Potential crossover year looming with Blue Bombers, Lions chasing playoffs
Published
As the calendar winds down to Labour Day weekend, the playoff picture in the Canadian Football League begins to take shape as the unofficial stretch run for one of the six playoff spots gets underway.
The 2025 season could be shaping up to be a rare crossover year with four teams in the West Division currently owning better records than the East Division’s Ottawa Redblacks (3-6-0) and Toronto Argonauts (2-7-0).
The crossover rule was first introduced in 1996, and was updated in 1997 to reflect the format used today, and would allow the fourth-placed team in one division to qualify for the Grey Cup playoffs ahead of the third-placed team in the other division, crossing over into the other bracket.
The current iteration of the format was first seen during the 1997 season when the BC Lions advanced to the playoffs with an 8-10 record over the then-East Division’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who owned a 4-14 record.
While there have been 11 crossover years since then, no team in league history has even won the Grey Cup after qualifying through the other division.
The Blue Bombers and Lions appear to be the two teams that could end up on the East Division side of the playoffs this time around, holding records of 4-4-0 and 4-5-0, respectively, with BC currently two points clear of the Redblacks for the sixth and final playoff spot.
Through Week 10, FanDuel Sportsbook is currently offering higher odds for both Winnipeg (+1000) and BC (+1500) to win the 2025 Grey Cup than Toronto (+1600) and Ottawa (+4000).
While the crossover would go into effect if the season ended today, the Blue Bombers and Lions have faltered in recent weeks, opening the door for either the Redblacks or Argonauts to keep in the playoff race with 11 weeks remaining.
Winnipeg has lost four of their last five contests, including a last-second 28-27 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Week 10, while BC had gone winless since July 13th before their statement win over the East Division-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday.
The Blue Bombers can help their case for the playoffs with a matchup against the Redblacks on tap for Week 11, while the Lions take on the Alouettes, who are mired in a 1-4 stretch as starting quarterback Davis Alexander remains out with a hamstring injury.
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