THE CANADIAN PRESS
It happens almost every year in this league, but there really is nothing better than things coming down to the wire like they do in the CFL. We have a three-way battle for the final playoff berth, a three-way fight for the East Division crown, and two hot red rivalries going head to head for the West Division title. Let’s take a look at Week 18 and count down the top stories.
3. Time to regroup
We all know the Toronto Argonauts are not playing under the most ideal circumstances right now. But no one in that Argos locker room is using the situation as an excuse right now. As such, Toronto isn’t offering up any excuses for its Week 17 performance against the Calgary Stampeders. The Argos fell 27-15 in a game where their offence looked more out of sync than it has probably all season.
Give the Stamps a lot of credit for disrupting things for Toronto, because they did a great job. But the Argos have employed one of the most efficient and accurate aerial attacks all season, and after being the opposite of that last Saturday, I think they’ll be looking to make a statement. Toronto kicks off Week 18 on Friday night playing host to a desperate Montreal team at Tim Hortons Field. That said, I like the Argos in a bounce back game.
2. Take two
The Edmonton Eskimos dodged a huge bullet last Saturday afternoon when they defeated the BC Lions 26-23 in overtime. In a tooth and nail fight for the West Division crown, the Eskimos almost lost a crucial game to a team well below them in the standings. We spoke last week at this time about how the Esks needed to take care of business in their remaining games against opponents well behind them. They almost didn’t do that against BC.
Give the Lions some credit, though. They were a desperate team fighting for their playoff lives and they gave the Eskimos all they could handle. Well, one week later, Edmonton is playing another team with far fewer wins than it has. This time, though, the Eskimos don’t have any excuses for not coming away with a win. Edmonton travels to Saskatchewan on Saturday night and has to come away with a win over the two-win Riders.
1. Flip the script
Speaking of the Lions, they’ve lost five of their last six games heading into Week 18. Even worse, BC has been unable to close out leads in its last three losses. The Lions need to snap out of this slide soon, because they are the team with the best chance to lock down the final playoff spot in the West Division. To do that, though, they’re going to have to start turning impressive leads into victories.
This weekend sees BC plays host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a game that means a lot to them as well. Knowing who they’re playing, the Lions may not be able to get out to a lead on Friday night, but if they do they have to close things out with a win. BC has done a lot of good things the last number of weeks and should have probably already locked up a playoff spot. The Lions still have that chance, but they’re going to need to learn how to convert solid efforts into wins.
