Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The final stretch of the season is here with Week 15 featuring four games that could end up being decisive at the end of the year.
The Toronto Argonauts have secured their place in the post-season but can also claim an early East Division title as they travel to Montreal to face an Alouettes squad looking to solidify itself in second place. Chad Kelly continues to make a push for the Most Outstanding Player award as he attempts to guide the Double Blue to their first 11-1 start. The Als meanwhile are hoping that wide receiver Austin Mack, who’s on the verge of hitting 1,000 receiving yards, can provide an offensive boost in the rematch against the Argos.
Friday’s doubleheader concludes with the Edmonton Elks going into Regina to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Green and Gold have no more margin for error as they attempt to make a push towards a playoff spot. They’ll continue to rely on a running game that broke the 200-yard mark in the last two games as they face a Roughriders team that has won nine of the last 11 games against the Elks and are looking to stand their ground in the West.
Saturday features two East-West matchups with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch of Week 1, when Winnipeg won 42-31. The Bombers are also guaranteed in the post-season and are coming off a game where they had 600 yards of net offence. Hamilton meanwhile has won the last three games at Tim Hortons Field against the Blue and Gold and is trying to keep pace with Montreal for second place.
The final game of the week features the BC Lions returning from their bye week to welcome the Ottawa REDBLACKS to BC Place. The Lions are hoping that a passing offence that had pivot Vernon Adams Jr. throwing for 300 yards seven times this season will be enough to take down Dustin Crum and a REDBLACKS squad that likes to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. Can Crum guide his team to their first victory in Vancouver since 2017?
Buy Week 15 Tickets
» Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Toronto at Montreal
» Friday, 9:30 p.m ET: Edmonton at Saskatchewan
» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: Winnipeg at Hamilton
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Ottawa at BC
PULLING TOGETHER
- With a victory this week, Toronto would clinch its third straight division title. The team has managed this feat on two previous occasions: 1982-84 and 1920-22.
- The 1996 Argos are the only other team in club history to start 10-1. No team has begun a season with an 11-1 mark.
- The team is averaging 35.2 points per game – currently the fourth highest in team history. The 1990 squad set the benchmark at 38.3.
- They have had better starting field position in each of their 11 games.
- The team has the highest redzone TD rate at 71 per cent – currently tied for fourth in CFL history (since 2004).
- The Argos lead the CFL with 108 points scored off opponent turnovers (28 per cent of team scoring). They have a league-best +16 turnover ratio. The team record is +21 set in 1988.
- The offensive line has not allowed a sack in five straight games, and has allowed 10 in total.
LEADER OF THE PACK
- In his last four games, Vernon Adams Jr. has completed 66 per cent of his passes for 1,407 yards and 11 touchdowns.
- He passed for 300+ yards in each of those games, including a 455-yard effort in Week 11.
- He is on pace for a career-high 4,731 passing yards, topping his 4,162-yard showing from 2018.
- In 10 starts, Adams has a league-best seven 300+ passing yard games.
- He is tied with Zach Collaros for the highest average pass depth at 12.8 yards.
- On 20+ yard depth passes, he leads all quarterbacks in attempts (82), completions (39) and touchdowns (14).
BOMBS AWAY
- Last week, Winnipeg put together one of the most complete performances in recent memory with:
- Zero turnovers
- Zero sacks allowed
- 600+ yards of net offence
- 300+ passing yards
- No missed field goals or converts (9/9)
- Nine consecutive scoring drives
- Seven big plays and zero allowed
- No touchdowns allowed
- One punt
- Scores on each redzone opportunity (four TDs and two FGs)
- A perfect pass efficiency rating (158.3)
- Zero two-and-outs
QUICK SLANTS
- Over the past five weeks, games have averaged 56 points and a passer rating of 104.0.
- Through two thirds of the season, 60 per cent of games have been decided in the final three minutes, including four in overtime.
- The four Week 14 games saw a total of nine lead changes – the most in a single week this season.
- In terms of game flow, Week 14 featured an average length of 2:44 with two at 2:36 or less, and a season-low 12.8 penalties per game.
- CFL punters are on pace to set a record for average yards per punt with 47.2, led by Richie Leone at 48.8.
- Toronto Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie has a career record of 30-13, and currently sits 5th all-time in winning percentage (.697).
- Andrew Harris (15,852) needs 148 yards from scrimmage to become the fourth player in league history to reach 16,000, trailing only Mike Pringle (20,255), George Reed (18,888) and Geroy Simon (16,546).
- Montreal’s Austin Mack (971) needs 29 receiving yards to reach 1,000.
- Edmonton has back-to-back games with 220+ rushing yards. Only two other teams have reached the 200+ mark this season: Ottawa’s 208 in Week 4 and Winnipeg’s league-wide of 263 last week.
- The Elks’ Kevin Brown has 232 rushing yards (8.6 yards per carry) in his past two games.
- Both Tre Ford and Jake Dolegala will be making their first career starts against the opposition.
- Saskatchewan is 9-2 in its last 11 games vs. Edmonton. Each of those games was decided in the final three minutes, with an average margin of victory of 5.6 points. This season, Saskatchewan won 17-13 in Week 1 and 12-11 in Week 5.
- Last week, Winnipeg became the only team on record to score on all six of its first half possessions.
- Dalton Schoen (925) needs 75 receiving yards for his second straight 1,000+ season.
- Brady Oliviera (1,114) rushed for a league-high 154 yards last week for his second career 1,000-yard season. He is on pace for 1,584, good for second most by a Canadian behind Jon Cornish’s 1,813 in 2013.
- Hamilton has won its last three meetings at Tim Hortons Field with the Blue Bombers.
- In his last two games, Tim White has 15 receptions for 290 yards and three touchdowns.
- Ottawa’s Devonte Williams increased his rushing output for a fourth consecutive game to reach a career-high 146 last week, while also adding 69 receiving yards. He has 11 runs of 10+ yards in his last two games.
- Dustin Crum will be Ottawa’s sixth different starting quarterback versus BC in the teams’ last six meetings.
- BC has not lost to Ottawa at home since a 30-25 setback on October 7, 2017.
