CFL 'Quick Kicks': Week 18

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week eighteen of our weekly review of each CFL game week for the 2024 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.

Let’s dive right in. The first thing to note is that thanks to the results of this weeks’ games alone we now know five of the six teams that will be in the playoffs. We still need to see the seeding get settled and who will host where, as well as who the final team will be, but things are a lot clearer after Week 18 than they were before it.

The first game of the weekend saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats in a matchup between two in-form teams. Winnipeg came into the game on a 7-game winning streak, whilst Hamilton had been on a four-game winning run of their own, last losing out in a close one to Winnipeg in Week 12. This time it was the Blue Bombers who took the spoils again with a convincing 31-10 victory.

It could have been different. The game was tied at 7-7 early on and Hamilton had missed a chance to pick off Zach Collaros. Instead, the Winnipeg D tightened up and the Blue Bombers added 10 unanswered points to get out to a 17-7 lead. Hamilton hit a field goal to be within a score at halftime but after that never scored again while Winnipeg scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters to ease to victory.

We’ve said it before, but it remains true. If Brady Oliveira has a good game so do Winnipeg. Here he had 24 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. Of late he has been strengthening his claim to be nominated for Most Outstanding Canadian and/or Most Outstanding Player and been a key cog in Winnipeg’s eight game winning streak that has taken them from 2-6 to 10-6.

Another key to victory here for the men in Blue and Gold was the way they kept Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell in check. Mitchell had been in vintage form through his last few games, but Winnipeg held him to 15 completions on 28 attempts with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. By Contrast, Zach Collaros was very efficient for Winnipeg, finishing the day 13 of 19 for 201 yards and a touchdown.

The result of this game had big playoff implications. Hamilton losing meant that the Ottawa RedBlacks (currently 8-6-1) qualified for the playoffs for the first time since their 2018 season. Even though they are on a three-game losing slide right now, this has to feel good for Ottawa fans who have suffered through a dismal 14-54 run since last seeing their team in the playoffs. The result also means that Winnipeg will, at least, host a home playoff game. If Saskatchewan lose again then Winnipeg will host the West Final for the fourth year in a row.

The second game of the weekend was in BC where the Lions hosted the Calgary Stampeders. It was the home team who took the spoils here with a 32-15 win that relied heavily on their Defence and special teams to get the job done as they didn’t record an offensive touchdown. The result moved BC to 8-8 and confirmed a playoff spot.

20 of BC’s points came thanks to forcing Calgary turnovers. BC led 9-8 going into the final stanza but recorded 23 points to see out the game thanks in large part to two defensive touchdowns, – a pick six from Mathieu Betts, and a fumble recovery and score from TJ Lee.

Sean Whyte was rock solid for BC, going 6 for 6 on field goals and hitting 2 extra points to account for 20 of the 32 points the Lions put up.

The offence did enough to not mess it up. Nathan Rourke finished 20 of 24 for 218 yards, and had 3 carries for 23 yards, whilst William Stanback had 15 carries for 50 yards.

The final game of the weekend was in Edmonton where the Elks were waiting for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The closest game of the weekend saw the Roughriders take a 28-24 win that moved them to 8-7-1 and meant they qualified for the playoffs.

Trevor Harris led the offence with a 22 of 28 day netting 358 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 picks. The Riders own site pointed out that Harris is now “the first Roughrider to complete 75 percent of his passes in three consecutive games”.

He had help from his receivers here as Samuel Emilus reeled in 4 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, and KeeSean Johnson 5 catches for 103 yards and a score.

Last time the teams met back in Week 9, the Elks won 42-31 on the back of a 276-yard rushing performance. This time the Saskatchewan D held firm, and Edmonton managed just 30 yards on 15 carries. This is in stark contrast to Edmonton’s season long performance where they had been running for almost a 125 yards per game.

Adam Auclair and Rolan Milligan Jr both had interceptions for the Roughriders. For Milligan this was a league leading eighth pick of the year.

The Elks have vacillated between McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Tre Ford under centre this year, and hear it was MBT taking the snaps. He finished 33 of 41 for 379 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 picks. Kurleigh Gittens Jr was his leading receiver with 10 catches for 122 yards.

Next week will see Thanksgiving in Canada, and the Thanksgiving game will be on Monday the 14th of October featuring the 11-3-1 Montreal Alouettes, and 8-6-1 Ottawa RedBlacks who are both coming off a bye week. This will be the fourth year in a row they have squared off in a Thanksgiving Day Classic.  

MOP's of Week 18:

O – Brady Oliveira, RB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 24 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown, 1 catch for 15 yards.

D – TJ Lee, LB, BC Lions: 7 tackles, 1 special teams tackle 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery (27-yard touchdown).

ST – Sean Whyte, K, BC Lions. 6 for 6 on Field Goals. 8 for 8 on all kicks. 20 points.

Interdivisional Standings 2024 This Week: East Division 0 West Division 1

Interdivisional Standings 2024 season: East Division 20 West Division 13 Ties 2

Into the Grey Cup playoffs: East – Montreal Alouettes; will host East Division Final, Ottawa RedBlacks. West – Winnipeg Blue Bombers, will host a home game, BC Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Out of the Grey Cup playoffs: Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks: this is the first time since the formation of the modern CFL that we will not see an Alberta based team in the playoffs.

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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