THIS WEEK IN THE CFL – WEEK 19
Stats and storylines heading into this week’s action
IT’S GO TIME
(Team | Remaining opponents | Combined record)
West Division
Winnipeg | @BC, Bye, BC | 20-10 (.667)
BC | WPG, @EDM, @WPG | 32-16 (.667)
Calgary | HAM, @SSK, SSK | 17-30 (.362)
Saskatchewan | Bye, CGY, @CGY | 20-10 (.667)
Edmonton | TOR, BC, Bye | 33-13 (.717)
East Division
Toronto | @EDM, @MTL, MTL | 18-28 (.391)
Montreal | @OTT, TOR, @TOR | 22-23 (.489)
Hamilton | @CGY, OTT, @OTT | 18-27 (.400)
Ottawa | MTL, @HAM, HAM | 17-28 (.378)
THE BIGGER PICTURE
- Toronto will host the Eastern Final IF they win AND Montreal loses.
- Montreal will earn a playoff spot with a victory.
- Both Hamilton and Ottawa cannot clinch NOR be eliminated this week.
- BC and Calgary cannot claim Western Semi-final hosting duties this week.
MILLENIUM MARK
- Groundwork
- Calgary’s Ka’Deem Carey (949) is closing in on his first 1,000+ rushing yard season.
- Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira (919) is looking to become the fourth Canadian since 2011 to reach the mark, joining Jon Cornish, Andrew Harris and Jerome Messam, who collectively achieved the feat 12 times.
- Oliveira has the opportunity to make it 10-straight 18-game campaigns in which a Canadian has reached 1,000.
- Up for grabs
- Tim White tallied 63 receiving yards last week to secure his first 1,000-yard season (1,046)
- Lucky Whitehead (966), Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (920) and Keon Hatcher (910) are also in reach of 1,000.
- Whitehead and Hatcher can join Dominique Rhymes to become the first trio of Lions receivers to reach the mark together since 2005, and the team's third all-time.
MAKIN’ A STRONG SCHOEN
- Winnipeg’s Dalton Schoen leads the league with 1,275 receiving yards, and is 256 shy of passing Matt Clark’s first-year record set in 1991.
- Schoen’s 14 touchdown receptions ranks third all-time for first-year receivers, trailing only Terrell Mitchell’s 17 in 1997 and David Williams’s 18 in 1988.
- Schoen has 100+ receiving yards (158, 125 and 162) in his past three games, and is tied for first on the season with five.
- 39 of Schoen’s 64 catches (61 per cent) have been for second down conversions. He is seven receptions short of passing Ben Cahoon’s record of 45 set in 2004.
QUICK SLANTS
- Through Week 16, away teams were 34-27. Over the past two weeks, home teams were 6-2.
- Montreal has five wins in its past seven games, including a 2-0 mark on the road with victories over Edmonton and Winnipeg.
- Ottawa won 24-18 in Montreal last week; the team has not claimed a home-and-home sweep of the Alouettes since August 18, 1980.
- For the second time in his career, Bob Dyce won his debut as the replacement coach following an in-season change. Jim Popp is the only other coach to accomplish the feat twice (2006 and 2015).
- Caleb Evans has scored a team-record 12 rushing touchdowns this season, and is two shy of matching the quarterback record held by Doug Flutie (1991) and James Franklin (2018).
- Hamilton hasn’t won in Calgary since July 4, 2004, going 0-15 since.
- Calgary’s Charlie Power and Hamilton’s Brandon Revenberg are in-line to play their 100th CFL games.
- Toronto has not visited Edmonton since July 25, 2019 – a span of 1,178 days – when the home side posted a 26-0 shutout.
- Edmonton is 32-16-1 all-time when hosting Toronto. The Argonauts last won in Alberta’s capital on September 28, 2013 – a 34-22 decision with Zach Collaros under centre.
- In 99 meetings between the two franchises, Edmonton holds a 54-44-1 advantage over Toronto.
- With 14 victories, Winnipeg is one shy of setting a new franchise record for a single season.
- Nic Demski has played in 98 career games. He is riding a six-game touchdown streak – two short of the team record set by Milt Stegall in 1997.
- BC’s Terry Williams leads the league with 2,019 combined yards – 126 clear of Calgary’s Peyton Logan.
Lucas Barrett
Associate Vice-President, Communications & Public Affairs, Canadian Football League