI Calgary and a successor in Irish kicker Jude McAtamney, and the Stampeders will hope he’s not done at McMahon yet, because this year’s Grey Cup is there on the15th of November.

At the other end, Sean Whyte reached 1,000 career points with the B.C. Lions, becoming only the third player in franchise history to do so, after Lui Passaglia and Paul McCallum. Passaglia and McCallum. That’s company. Whyte kicked a 48-yarder and a 26-yarder and converted Nathan Rourke’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Justin McInnis, though he missed from 46 into the wind in the third quarter, and is now a single field goal short of 600 in his CFL career. Not a bad week for the position.

Calgary (9-9) came in needing a win and some help, and they got the first part. Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 324 yards and a touchdown, though his streak of 163 attempts without an interception was ended by Cristophe Beaulieu. Quincy Vaughn had two short rushing touchdowns, and Ajou Ajou caught a 12-yarder. The Lions were already locked into second in the West, so Rourke (8-of-11, 149 yards, one touchdown) sat after half time, Kaidon Salter replaced him and a number of key players were rested. They stand at 10-7 and host the West Semi-Final on the 31st of October. B.C. also lost Deontai Williams to a head injury, and Zander Horvath, still chasing records, remains a rushing touchdown short of tying a Mike Pringle single-season mark and two short of Milt Stegall‘s CFL record for total touchdowns. In the fourth quarter two hares wandered onto the field, and the second scored a touchdown on a single run, which is more than the Lions managed after half time. In fact, they both had great straight line speed, jukes and moves. Talent scouts take note!

Player of the Game: René Paredes, K, Calgary. A farewell tour with four field goals and a win that kept the season alive. 4 FG, last home regular-season game.

The State of Play

So that’s Week 20 filed away, and the playoff picture is nearly set.

In the West, Edmonton (13-4) are first and wait with a bye, hosting the West Final. They finish at Saskatchewan next Saturday. B.C. (10-7) are second and host the West Semi-Final a week earlier.Saskatchewan (9-8) have clinched at least a crossover spot, even if it goes to a three-way tie. The last place is up for grabs. Calgary (9-9) have finished their season and need help; Winnipeg (8-9) visit B.C. next Friday.

The sums are simple. If Winnipeg win, they’re in and Calgary are out, whatever Saskatchewan do. If Winnipeg lose and Saskatchewan win, Saskatchewan take third and Calgary finish fourth and cross over to Toronto. If both lose, Calgary win the tiebreaker, finish third and Saskatchewan become the crossover team. See? Simple!

In the East, Montreal (13-4) have wrapped up first and will host the East Final, with Toronto (9-8) locked into second and a home playoff game, whoever visits. Ottawa and Hamilton are out of it. The two meet in Hamilton on Saturday, and one of them is going to be very pleased about it. Montreal visit Toronto on Friday at 7pm ET, which is midnight on Saturday morning for us in the UK, so make a flask of tea and some sandwiches.

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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