CFL.ca Staff

As the post-season inches closer with the conclusion of every game, Week 14 is as big as they come for all eight teams in the CFL.

The weekend kicks off with a Friday night double-header, as the Als travel to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats, while the second half of the double-header will feature the Battle of Alberta, with the Stamps hosting the Eskimos at McMahon Stadium.

On Saturday night, the double-header action continues, as Jarious Jackson and the Argos visit Canad Inns Stadium to take on Buck Pierce and the Blue Bombers. Later that same night, the Lions and Roughriders will close out the weekend in what’s expected to be a heated Western showdown.

Equipped with the most up-to-date storylines, roster moves, stats, milestones and trends, enjoy this week's CFL.ca Game Notes.

By the Numbers:

Canadian Content: With 181 yards from scrimmage last week at Edmonton, BC’s Andrew Harris has assumed the CFL lead with 1,300 yards in 12 games. He leads Korey Sheets by 50 yards and is 182 of fellow Canadian – and league rushing leader – Jon Cornish. The only Canadian to ever lead the CFL in yards from scrimmage was Terry Evanshen in 1967 with 1,662.

Owens Update: Among the most compelling stories in 2012 is the array of achievements by Toronto’s Chad Owens. He needs only 85 yards to become the first player to record 3,000 combined yards in THREE consecutive seasons. He is just under 1,000 yards ahead of his next closest rival and is also bidding to become the first-ever to lead the CFL in both receiving yards and kick return yards in the same year. He took over the CFL receiving yards lead last week and is ahead of Montreal’s S.J. Green by 14 yards (1,025 to 1,011).

Time of Possession = Wins:  Looking back over the last six weeks, only four teams in those 24 games have won with a deficit in time of possession. Here’s a split: winning teams since Aug 16/12 averaged 32:33, losing teams 27:27 – a gap of 5:06. Over the last two weeks, no team that held a TOP edge has lost a game.

Close Games in 2012:  At the 2/3 mark of the 2012 schedule, 17 of the 48 games to date have been decided by four points or less – that compares to 15 all of last season. In 48 games, 29 (60.4%) have gone down to the last 3:00 before the game was decided (compared to six last year).

Big Plays in Week #13:  Last week, winning clubs produced 17 “big plays” compared to just nine by losing teams. Montreal led the CFL seven 7 “big plays” last week including five completions of 30+ yards. The seven big plays tied Hamilton (Aug 16/12) for the best in the CFL this season in any one game.

Top Performers:

Buck Pierce: If there’s any hope for the Bombers to slip into the post-season, Pierce is the man to lead them there. Last week saw an inspired Pierce lead the Bombers to their third win of the season, throwing for 288 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over.

Victor Anderson: In his first start since Brandon Whitaker went down with a season-ending injury, Anderson had a memorable afternoon for the Als, registering 127 net yards while scoring two touchdowns in the process.

Geroy Simon: Superman ended his touchdown slump last week, as he punched in the 100th major score of his illustrious career. Now that the monkey is off his back, expect the 37-year-old to continue to find his way into the endzone.

Weston Dressler and Darian Durant: The duo had an exceptional outing last week against the Stampeders, garnering eight receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, their highest total since Week 5.

» Buy Week 14 Tickets
Friday, 7:00 pm ET: Alouettes at Tiger-Cats
Friday, 10:00 pm ET: Eskimos at Stampeders
Saturday, 7:00 pm ET: Argonauts at Blue Bombers
Saturday, 10:00 pm ET: Lions at Roughriders

Throwing the Flag:

While the Toronto Argonauts continue to be the most penalized team in the league with 1,236 yards on 136 penalties, their rivals down the QEW have drawn closer to the unwanted mark, as they eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier last week against the Bombers.

The least penalized team continues to be the Roughriders with just 102 penalties for a loss of 822 yards, but the Calgary Stampeders have lost just 850 yards on 106 penalties.

Roster Moves:

The Edmonton Eskimos will have their third-string quarterback under centre this week, as Matt Nichols gets set to make his first start of his career.

The Calgary Stampeders have inserted veteran journeyman Jason Armstead into the lineup, as he will likely handle return duties for the Stamps.

Tiger-Cats head coach George Cortez has been hinting all week long that there’s a possibility that both Chevon Walker and Avon Cobourne will be featured in the Ticats backfield this week.

BC defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell will not be in the lineup when the Lions take on the Roughriders. He’s nursing a thigh injury that he sustained last week against the Esks.

The Argos will be without quarterback Ricky Ray when they travel to Winnipeg, he suffered a knee injury against the Als last Sunday.

Milestone Watch:

Lions receiver Geroy Simon needs just 19 receptions to reach 1,000 on his career. He would then need only 18 to eclipse Ben Cahoon for the most receptions in league history.