When training camps opened 174 days ago, each team set out to win the 113th Grey Cup. After 81 regular-season games, two teams have earned byes, three teams have been sent home, and four will battle it out in the division semifinals of the Canadian Football League playoffs on TSN.
It’s a pair of spooky semi-final clashes, with the doubleheader kicking off Saturday, Oct. 31, on Halloween.
The playoffs begin at BMO Field, as the Toronto Argonauts will play host to the crossing-over Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who secured their spot in the final week of the regular season. Then, the first round wraps up on the west coast as the BC Lions welcome in the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a rematch of last season’s Western Division final.
Blue Bombers vs. Argonauts
The playoffs begin in Toronto as the Argonauts and Blue Bombers clash at BMO Field.
Watch the Blue Bombers battle the Argonauts LIVE at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT across the TSN Network, streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
For the second year in a row there will be a crossover team, and for the second year in a row, it’s the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
History is not on Winnipeg’s side when it comes to crossover teams, as since the CFL introduced the crossover rule in 1996 – which allows a fourth-place team in one division to take a playoff spot in the opposite division if they finish with a better regular-season record than the third-place team – there have been 13 previous instances of a team moving over for the postseason.
All 13 times, it’s been a team from the West Division crossing over to the East Division, and all 13 times, the crossover team has failed to win the Grey Cup. In fact, no team has even made the big game from a crossover position, with just five teams even managing a postseason win.
There is some mystery on the quarterback front on both sides of things, with Toronto’s Chad Kelly and Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros suffering injuries late in the regular season.
Kelly suffered a knee injury early in the first quarter of the Argos’ Week 20 clash against the Ottawa Redblacks on Oct. 16, when a scramble ended in a tackle by Redblacks defensive lineman Luigi Vilain. The Argos’ pivot came up hobbling before taking a knee but was able to walk off under his own power.
Per TSN’s Matthew Scianitti, Kelly was jogging in place on the sidelines during the team’s regular-season finale loss to the Montreal Alouettes and did not appear to be in any significant discomfort.
For the Blue Bombers, Collaros was taken down by Lions defensive tackle Nathan Cherry in the team’s must-win game last week. The 38-year-old remained down on the field for several minutes before walking to the medical tent and later being ruled out.
Dru Brown filled in the rest of the way, completing all 11 of his pass attempts for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, guiding the Bombers to the win.
Whether it’s Brown or Collaros at the helm for Winnipeg, they will look to become the sixth team to win a playoff contest, the first to get to the big dance, and the only one to win the Grey Cup from the crossover position, while the Argonauts will look to get back to the Eastern Division Final as they did in four straight seasons before last year.
Roughriders vs. Lions
The Halloween doubleheader concludes at BC Place as the Lions welcome the Roughriders.
Watch the Roughriders take on the Lions LIVE at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT across the TSN Network, streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The last time these two teams squared off in the playoffs was in last year’s Western Division Final, when it came down to the final 11 seconds. Trevor Harris found then-Riders wideout Tommy Nield in the end zone with moments remaining to give Saskatchewan a 24-21 win over BC.
Now they match up again.
It’s a battle of two teams trending in opposite directions. For the Lions, they are coming in as the hottest team in the CFL as they look to vanquish last season’s demons. Before resting their starters over the final two weeks, BC had won nine of their final 10 games and were firing on all cylinders.
BC has been one of the best teams at running the ball and defending the run, while the last time the pair matched up, Canadian gunslinger Nathan Rourke threw for 375 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
As for the Riders, it’s been a struggle for the second half of the season. Before their final two weeks of the regular season, which they won against the Montreal Alouettes’ and Edmonton Elks’ backups, the Riders had lost six of their past eight contests.
What Saskatchewan can hang their proverbial hat on is that their defence is up there with BC’s in most defensive statistical categories, especially against the run, where the team has once again been phenomenal.