CFL Week 15 Recap: Just What the Doctor Ordered

The final one-third of the 2024 CFL season got underway in Vancouver, the home of the upcoming 111th Grey Cup. The Toronto Argonauts have designs on making that trip to Vancouver their first of two this season, but we have had major problems lately. My last recap saw me absolutely rant about the Argos' struggles, as well as Chad Kelly being back so soon. Even so, I was on the optimistic side when it came to the Argos' trip to Vancouver to face the BC Lions.

As usual, positive thinking helps. The Argos had a strong and dominant outing over the Lions. Even Chad Kelly got his head out his keister long enough to help the Boatmen rise to the occasion, and the result was a 33-17 victory over the Lions. Boy, did we need this...badly. We were coming off back-to-back losses to both of our provincial rivals, and we entered that game behind the Ottawa Redblacks by what seemed like a mile, but we got the job done in Vancouver. It does help a bit that the West Division is, well, shaky.

Only three games took place during Week 15, and the second of the three games was an East Division battle between the aforementioned Redblacks and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Redblacks had the opportunity to clinch a spot in the 111th Grey Cup Playoffs, and all they had to do was defeat the lowly Tiger-Cats. However, the Tiger-Cats decided to play spoiler...big time. A 21-6 lead at halftime, and it became 29-6 entering the fourth quarter. Ottawa had no answer for the TiCats at all, and it resulted in a 37-21 win for Hamilton, forcing Ottawa to have to wait another week.

The week ended with the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Montréal Alouettes, and this was a tight and low-scoring affair from beginning to end. Surprisingly, the Stamps led most of the way, even leading 13-10 in the fourth quarter, only for the Als to tie it with a field goal. The 13-13 score held up after regulation, leading to overtime. However, the kicking festival continued. Nothing but field goals in both minigames, and with that, the teams played to a 19-19 tie--the second tie this season, following the wild deadlock between the Redblacks and Roughriders. A tie is better than a loss, but even so, it's a two-game winless skid for the defending champions.

Six weeks remain, and here's how things stand:

With BC's loss, the idle Winnipeg Blue Bombers are now in sole possession of first place in the West Division at 7-6, while the Lions drop to 7-7. The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Elks were also idle, so nothing has changed there. Nothing also changes for the Calgary Stampeders, as the tie keeps them in the bottom of the West Division. Holy moley. The Elks out of last place two weeks straight. Wow!

As for the East Division, even with the tie, the Montréal Alouettes still have quite a hold on first place, leading by four points over the Ottawa Redblacks. The Toronto Argonauts' deficit decreased, thank goodness. Again, we needed this week so badly, and now, it does look like we have an outside chance at second place. Second place in the division means home field in the Division Semifinal, and even with the lack of predictability in the CFL, I don't want the Argos to start on the road.

Week 16 will feature two games on Friday, September 20 and two more on Saturday, September 21. The Friday double dip will feature the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats clashing, followed by the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Saturday games will feature the Ottawa Redblacks facing the Montréal Alouettes, and will be followed by the Edmonton Elks hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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