CFL 'Quick Kicks': Week 19

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week nineteen 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 game of the weekend saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Toronto Argonauts at Princess Auto Stadium. It felt like an appropriate time for these two to face off too, as the game was played two days after the fifth anniversary of the trade that sent QB Zach Collaros from Toronto to Winnipeg. A move that proved highly successful for the Blue Bombers as Collaros has picked up two MOP awards and the Blue Bombers have appeared in four consecutive Grey Cup games, (winning two), since he took the helm.

Winnipeg fans showed up once again for their final home game of the season. Enough fans were on hand for this to be the fourth consecutive sell out for the Blue and Gold. They averaged 31,196 fans per home game over the season, unofficially a record.

The Argonauts D spoiled the party however, sacking Collaros five times in the first half, (seven times overall), and picking him off to ice the game in the second as Toronto took the last Grey Cup playoff spot with a 14-11 win, that moved them to 9-7 and snapped an 8 game winning streak for Winnipeg who dropped to 10-7.

The Argos D-line was dominant for long stretches, led by Wynton McManis who had 8 tackles and a forced fumble, while six different defenders sacked Collaros, including 2 from Folarin Orimolade who also had an interception.

For Winnipeg, MOP candidate Brady Oliveira had 12 carries for 64 yards and 6 receptions for 41 yards. However, Toronto holding him under a 100 yards on the ground will have played a big part in the win.

The Winnipeg D had a big part to play too as a linebacking trio of Tony Jones, Evan Holm and Brian Cole had 23 tackled between them, with Cole adding a forced fumble and return and 2 tackles for a loss.

You could see how impressively both defences were playing in a closely contested game as both mounted goal-line stands to hold their opponents at bay.

In the world of every phase of the game matters, Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo had an off night hitting on just 1 of 3 field goal attempts whilst Lirim Hajrullahu hit on both attempts he was asked to make for Toronto.

This was the fourth straight season that Toronto have qualified for the playoffs since the appointment of Ryan Dinwiddie as Head Coach. In that time they have had a record equalling season, and won a Grey Cup as Dinwiddie has led the team to a 45-21 record (so far).

With Montreal already having secured top seed in the East this win means that Toronto and Ottawa will battle for the right to host the East Semi-Final game.

The second game of the weekend was in Calgary, where the Stampeders hosted the Edmonton Elks in a game with no playoff implications. However, this was a battle between the two Alberta teams with Edmonton going for a season sweep over the Stamps and both teams having an eye to seeing what they have for the future. It was Edmonton who came away with the points, recording a 23-18 win in Calgary.

It all came down to the last play of the game, with Calgary in the Edmonton five-yard line with 2 seconds to play – an incomplete pass later and the Elks had their season sweep. This is the first time Edmonton have had a 3-game series sweep over Calgary since the 2004 season.

Prior to that the Elks had got out to a 17-5 lead across three largely defensively dominated quarters of game action.

Whenever Edmonton has been successful this season it seems that has been paired up with a strong ground game. That was no different here as they ran 22 times for 201 yards here, led by Justin Rankin who had 10 carries for 140 yards. A key beneficiary of the field position advantage that created was Eugene Lewis who had 6 catches for 46 yards and a touchdowns as well as 1 carry for 15 yards and another score.

Nick Anderson passed 100 tackles on the season here, leading the Edmonton D with 7 tackles, 1 special teams tackle and a sack. (The latter being one of five times the Elks got to Calgary QB Matt Shiltz).

Of note in this game was Australian-born linebacker Bailey Devine-Scott registering a safety fort he Stamps. I believe this is the first sack ever recorded by a designated ‘global’ player.

The third game of the weekend saw the BC Lions travel to Saskatchewan to face the Roughriders with both teams jostling for position and the chance to host a home playoff game in the West playoffs. It was Saskatchewan who walked away with a dominant 39-8 win here to guarantee themselves a home playoff date. Whether that will be in the West Semi-Final or West Final remains to be seen.

Mosaic Stadium was rocking from the get-go when on the opening BC drive AJ Allen picked off Nathan Rourke and returned it 48-yards for a touchdown. After that Saskatchewan never really looked back.

Trevor Harris was efficient again for the Roughriders, this week hitting on 25 of 30 passes for 271 yards and 2 scores. He is now the first Roughrider QB to hit on 75% of his passes in four straight games (15 attempts or more). Harris was in synch with Samuel Emilus who had 6 catches for 94 yards, and Jerrett Sterns who had 6 catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, amongst others.

AJ Ouellette returned from injury to balance the attack with 16 carries for 84 yards, whilst the defence held the Lions to 50 yards on the ground and held BC to just one score on offence. The D showed up big for Saskatchewan with 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 turnovers on downs.

Brett Lauther hit on 6 of 6 field goal attempts as well as tacking on 3 extra points to add 21 points to the Riders cause. Lauther has now hit on 26 of his last 27 attempts, the only miss being from 60 yards out in windy conditions.

For Saskatchewan such a dominant performance was a great way to induct Darian Durant and Roy Shivers into the Plaza of Honour.

It has been a steaky season for the Roughriders who started out 4-0, then 5-1 before falling to 5-7-1 after a seven-game winless streak, only to have won their last 4 games to climb to 9-7-1.

For the Lions Nathan Rourke continues to not show the spark he had before leaving for the NFL, here going 15 of 23 for 200 yards with 2 interceptions. The Lions (8-9) now have only scored one touchdown in two games and will need a spark heading into the playoffs.

The final game of the weekend was in Montreal where the Alouettes welcomed the Ottawa RedBlacks to Percival Molson Stadium in a Thanksgiving Classic game. It was the Als who walked away with the victory, recording a 19-12 win to record their eighth consecutive win over the RedBlacks. The win moves the Alouettes to 15-14 in Thanksgiving games and 5-4 against Ottawa based teams.

The win also moves Montreal to 12-3-1, their first 12-win season since 2010. (A season in which, like this year they were defending Grey Cup champions, and Als fans would love to see a repeat here as they went on to take the title once more).

In the game itself the Montreal D looked strong again as they held Ottawa out of the end zone and made Ottawa go 0 and 3 in the red zone. The Als only touchdown of the game came after a blocked field goal gave them a momentum swing.

Montreal showed their depth as starting QB Cody Fajardo missed the game and Davis Alexander stepped in. He was unspectacular at 14 of 24 for 208 yards and an interception, but it was enough to see Montreal home.

Ottawa meanwhile continued their in season slide with their fourth straight defeat seeing them fall from 8-3-1 to 8-7-1 as Toronto leapfrogged them in the standings.

With two weeks of the regular season left all we are waiting to see is if Ottawa or Montreal will host the East Sem-Final and whether Winnipeg or Saskatchewan will host the West Final. Alongside that we are heading towards awards season so keeping an eye on player performances along the way.

MOP's of Week 19:

O – Trevor Harris, QB, Saskatchewan Roughriders: 25 of 30 for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns.

D – Brian Cole, LB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 5 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 tackles for a loss.

ST – Brett Lauther, K, Saskatchewan Roughriders: 6 for 6 on field goals (longest 53 yards), 9 for 9 on all kicks for 21 points, 4 kickoffs for 251 yards (62.8 average).

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

Interdivisional Standings 2024 season: East Division 21 West Division 13 Ties 2

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

Out of the playoffs: Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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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