THIS WEEK IN THE CFL – WEEK 14

Week 14 kicks off with Friday Night Football in Vancouver with the REDBLACKS in town. The Lions are in search of their second win of the season against an East Division opponent, and are coming off a hard-fought 21-16 setback last week in Montreal. Ottawa has seen success on the road (2-3) and will attempt to bring their record away from TD Place to .500. The 10 p.m. ET matchup will be the first game of a home-and-home series with BC visiting the nation’s capital next week.

The first contest of Saturday’s doubleheader will see the Tiger-Cats visit Calgary at 4 p.m. ET. The Stampeders are riding a two-game winning streak following consecutive victories in their back-to-back set against their provincial rivals. The home side is 4-2 at McMahon Stadium this season, but owns a 2-3 mark against the East Division, including Week 5’s 30-23 loss at the hands of the Tiger-Cats. Hamilton tops the East at 9-2 and is in the midst of a 4-game winning streak.

The week draws to a close with Montreal taking on the Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium. Saskatchewan will look to return to its winning ways after last week’s loss in Winnipeg snapped a string of six consecutive victories. The Alouettes are winners of three-straight with their most recent loss coming in Week 9 against these same Roughriders. Montreal is 3-2 as the visiting team this season. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET.

TSN’s Live Mic game will be Montreal at Saskatchewan.
ESPN2 will broadcast Ottawa at BC, while ESPN+ will carry the Saturday doubleheader.

107^th GREY CUP PLAYOFF SCENARIO:

Ottawa Loss AND Hamilton Win OR Tie = Hamilton clinches a playoff spot

REMAINING SCHEDULES

• Toughest remaining schedule: Winnipeg – 42-22 (.656)
• Easiest remaining schedule: Ottawa – 27-50 (.351)
• Most home games: BC (5)
• Most road games: Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Calgary (4)

JENNINGS RETURNS TO THE DEN

• Jonathon Jennings will make his first career start against the BC Lions.
• Jennings spent his first four seasons in the CFL with BC compiling a 22-22 record as a starter. Highlights:
  • He was 12-10 at BC Place.
  • He started in four games against the REDBLACKS.
  • His best season came in 2016 when he passed for 5,225 yards and 27 touchdowns.
  • He finished with 12,497 passing yards, 66 touchdowns and 51 interceptions.

2018 VS. 2019

• Charleston Hughes currently leads the league with 13 sacks. At this point last season, he also topped the CFL with 13.
• Through 13 weeks last year, Calgary’s Alex Singleton ranked first with 74 tackles. In 2019, Calgary’s Cory Greenwood has 77.
• Last season through 13 weeks, Brandon Banks had 69 receptions for 1,033 yards – good for second in the league. This year, he has 65 receptions for 802 yards and sits third in receiving yards.
• Reggie Begelton leads the league with 930 receiving yards this season. Last season at this point, he had 338 yards.
• In 11 games in 2018, Derel Walker had 51 catches for 875 receiving yards. He has played in the same number of games this season and has nearly identical numbers: 52 receptions and 897 yards (which ranks second in the league).

QUICK SLANTS

• Two of the top receivers go head-to-head this week: Reggie Begelton and Brandon Banks. Begelton needs 70 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his career, while Banks needs 138 yards to hit the mark for a third consecutive season.
• Montreal collected its sixth victory of the year over BC last week. Last year, they had five. They have two separate three-game winning streaks this season – a feat they have not accomplished since 2012.
• Montreal has won three straight road games for their second such streak since 2007. This week in Saskatchewan, they will try to extend that number to four, matching a mark they last hit in 2003.
• Through 13 weeks last season, Ty Long had the highest punting average at 50.4 yards. On Tuesday, he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after taking care of Punting and Kicking duties for the San Diego Chargers.
• BC has lost seven games-in-a-row and has not started 1-11 since its expansion year in 1954.
• The last time Hamilton played Calgary, the Ticats broke a streak of 14 consecutive losses to the Stampeders; it was the second longest head-to-head losing streak in CFL history.
• The Tiger-Cats have not won in McMahon Stadium since July 4, 2004 – a streak of 14 matchups. In that game, Danny McManus led Hamilton to a 41-34 win over Marcus Crandell and the Stampeders.
• John Bowman (130) needs one more sack to surpass Vince Goldsmith (130.5) for sixth on the all-time sacks list.
• Jordan Williams-Lambert has rejoined the Roughriders. The reigning West Division Most Outstanding Rookie accumulated 764 receiving yards in his first season. He had two 100-yard games last year – both against Calgary. Of his 62 receptions, 21 resulted in second down conversions.
• With Williams-Lambert rejoining the team, Saskatchewan’s top-four receivers from last season have been reunited: Shaq Evans, Naaman Roosevelt and Kyran Moore.
• Saskatchewan had its six-game winning streak snapped last week in Winnipeg. This week, the Roughriders are searching for their fifth-straight win at Mosaic Stadium – a mark they have not matched since 2010.
• The Stampeders are 2-for-2 since Bo Levi Mitchell returned.