THIS WEEK IN THE CFL – WEEK 15

The Stampeders make the trip east to face Toronto for Friday Night Football with kickoff at 7 p.m. ET. The game will wrap up the season series, following Calgary’s Week 6, 26-16 win at home. The visitors are looking to push their winning streak to a season-high four games after last week’s slim 19-18 victory against Hamilton. Calgary owns a 3-3 record against the East Division this season and is 3-2 away from McMahon Stadium. The Argonauts are coming off an impressive 46-17 win in the nation’s capital. The contest will mark the first of three interdivision matchups for Toronto with Saskatchewan in town next week before a visit to Vancouver.

The second half of Friday evening’s doubleheader will see the Tiger-Cats in Edmonton. The hosts are coming off a bye week and will be looking to return to the win column after three consecutive setbacks. The Eskimos are 4-2 at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium this season, but Hamilton has found success outside of its division and owns a 5-2 mark against the West. The Tiger-Cats’ Week 14 loss in Calgary halted a four-game winning streak. The Eskimos will induct Ricky Ray into their Wall of Honour and the first 20,000 fans will receive a commemorative flag. Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday’s back-to-back set will begin with Winnipeg visiting La belle province at 4 p.m. ET. The Alouettes will be looking to rebound from a narrow 27-25 loss in Saskatchewan. The two sides have yet to face one another in the 2019 campaign and Montreal is 3-2 at home. The Blue Bombers top the West Division and are coming in well-rested after sitting out Week 14 action. Winnipeg holds a losing record (1-2) on the road against the East Division, with its lone victory coming in Week 4 against the REDBLACKS.

Week 15 concludes with Ottawa welcoming the Lions to TD Place for the backend of a home-and-home series. BC took the opener last week with a decisive 29-5 victory. The visitor’s two wins on the season have come at the expense of East Division foes, including a Week 4 win in Toronto. The reeling REDBLACKS will attempt to snap a string of five straight losses, but Ottawa has not claimed a victory at home since Week 2. At halftime Ottawa will pay tribute to Kaye Vaughan’s accomplishments by adding him to the Wall of Honour at TD Place Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

TSN’s Live Mic game will be Winnipeg at Montreal.
ESPN+ will be home to all four games this week.

107^th GREY CUP PLAYOFF SCENARIO

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

AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR

Standings through 14 weeks last season:

• Winnipeg has four more wins than last year and sits first in the West Division.
• Saskatchewan has one more victory than last season and are slotted in the same position – third in the division.
• Hamilton has three more victories than a year ago and sit atop the East.
• Montreal has doubled its win total from last year and sits second.
• Parity: points from first to last:
  • 2018 West Division: 20 (CGY) to 10 (WPG)
  • 2018 East Division: 14 (OTT) to 6 (MTL/TOR)
  • 2019 West Division: 18 WPG) to 4 (BC)
  • 2019 East Division: 18 (HAM) to 4 (TOR)
• Head-to-head: Point differential of division leaders year-to-year:
  • West Division: CGY 2018 (+132) and WPG 2019 (+127)
  • East Division: OTT 2018 (+21) and HAM 2019 (+118)

CHASING 1,000

• Last week, Calgary’s Reggie Begelton (1,036) became the first player to surpass 1,000 receiving yards this season. It was the first time he has reached the mark in his career. Since 2018, he has played 18 games (seven in 2018, 12 in 2019), and has tallied 95 receptions for 1,464 yards and eight receiving touchdowns.
• Four receivers playing this week are within 150-yards of the benchmark:
  • Brandon Banks (967) is looking to reach the mark for his third consecutive season and is on pace for a career-high 1,494 yards. The last Ticat to notch three straight seasons with 1,000+ yards was Darren Flutie from 1999-2001.
  • Bryan Burnham (943) is in search of his fourth straight 1000-yard season. He is also on pace for a career year (1,457 yards).
  • Derel Walker (897) needs 103 yards on Friday against the Stampeders to reach the mark for the third time in his career, and the first since 2016. Toronto’s prized free-agent signing is on pace for 1,467 yards this season.
  • Bralon Addison (854) is attempting to hit the mark for the first time in his first full CFL season. He is on pace for 1,320 yards. Through 15 career CFL games, he has totaled 967 yards on 82 receptions, while adding six touchdowns.
• Last season, nine receivers reached 1,000+ yards:
  • Duke Williams (1,579)
  • Banks (1,423)
  • Brad Sinopoli (1,376)
  • Luke Tasker (1,104)
  • S.J. Green (1,095)
  • Greg Ellingson (1,086)
  • Burnham (1,029)
  • Diontae Spencer (1,007).
• The most 1,000-yard receivers in one season was set in 2005 when 19 players reached the milestone.
• After serving a two-game suspension, Andrew Harris is set to return to the lineup. He needs 92 yards to record his third consecutive 1,000+ rushing yard season and the fifth of his career.
• Last season, only three backs accumulated 1,000+ rushing yards:
  • Harris (1,390)
  • William Powell (1,362)
  • C.J. Gable (1,063).
• The most rushers in one year to reach 1,000-yards was seven, set in 2009.

QUICK SLANTS

• Through Week 11, CFL games were taking 2:54 to complete. The past 11 games since have averaged 2:47.
• If Calgary clinches a playoff berth, it will be the team’s 15^th season in a row – a new club record which would tie Saskatchewan (1962-1976) for the league’s fifth longest streak.
• In the last 10 games (Weeks 12-14), the home team has won eight matches. In 2019, home teams are 33-20 (.623) – the highest home winning percentage since 2004 (50-31-1, .623).
• Last season, five players tied for the league lead in interceptions with five. This season, Winston Rose has eight, Tre Roberson has seven, two players have four and five players have three.
• Ticats DL Dylan Wynn’s streak of consecutive games with a sack ended at five. During that stretch, he recorded seven of his nine sacks on the season. Entering the 2019 campaign, he had eight sacks across two seasons.
• Winnipeg’s Willie Jefferson is looking to extend his streak of games with at least one sack to five games. Over that period, he has seven sacks and has already established a new career-high (11).
• Trending upwards: Toronto went 0-6 in its first six games, scoring 12.5 points per match. In the Argos' past five, they have averaged 29.8 points and have gone 2-3. In those five games, McLeod Bethel-Thompson has 12 TD passes and only 2 INTs.
• Last week, the Argos scored their first rushing touchdown of 2019 to break a string of 12 games without tallying one – a new CFL record
• BC’s Mike Reilly passed for two touchdowns in Week 14 versus the REDBLACKS. It was the first time he passed for multiple touchdowns since Week 9. The game also marked the first time he rushed for multiple touchdowns this season.
• Logan Kilgore will get the nod for the Esks. It will be his fourth career start (1-2).
• Canadian Cory Greenwood continues to lead the league in tackles with 78. Ottawa’s Avery Williams sits second with 69.
• CFL kickers this year are 20-for-26 from 50+ yards. Justin Medlock leads all kickers with six made field goals from that distance.
• Two kickers are perfect on converts this year: Medlock (40/40) and Rene Paredes (20/20).
• Toronto’s Tyler Crapigna has the highest average of made field goals (37.5 yards).
• Joe Montford is the only player to lead the league in sacks for four consecutive years (1998-2001). Charleston Hughes will match the mark if he emerges as the league-leader this year.
• Simoni Lawrence is one tackle away from 500 in his career. He ranks No. 38 all-time and trails Baron Miles by five.
• Hamilton's record of 5-2 (.714) is the highest win percentage by an East Division club against the West since 2012 when Montreal went 6-2 (.750). Hamilton is in the midst of a four-game stretch against western clubs.
• Edmonton has one defensive TD return in its last 34 games and has gone 75 contests without a kick return TD (dating back to August 28, 2015).