CFL Week 3 Recap: Seriously?!
A back-and-forth high scoring affair ends with a surprising walk-off special teams touchdown on Friday Night Football
Is it Grey Cup hangover, or are the Toronto Argonauts just snakebit?
The Argos remained at home on Friday Night Football against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and it was another uphill battle for the Argonauts. Yet a funny thing happened. Late in the fourth, the Argos made the climb. Down 8, post 3:00 warning. Argos got all the way back. Got the two pointer. Tie game with less than thirty seconds left. Overtime was nigh. We could enter the extra frame with a chance to win it and get off the schnide.
Funny thing happened, though I wasn't laughing. 99-yard kickoff return. Argos had 11 guys out there, which is fine... if this was the NFL. 39-32 Riders, and that ended up being the final score. The Argos are now 0-3 to start the season. That absolutely sucks. 0-3 is just as detrimental in Canada as it is in the NFL. Very few teams make the playoff after starting 0-3. However, if any team can do it, it's the team who won the Grey Cup last year.
Week 3 of this CFL season began in Edmonton on Thursday, two days after the Oilers lost another Final. The city of Edmonton already faced one ugly reality: Connor McDavid still doesn't have a Stanley Cup. Now they have to face an even more egregious punishment: realizing that the Elks exist. The Elks hosted the Montréal Alouettes, and it went about as well as expected. The Als led 24-6 at halftime, and 28-6 entering the fourth. The final score was 38-28, but that's only because Edmonton waited until the game was dead and buried to finally show up.
The Saturday doubleheader kicked off with a matchup that is nostalgic to this CFL fan: Stampeders @ Redblacks. This was the Grey Cup twice--in 2016 and 2018--and it's always interesting when these two teams face each other. This matchup was no different. It was low scoring from the get-go; it was 6-2 Ottawa at halftime. The scoring remained minimal, but in the end, the Redblacks prevailed, winning 20-12 and picking up win #1 in this season. After that, it's the second straight meeting between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions; this has definitely become the top rivalry in the West. The Bombers prevailed again, 27-14.
After three weeks, here's how things stand:
In the West, the Saskatchewan Roughriders stand at 3-0, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 2-0. The Calgary Stampeders are 2-1, the BC Lions are 1-2, and the Edmonton Elks remain winless at 0-2. In the East, the Montréal Alouettes are 3-0, taking a commanding lead in the division very early. The Ottawa Redblacks' first win moved them ahead of Ontario's other two teams, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts. Both the TiCats and Argos are looking for win #1, with the latter being the lone 0-3 team. It's a long season, 18 weeks remain, and all it takes to make the playoffs is, at least, moving into third place in the division. So the Argos definitely have to right the ship.
Week 4 will end the month of June, beginning with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Edmonton Elks on Thursday, June 26. On Friday, June 27, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will host the undefeated Montréal Alouettes, and on Saturday, June 28, the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will battle it out in another Western matchup. On Sunday, June 29, the Ottawa Redblacks will host the Toronto Argonauts.
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About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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Comments (2)
Read and hearted. Great sportswriting as always.
Watch, this is TOTALLY our year 😉, LET'S GO RIDERS!!!