CFL Week 7 Recap: Tiger-Cat Strut

It has not been easy to be a Toronto Argonauts fan in 2024.

We had to start the season dealing with the fact that our QB, Chad Kelly, is out of his damned mind. So Cameron Dukes took the helm, and it's been...decent. We've had our ups and downs, but we are coming off a big up: handing the Montréal Alouettes their first loss of the season. Spectacular! The Argos were in Hamilton for the first meeting of the season against the Tiger-Cats, a big rivalry game. Now, even though the TiCats entered the week with no wins, there's no such thing as an easy win in the Canadian Football League. Plus, it's a rivalry game. Even so, I figured the Argos would be up to the challenge.

We were not.

It was an uphill battle from the get go. Down by 10 at the half and down 27-10 entering the fourth quarter. We did get two scores to cut our deficit to three, and we were on the verge of forcing overtime, but a penalty at the wrong time killed our chances. Tiger-Cats won it, 27-24, for their first win of the 2024 season. As for the Boatmen, the up and down season continues. Here's hoping things improve.

Here's some numbers for you: 8, 3, 3, 3, 3, and 6. No, those are not some weirdo lottery numbers. Those numbers represent the margin of defeat in each of the Edmonton Elks' games this season. The "6" kicked off Week 7, and it was the second meeting between the Elks and the Ottawa Redblacks in less than a week. We all remember the first meeting. Took Ottawa eight seconds to get the winning field goal. This time, it was close, but not nail-biting. A 20-14 win for the Redblacks. Yet another one-possession loss for the Elks. YIKES.

That game kicked off a Friday night doubleheader, with the second half being a West Division battle between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I loved that two of the games were Labour Day rivalry games, and regarding this one, this was a defense-filled battle that was won by the Riders, 19-9, eliminating Winnipeg's planned winning tear. A different Western battle ended Week 7, with the BC Lions and the Calgary Stampeders battling it out. It's always fun when Vancouver and Calgary get together, and this was no exception. It was a day where Wally Buono, the former Grey Cup-winning coach for Calgary, was celebrated and placed on the Wall of Fame, and on that same day, the Stamps eked out a 25-24 win over BC, snapping the Lions' win streak.

The 2024 season is 1/3 done, and this is how it stands. The Roughriders lead the West at 5-1, and the British Columbia Lions are close behind at 5-2, as their five-game winning streak came to an end. The Calgary Stampeders are 3-3, the struggling Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 2-5, and the Edmonton Elks are still looking for their first win of the season. The Bombers are on pace to go 4-14 this season. They'll finish better than that, but even so, for the first time in a long while, they have some catching up to do.

In the East Division, the Montréal Alouettes lead at 5-1, and the Ottawa Redblacks are right behind at 4-2. The Toronto Argonauts are 3-3, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are now 1-5. Ottawa won only four games in 2023. It took them only the first 1/3 of the season to reach that total. This is the Redblacks' tenth season of play. In only Year Two, they reached the Grey Cup Game, and in Year Three, they won the whole thing. They returned to the game two years after winning it all, but since that year...nothing. We'll what happens in next third (Weeks 8-14) of the season with the Redblacks. If they're still in a good position after Week 14, they will be definitely playoff bound.

Week 8 begins with a huge clash betwee the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montréal Alouettes on Thursday, July 25. On Friday, July 26, the Ottawa Redblacks host the Calgary Stampeders, and on Saturday, July 27, the Toronto Argonauts host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Finally, on Sunday, July 28, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Elks clash in a game somebody has to win.

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