THIS WEEK IN THE CFL – WEEK 17
Stats and storylines heading into this week’s action
DOWN THE STRETCH
(Team | Remaining opponents | Combined record)
West Division
- Winnipeg | SSK, EDM, @BC, Bye, BC | 28-26 (.519)
- BC |OTT, @TOR, WPG, @EDM, @WPG | 39-29 (.574)
- Calgary | TOR, Bye, HAM, @SSK, SSK | 24-31 (.436)
- Saskatchewan | @WPG, @HAM, CGY, @CGY | 34-22 (.607)
- Edmonton | MTL, @WPG, TOR, BC | 35-18 (.660)
East Division
- Toronto | @CGY, BC, @EDM, @MTL, MTL | 34-33 (.507)
- Montreal | @EDM, OTT, @OTT, TOR, @TOR | 26-40 (.394)
- Hamilton | Bye, SSK, @CGY, OTT, @OTT | 21-33 (.389)
- Ottawa | @BC, @MTL, MTL, @HAM, HAM | 29-38 (.433)
OLD STOMPIN’ GROUNDS
- Danny Maciocia will return to Edmonton for the first-time as a head coach since 2010.
- Maciocia helmed Edmonton from 2005-08, compiling a regular season record of 33-38-1 and a playoff mark of 3-1.
- With Edmonton, Maciocia had a record of 22-13-1 (.625) at Commonwealth Stadium. Of those 36 home games, 18 were decided by five points or less.
- In 2005, he led Edmonton to a 38-35 overtime victory to capture the 93rd Grey Cup.
- Montreal is 5-4 since Maciocia’s return to the sidelines in Week 6, including his current stretch of 4-1.
QUICK SLANTS
- The CFL leader in receiving yards in three of the past five weeks has been a Canadian:
- Week 12 | Kian Schaffer-Baker (170)
- Week 14 | Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (161)
- Week 16 | Nate Behar (119)
- Saskatchewan is in the hunt for its 17th playoff berth in the past 20 years.
- Winnipeg has started the same five offensive lineman in its last 12 games.
- Nic Demski is five short of 3,000 career receiving yards.
- Last week, Ottawa’s Nate Behar established personal bests in catches (nine) and receiving yards (119) – which was also a league-high for Week 16.
- The REDBLACKS’ Ryan Davis collected a career-high 10 receptions last week against Toronto.
- BC is on pace to have three 1,000+ yard receivers with Keon Hatcher (820) and Lucky Whitehead (879) looking to join Dominique Rhymes (1,062).
- Rick Campbell is 3-0 in his career against Ottawa.
- Sean Whyte is a perfect 13-for-13 on field goal attempts since the beginning of August.
- The Alouettes have one win in their last seven visits to Edmonton.
- Trevor Harris’s next touchdown pass will be the 150th of his career. His 149 are the second-most among active players, trailing only Bo Levi Mitchell’s 188.
- As a franchise, Edmonton holds a 49-31-2 advantage over the Alouettes.
- Duron Carter will play his 100th game this week.
- Toronto’s Ryan Dinwiddie is 1-1 as a head coach against Calgary, with his lone victory coming at McMahon Stadium.
- McLeod Bethel-Thompson (3,672) needs 328 yards to record the second 4,000+ passing yard season of his five-year career. His personal-best is 4,024, set in 2019.
- In their past three games, the Stampeders have registered 13 sacks, while yielding none. Calgary has allowed zero sacks on seven occasions this season, with a record of 5-2 in those contests.
- Shawn Lemon recorded his 11th sack of the season last week, moving into the Top-15 all-time and tying Brent Jonson and Brett Williams (89). Hall of Famer Mike Walker sits 14th with 95.5.
- Dave Dickenson is 70-28-2 (.710) in his first 100 games as Calgary’s head coach. He enters game 101 with a career regular season mark of 9-1 against Toronto.
Lucas Barrett
Associate Vice-President, Communications & Public Affairs, Canadian Football League