Playoff races, pivotal matchups headline Week 15 in CFL on TSN
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The home stretch of the Canadian Football League's regular season is here and the race for the playoffs is fully underway with even more high-stakes matchups set to take place in Week 15.
The action gets underway with a Friday Night Football doubleheader that will see the Winnipeg Blue Bombers aim to get back on track against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, before the Ottawa Redblacks finish off a home-and-home series against the BC Lions.
Saturday will also see another doubleheader to close out Week 15 with the surging Toronto Argonauts looking to continue their late season playoff push with a matchup against the Edmonton Elks, before the CFL-leading Saskatchewan Roughriders try to grow their lead in the West Division against the Montreal Alouettes.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-5) – Friday
Bo Levi Mitchell and the Tiger-Cats play host to the banged-up Blue Bombers to kick off the Week 15 slate on Friday night.
The Ticats rebounded nicely in Week 14 with a convincing win over the Alouettes following a their Labour Day late-game meltdown.
Running back Greg Bell led the way with 156 rush yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while superstar receiver Kenny Lawler added 79 yards on four catches.
The East-leading Tiger-Cats hold a four-point lead atop the East Division but have struggled to the tune of a 2-4 record against West Division opponents on the year.
Winnipeg enters play on Friday with uncertainty surrounding the health of quarterback Zach Collaros, who exited in the third quarter of Saturday’s loss with an apparent upper-body injury following a high hit.
“He doesn't stay down, usually. It's not comforting, by any means. I hate to see that,” head coach Mike O’Shea said of his quarterback.
The Bombers offence is already without receiver Dalton Schoen for the remainder of the season, while Brady Oliveira has failed to regain his MOP form from last year. An extended absence from Collaros would be tough to overcome, but Chris Streveler appears to be the favourite to be tasked with leading the offence if he were to miss time.
Ottawa Redblacks (4-8) vs. BC Lions (5-7) – Friday
Nathan Rourke and the Lions look for a measure of redemption against the Redblacks after falling in a 34-33 thriller last week.
The Lions were let down by their defence in the loss in what has quickly become a concerning trend. BC has allowed at least 33 points in five of their last six games and have now surrendered the second-most points in the league this season.
Rourke, James Butler, and Keon Hatcher form one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the CFL, but a lacklustre defence has held the team back through 14 weeks of the year.
The Lions are currently in the mix for a playoff spot as a potential crossover year looms with a weak East Division, but back-to-back losses have let other teams make up ground with the regular season now in its home stretch.
Much like last week, the Redblacks enter play with uncertainty at the quarterback position as Dru Brown’s status remains unknown while he works his way back from a knee injury.
The 28-year-old pivot has dealt with a number of injuries on the year, missing five contests for the Redblacks through 14 weeks.
Dustin Crum, who got the start in Brown’s absence, shined against the Lions last week with 301 passing yards and touchdown, while adding another 69 yards and two scores on the ground.
He will be looking for a repeat performance this time around to keep the Redblacks’ playoff hopes afloat with a tough schedule on tap to end the year.
Edmonton Elks (5-7) vs. Toronto Argonauts (4-8) – Saturday
The Argonauts play host to the Elks to begin the action Saturday with all eyes on a potential return for quarterback Chad Kelly.
Kelly, the CFL’s MOP in 2023, has missed the entirety of the season after suffering a fractured tibia and fibula in last year’s Eastern Final against the Alouettes, but has teased his return after the Week 14 bye on social media.
Filling in for Kelly in the starter’s role has been Nick Arbuckle, who leads the league in passing at 3,828 yards while posting 23 touchdowns.
Arbuckle has enjoyed a career season after helping the Argonauts to a Grey Cup win over the Blue Bombers, but coach Ryan Dinwiddie appears set to hand over the reigns to Kelly for the stretch run with the team fighting to make their way into the playoff picture.
Toronto is coming off a back-to-back wins, including one over the East-leading Tiger-Cats on Labour Day, and could be poised for a run with Kelly inching closer toward a return.
The Elks are coming off of a season-defining win last week over their Battle of Alberta rivals, the Calgary Stampeders, led by Cody Fajardo and Justin Rankin.
After being out of the mix seemingly all season, Edmonton has now rattled off wins in four of their last five games to hang tough in the West.
“We were just pissed off because nobody thought we had a chance in this game,” said Fajardo after last week’s win. “With the way things went last week, it was doom and gloom around here. But the guys believed and we are a 4-1 football team in our last five games. That’s impressive.”
Rankin exploded for 204 rushing yards and two scores against the league-best Stampeders defence, and could be in for another big week against the Argoanuts, who are currently giving up 108.2 yards on the ground per game, the most in the league.
Saturday’s matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league just might end up deciding the playoff picture at season's end.
Montreal Alouettes (5-7) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-2) - Saturday
Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Alouettes to close out Week 15 in the CFL.
The Roughriders are coming off consecutive Banjo Bowl victories in as many weeks over the Blue Bombers, once again affirming themselves as the team to beat in the CFL.
Harris has been a leading force for the Riders all year long, even with some of his top targets like Samuel Emilus, Shawn Bane Jr., and Kian Schaffer-Baker all missing significant time.
The 39-year-old lead the CFL in efficiency rating (112.2) and is in the top three in yards per game (286.6) and passing touchdowns (19).
A.J. Ouellette has found his stride in his second season in Saskatchewan and holds the third-highest rushing yardage mark in the CFL at 852 while adding five scores on the ground.
Corey Mace’s defence has been as stout as they come through 12 games played, allowing the least amount of yards in the league and second-fewest rush yards per game at just 75.2.
While their spot atop the league standings appear to be safe for the time being, the Stampeders remain within striking distance with just six games remaining.
They will look for a convincing performance over Montreal, who have cooled down significantly since starting quarterback Davis Alexander went down with injury.
The Alouettes have played to a 1-7 record without Alexander and have now started four different quarterbacks this season as they continue to look for answers under centre.
James Morgan made his second start of the year last week against the Tiger-Cats, but was unable to lead the offence into the end zone in a 26-9 loss.
Head coach Jason Maas figures to put Morgan back in the saddle for Week 15 as the team fights to hold off the Argos and Redblacks in the East Division.