4 storylines to watch in Week 21

Kristina Costabile

CFL.ca

@kcostabile1

Buckle up, CFL fans, we’re in for a wild final week of the regular season.

Week 21 features four games with something on the line for almost every club, something that hasn’t been seen in the CFL in recent memory.

The playoff picture is anything but decided heading into this weekend. The full playoff scenarios will be available later on this week on CFL.ca, so keep in mind there are going to be some complicated scenarios that haven’t been mentioned here.

In the meantime, to help get you set for the four-game slate, here’s a storyline to watch in every contest.

FIRST IN THE EAST ON THE LINE

Ottawa at Hamilton | Friday, October 24 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CFL+

All Hamilton has to do is win against Ottawa on Friday night and they lock up first place in the East Division.

The last time the Tiger-Cats finished first in their division and hosted the Eastern Final was in 2019, when the team went 15-3. They booked a trip to the Grey Cup that season, beating Edmonton (who crossed over into the East) in the final. It wasn’t a storybook ending for the Tabbies, however, as they lost that Grey Cup in Calgary to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

While I’m sure they’re hoping their fate this season is different than that outcome, that’s looking a bit too far ahead. For now, it’s all about this Friday’s game against the REDBLACKS. Sure, Ottawa has lost five games in a row, but if we’ve learned anything in this league, it’s to never write off any team.

Ottawa will want to finish their 2025 campaign on a high note, and there will be plenty of players looking to get some good things on tape.

Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton’s Most Outstanding Player, will hope that his team’s Week 20 bye will give them the edge in front of their home fans at Hamilton Stadium on Friday Night Football.

SOME LOVE FOR A CANADIAN DB

Calgary at Edmonton | Friday, October 24 | 9:30 p.m. ET | TSN/CFL+

Calgary currently sits in third place in the West, and while it’s far too convoluted for me to lay out all of the possible outcomes for where the Stamps, Bombers, and Lions can finish (I’ll leave that to CFL stats extraordinaire Steve Daniel and team to explain in the playoff scenarios that will come out later this week) I can tell you one thing: the Stampeders want to win to keep their hopes of hosting a game alive.

One player that should be key to their success against Edmonton is Adrian Greene. The standout Canadian DB collected back-to-back interceptions in his last two starts, including a pick-six against Toronto in Week 20. Oddly enough, the only other pick-six he scored this year was also against the Argos earlier this season.

The standout corner, who primarily played safety and was not a full-time starter in his first three seasons in the CFL with the BC Lions, has been exceptional for Calgary this year. He started the campaign off strong, tallying 20 tackles and four interceptions, one returned for a major, in seven games before an injury in Week 8 kept him out of the lineup until Week 16. Since his return, the 26-year-old has collected 15 tackles and two interceptions (and the aforementioned pick-six) in five games.

The Elks are out of the playoffs, but are the most competitive of the three clubs who won’t be playing November football. They just barely missed out on the post-season, and have shown they can win against the best of the teams in the league, including the Stampeders.

Heated rivals, playoff implications, and playmakers looking to make plays on both teams? What more could you ask for in the final Friday Night Football game of 2025?

MORE PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS? YES, THERE’S MORE

Montreal at Winnipeg | Saturday, October 25 | 3:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CTV/CFL+

This game could have huge stakes for both teams.

If the Ottawa REDBLACKS upset the Ticats on Friday night, Montreal would need to win to take over first in the east and then they would host the Eastern Final on November 8. Davis Alexander extended his win streak as a starter to 11-0 last week and will hope to improve that to 12-0 as he and his Als prepare to host either the Semi-Final or Final.

The stakes will be high no matter what for Winnipeg, as they, much like Calgary, will be looking to win to improve their playoff seeding since they currently sit in the crossover spot.

No team has ever crossed over and made it to the Grey Cup, and while streaks like that are meant to be broken, it may give the Bombers a bit more peace of mind to stay in the West on their path to the game on November 16.

Stay locked in to see if both teams have something on the line on Saturday, or if it’s playing for pride for one and playing for everything for the other.

EVEN MORE PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS? YES, THERE’S EVEN MORE

BC at Saskatchewan | Saturday, October 25 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/CFL+

It seems wild to say this, but the only team that knows what they’re doing in the playoffs is Saskatchewan. The Riders clinched first in the West Division a few weeks ago and will host the Western Final on November 8. Last week, head coach Corey Mace decided to rest some of his starters, including quarterback Trevor Harris and running back AJ Ouellette. What does he decide to do this week? Reports out of Regina indicate that both will be in the lineup against BC.

The BC Lions have been the best team over the last stretch of the regular season, winning their last five contests. Their defence, which was struggling in the first part of the season, has locked in and is playing their best football of the year. Nathan Rourke has been doing Nathan Rourke things (the 70-yard touchdown run most certainly solidified him as my top MOP candidate, if anyone was wondering, and he was named the Lions’ MOP as well) and Keon Hatcher Sr. is having an incredibly special season.

There are a few other scenarios that could yield this result, but the easiest one for the Lions is this: win and they will host the Western Semi-Final on November 1.

There’s something at stake right up until the final whistle of the last game of Week 21. Isn’t this fun?

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