November 19, 2017

Early Finals Fireworks: Fast starts will be key on Sunday

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

TORONTO — Last week, the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Saskatchewan Roughriders set a playoff record after scoring on each of the game’s first three drives.

The fast start helped the Riders surge to an impressive road victory in front of a full house at TD Place, building on touchdowns by Bakari Grant and Kevin Glenn on the way to an appearance in the Eastern Final.

While scoring first may not be make or break, early leads should still prove advantageous for the four teams vying for a spot in next week’s Grey Cup.

Dating back to 1950, the team that scores first has won 65 per cent of the time (a total record of 126-69 in 195 games). Meanwhile, home teams have scored first 54 per cent of the time.

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After some time off, the Stamps and Argos will be looking for fast starts Sunday at home (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

Oddly, the trend has reversed in recent times. Since 2007, the team scoring first has actually won only 40 per cent of the time.

Last week, the two teams that scored first, Saskatchewan and Edmonton, went on to win the game. Last year, the REDBLACKS and Stamps each advanced to the Grey Cup after scoring first in their respective games, helping mark an ongoing 5-0 run in the division finals for teams on the board first.

That’s not to say, of course, that a first-drive field goal or especially a rouge will have a profound impact on the game. But a big play that results in an early touchdown and some momentum just might.

With last week’s fast starts in Ottawa and Winnipeg (with opening-drive touchdowns for the visitors), we break down some of the fast starters in past division finals:

Fastest touchdown

0:14 – a Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons 91-yard kickoff return touchdown by the Argos in 1996 (the only playoff opening kickoff return touchdown in CFL history).

0:59 – a Kevin Glenn to Marquay McDaniel 68-yard touchdown pass in 2012 for the Stamps (the fastest offensive touchdown in a division final game).

1:10 – a Casey Printers to Ryan Thelwell connection for 78 yards by the BC Lions in 2004.

These are the only teams to ever score a TD in a Division Final game inside the first two minutes.

Over the last 30 years dating back to 1987, there have been 120 first possessions with only 20 (17%) going for touchdowns. The number of times both teams have scored on their first possession in a division final is one, which happened in the 2001 Western Final by Calgary and Edmonton.

Finally, the last scoreless opening quarter in a division final came in 2009 between the Stamps and Eskimos.

Scoring first may not be the decisive factor in Sunday’s matchups, but starting fast likely will be.