THIS WEEK IN THE CFL – WEEK 16

IG Field will play host to Friday Night Football with the league-leading Tiger-Cats in Manitoba. Winnipeg is tied for first in the West Division and is undefeated at home this season with a sterling 6-0 record. The Blue Bombers are coming off a stunning defeat at the hands of the Alouettes and will be hungry to return to the win column. Both teams have clinched playoff berths and are now jockeying for position in their respective divisions. Hamilton secured a 30-27 win in Edmonton in Week 15 to push its away record to 4-3. The Tiger-Cats currently hold the CFL’s best interdivision mark this season at 6-2. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday’s tripleheader begins in the nation’s capital at 4 p.m. ET. Edmonton is in the midst of a four-game slide, including last week’s narrow setback to the Tiger-Cats. The Eskimos have seen success this season against East Division opponents (4-2), including a Week 9 victory against Ottawa. The REDBLACKS fell to 1-6 at TD Place last week and have found themselves on the wrong side of the score in six straight matchups. Another loss would tie them with BC for the season’s longest string of losses.

The scene then shifts to BMO Field with Saskatchewan in town. The Argonauts are looking to even the season series following a 32-7 loss in Week 3. Toronto is 1-5 at home this season and owns a 1-7 mark against the West Division. The Roughriders are coming off a bye and are 2-0 this season when entering a game with an extra week of rest. The matchup will be Saskatchewan’s final contest of the season against an East foe. After dropping its first two games of the season against Hamilton and Ottawa, the Roughriders have claimed five consecutive wins in interdivisional play since. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET.

The finale of the back-to-back-to-back set features Montreal traveling west to BC with kickoff slated for 10 p.m. ET. The Lions are fresh off two decisive victories against Ottawa in which they outscored their opponent 69-12. All three of BC’s wins on the year have come against East Division rivals. The Alouettes enter the game as winners of four of their past five, including last week’s remarkable 38-37 victory which saw them overcome a 24-point deficit – the largest comeback in team history. Montreal is 3-3 away from Molson Stadium and 4-3 when taking on the West.

This week’s Live Mic game will be Saskatchewan at Toronto.
All four games this week will be broadcast on ESPN+.

107^th GREY CUP PLAYOF SCENARIO

• Montreal Win OR tie combined with Toronto AND Ottawa Losses = Montreal secures a playoff berth
• Saskatchewan Win = Saskatchewan secures a playoff berth
• Edmonton Win AND a BC Loss = BC eliminated from post-season contention

Clinched playoff berths:

• Calgary clinched its 15th consecutive playoff appearance – the longest run of post-season play in franchise history. It also matched Saskatchewan (1962-1976) for the fifth longest streak all-time.
• Winnipeg secured its fourth straight playoff spot.
• Hamilton secured a home playoff date for a second year-in-a-row and the team’s sixth post-season appearance in the past seven seasons.

Remaining Schedules

• Toughest remaining schedule: Winnipeg – 43-20 (.683)
• Easiest remaining schedule: Hamilton – 27-36 (.429)
• Most home games: BC (4)
• Fewest home games: Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Ottawa (2)
• Most road games: Saskatchewan (4)
• Fewest road games: BC (1)

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

• Montreal’s club-record 24-point comeback win over Winnipeg in Week 15 marked the third time this year that a team has overcome a 20-point deficit.
• It was the 11^th time in CFL history that a team has rallied from down 24 points or more and ranks tied for 8^th all-time. The record is a 27-point comeback.
• 2019 is now tied with 2013 for the most 20+ point comebacks in a single season.
• Montreal’s win was also the eighth time this year that a team has rallied after trailing by 14+ points.
• The single season record for 14+ point comebacks is nine, established in 1991.

RECEIVERS ON DISPLAY

Since Week 10, four receivers have put up big numbers to move up or solidify their spots among the league-leaders (Current season total and rank in brackets):

QUICK SLANTS

• Following last week’s victory, Bo Levi Mitchell is a perfect 11-0 against Toronto as a starter. His career record is 74-16-2 (.815).
• Andrew Harris needs 16 rushing yards to reach 1,000 on the season. It would be the 5^th time he has reached the milestone, and the third year-in-a-row.
• Bralon Addison (980) and Derel Walker (949) are poised to reach the 1,000+ receiving yard mark this week. It would be Addison’s first time hitting the mark, and Walker’s third.
• A pair of Tiger-Cats lead the league in receptions: Brandon Banks and Addison each have 78.
• Ja’Gared Davis has reached a career-high with 10 sacks on the season and sits third in the league.
• Since Week 10, sacks have jumped to 5.2 per game – an increase of 27% compared to the first nine weeks.
• Christion Jones’ 100-yard missed field goal return was the longest of any kind by Edmonton since Kendial Lawrence’s 107-yard kickoff return in 2014.
• Ottawa has gone two games and 44 straight possessions without scoring a touchdown.
• Greg Ellingson has an active reception streak of 56 games.
• Winnipeg’s Mike Miller is four special teams tackles back of Wade Miller for No. 2 all-time (180).
• BC’s Mike Reilly is the only quarterback to start all of his team’s games.
• A total of 17 QBs have made a CFL start this season. In 2018, 20 different QBs started for their respective clubs.
• Over his past three games, Dane Evans was 87-for-110 for a 79% completion rate, while tallying six TDs and averaging 379 yards per game. The Tiger-Cats were 2-1 in that span, with the lone setback coming in a narrow 19-18 loss to Calgary in Week 14.
• Last week, Justin Medlock’s streak of successful one-point convert kick from 32 yards ended at 104.
• In Hamilton’s 10 wins, they have outscored the opposition 110-49 (+61) in the fourth quarter. In their three losses, they have been outscored 32-14 (-18).