Labour Day weekend has come and gone and the stretch run of the CFL’s regular season now begins with the race for the playoffs heating up across both divisions.
Important playoff implications and bitter rivalries take centre stage in a Saturday quadruple-header with the Toronto Argonauts kicking things off against the Ottawa Redblacks at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, followed by three rematches from Labour Day weekend.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders run things back in the Banjo Bowl, before the Calgary Stampeders look to get back in the playoff mix against the Edmonton Elks in the latest chapter of the Battle of Alberta.
Week 15 then comes to a close with BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes squaring off on the West Coast in a battle of MOP candidates between Nathan Rourke and Davis Alexander.
Here is a look at this week’s matchups and where to find them on the TSN Network.
Redblacks vs. Argonauts
Chad Kelly and the Toronto Argonauts continue their push for the playoffs as they play host to Jake Maier and the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
The Argonauts got back to the .500 mark at 6-6 with a dominant 37-22 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Labour Day.
The victory gave Toronto some breathing room for the second spot in the East, while also handing their rivals Ticats a big blow in their playoff hopes with a potential crossover year looming.
Kelly completed 23-of-35 pass attempts for 319 yards, three touchdowns and an interception to lead Toronto to a win in hostile territory.
Receiver Damonte Coxie brought in six passes for 100 yards and a score to lead all Toronto pass-catchers. The five-year veteran also moved past the 1,000-yard mark with the big performance against Hamilton, the first time he’s eclipsed that mark in his career.
After taking care of business against one Ontario rival last week, the Double Blue will look for more of the same as they welcome back former head coach Ryan Dinwiddie to town after he departed the franchise to take the reins of the Redblacks in November.
After two Grey Cups and a coach of the year award in 2023, Dinwiddie departed to serve as Ottawa’s head coach and general manager, but the start to his tenure in the nation’s capital has not gone as anticipated.
Ottawa has yet to earn their first win of the season and hold a CFL-worst -166 point differential through 11 games played.
The Redblacks fell 45-24 to the BC Lions last time out, allowing Nathan Rourke to complete 88 per cent of his passes for 355 yards and two scores.
With Ottawa already well outside of the playoff picture, the Redblacks’ will hope to play spoiler against the playoff-hopeful Argonauts and get their head coach a victory in his old stomping grounds.
Roughriders vs. Blue Bombers
Zach Collaros and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to exact their revenge from an overtime loss on Labour Day weekend against Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl.
Watch the 2026 Banjo Bowl LIVE Saturday at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on TSN1/3, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
Collaros and the Bombers forced overtime last week on a last-second touchdown pass to rookie Dorian Singer, but it was all for naught as Winnipeg was unable to respond to Tommy Stevens’ third touchdown of the game in the extra frame.
It was another thrilling chapter in one of the most heated rivalries in the league, and both teams are set to run things back for a crucial matchup in the West Division playoff picture.
Saskatchewan moved to 8-4 with the win last week, just two points back of the Edmonton Elks for first place in the West, while Winnipeg dropped down to 6-6 into a tie with the BC Lions for third.
Ahead of their last meeting in the 2026 regular season, the Blue Bombers can move to within two points of the Riders with a win in the Banjo Bowl as they look to close the gap with five games remaining before the playoffs.
Stampeders vs. Elks
Up next is another rematch from Labour Day weekend as Cody Fajardo and the Edmonton Elks go for their fourth straight win as they host Vernon Adams Jr. and the Calgary Stampeders in the Battle of Alberta.
In their matchup last week, the Elks erased an 18-point deficit in the second half to come from behind and stun the Stampeders with a 38-28 victory to retain the top spot in the West.
Fajardo threw for 181 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win over Calgary, while Justin Rankin scored a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to complete the rally and put Edmonton in front for good.
For Calgary, the late meltdown dropped them to 5-7 to keep them in the basement of the West through 12 games played.
“Up 25-7, there’s a good chance to win that ball game”, Calgary head coach Dave Dickisnon said after the loss. “Made some plays, but then we had some big mistakes as well.”
“We have to look in the mirror but also take a big breath and understand we just can’t play football like that if we want to win.”
Despite the loss, it wasn’t all bad news for Calgary as Adams made his return under centre after sitting out Week 13 with a concussion. He showed no signs of rust, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort.
Adams and the Stampeders need to string together wins in a hurry with the playoffs approaching and three teams competing for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West.
Alouettes vs. Lions
A pair of MOP favourites go head-to-head to close out Week 15 in the CFL as Davis Alexander and the Montreal Alouettes face off against Nathan Rourke and the BC Lions.
The Alouettes used a second-half surge to defeat the Lions on Friday Night Football last week, improving their CFL-best record to 10-2 and clinching a playoff spot in the East after being denied in Week 13.
Despite a sluggish start to the contest, Alexander threw for 297 yards and a touchdown to help Montreal get back in the win column after having their seven-game streak snapped by the Blue Bombers, while Tyler Snead caught seven passes for 69 yards, finding the end zone through the air and on the ground.
“We keep playing ball here,” Alexander said. “We were able to execute some huge short yardages throughout the game after that. It speaks to our group. We were able to bounce back. It was beautiful.”
“It took some mental toughness coming out of halftime to turn it around, us sticking together and believing,” Als head coach Jason Maas said after Montreal managed just seven points in the first half. “That’s the hallmark of this team. It’s a team that believes in each other and plays for each other.”
Nathan Rourke did his best to lead the Lions in the loss with 375 yards and two scores, but also threw a back-breaking pick-six to Tyrice Beverette in the third quarter that BC was unable to overcome.
“The turnover was the big moment in the game,” Rourke said of the interception. “Right now, I’m looking at the score and feeling like that’s on me.”
The loss put an end to a five-game winning streak for BC as they dropped to 6-6 on the year.
They enter play in Week 15 tied for third in the West with Winnipeg as they look to get back on track in their immediate rematch against the Alouettes.
