There were eight teams that would have loved to end Calgary’s two-year long home winning streak, but no one more than the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Well, not only did the Riders do just that on Friday night, they did so with an exclamation mark.

Saskatchewan’s 30-7 win at McMahon Stadium to kick off Week 18 should have the rest of the league on notice.

Loud and clear

Let’s go over what the Riders accomplished against the Stamps. They snapped Calgary’s 17-game home winning streak and 11-game overall win streak, which is significant in and of itself. Furthermore, Saskatchewan held the league’s No. 1 offence to just seven points and frustrated them throughout. That’s pretty impressive.

The Riders were turned up right from kickoff on Friday and had Calgary struggling to get past half all night long. Sure, at 9-7, Saskatchewan might end up finishing fourth in the West Division, but what we saw from the Riders against the Stampeders needs to be taken seriously heading into the post-season.

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The Roughriders were dynamite on the defensive side of the ball, which isn’t all that much of a surprise. They’ve been one of the CFL’s best defensive groups all season long, and Friday’s performance was their most emphatic yet. Even looking back to their last meeting with Calgary in late September, you could see how impressive this Saskatchewan defensive group was.

The Riders boast a ton of statistical leaders right now, and you can see why. Ed Gainey’s nine interceptions lead the league by a solid margin, and he was all over the field on Friday. Gainey finished with one interception and had another called back against the Stamps and continues to make an impressive case for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

Linebacker Henoc Muamba looks more and more comfortable in Saskatchewan each passing week and was all over it against the Stamps. Muamba finished with three tackles, but was a contributing factor on a number of plays that didn’t end up with a statistical notch. Muamba’s third quarter forced fumble was his third this season, which ties him for the league lead.

And don’t forget about Willie Jefferson, who leads a front four that looks increasingly more formidable. Jefferson’s work off the edge has him one off the CFL sack lead at eight, and it’s also drawn him more attention. As such, some of his friends on the defensive line are starting to come free, with Saskatchewan’s interior linemen really being a factor against Calgary.

Oh, and of course there’s that Duron Carter guy. In the news for various reasons last week, Carter delivered the most memorable moment of Friday’s showdown and made me look like a dunce in the process. Slotting in at cornerback, Carter returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, which just happened to chase Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell from the game.

I questioned the impact Carter would have for the Riders on the radio a few times leading into Friday’s game. I’m eating my words now, though, because Carter was great and stuck at corner all night. That’s a tantalizing option Saskatchewan has going forward, and I’m curious to see if/when Carter returns to the offensive side of the ball.

The Riders looked good in their win over the Stamps, and wins in six of their last nine games show this team has turned a corner. But I’m not quite ready to sign off on Saskatchewan as a Grey Cup favourite, just because there are still some uncertainties.

First off, as good as the Riders looked, that was also a very uncharacteristic performance from Calgary. Sure, the way Sask played had a part in that, but we all know how elite a level the Stamps have played at of late, and that wasn’t what we’re used to seeing.

Finally, the Riders have to figure out what they’re going to do at quarterback. Once again, Brandon Bridge came in to replace an ineffective Kevin Glenn on Friday, but it’s not like the former was night and day better. Saskatchewan needs to decide who it’s going to go with heading into the playoffs, and then that guy has to perform.

In saying all that, though, there’s no doubting how much improvement this Riders team has shown. It’s a completely transformed group year over year, but also significantly better now than it was to start the season. Regardless of if they go through the East or West Division, the Riders’ stellar defensive group has the ability to make life difficult on whomever they meet in the playoffs.

Rounding into form

The Toronto Argonauts looked impressive in a huge 29-28 win over Winnipeg on Saturday night. It was an important victory that plops the Argos very much in the driver’s seat to win the East Division. Sure, their record won’t look stellar when the season ends, but Toronto is showing some very encouraging signs, especially offensively.

Plain and simple, this team is a different group when James Wilder Jr. is in the lineup. The dude was an absolute beast on Saturday after missing Toronto’s game against the Riders last week. He went well over 100 yards of total offence for a fourth time in five starts and was the driving force of the Argos’ offence once again.

Ricky Ray is in a groove, too, and he’s gone over 330 yards in his last four starts. With Ray looking as good as he has over the last few years, and with a dangerous, emerging group of receivers, Toronto’s passing game looks on point. Combining that with the explosiveness we’ve seen from Wilder the last month has turned this offence into a force to be reckoned with.

I’m not sure everyone has taken notice of what the Argos have done the last number of weeks. With wins in four of their last six games, Toronto has gone from a playoff question mark to the likely host of the Eastern Final. Furthermore, their two losses in that stretch have come by a combined six points. This team is for real and I think you have to put their record aside when comparing them to the rest of the league.

The Argos are no slouch defensively, either; they probably register on the high end of the middle pack, for me, and that’s been pretty consistent all year long. While not transcendent, Toronto is more than functional on defence and they allow the offence good field position more often than not.

Toronto will clinch the East Division with a Week 20 win over BC (they’re on a bye this week), or if the Ottawa REDBLACKS falter in their season finale against Hamilton on Friday. The way they’re playing down the stretch, the Argos look like a real threat to represent the East in the Grey Cup in a few weeks.

Riding the wave

The Edmonton Eskimos are clearly not a fan of two things: winning boring games or alternating results. The former was proven Saturday night with a thrilling 35-29 overtime win for the Esks in BC. Edmonton scored 16 points with less than five minutes to go to force a game they were once trailing 29-13 into extra time. By that point, all the momentum was theirs.

As for alternating results, well, all you have to do is look at the team’s 2017 schedule! The Eskimos started the season with seven straight wins before embarking on a difficult six game losing skid. Naturally, that’s been followed by three straight wins, including their latest win over the Lions.

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» Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Hamilton at Ottawa

» Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET: Montreal at Saskatchewan

» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: BC at Winnipeg

» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Calgary at Edmonton



I just keep going back to this team’s firepower. You’d figure BC holding Brandon Zylstra to 32 receiving yards would be an accomplishment, but it really isn’t. Sure, Zylstra was kept quiet, so instead the Eskimos relied on their reformed dynamic duo of Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker to do most of their aerial damage.

It’s stunning it took until October for Bowman, who led the league in receiving yards last year, to go over the 100 mark, but that just goes to show you how deep this group is. Zylstra, Walker, Vidal Hazelton and outstanding rookie D’haquille Williams have all helped carry the load this year. Oh, and then Cory Watson caught a pretty important touchdown on Saturday, too.

No, this defensive group isn’t what it was during their 2015 Grey Cup season. Instead, this Edmonton team is as scary as they come with the football, and they’ve been the poster child for “no lead is safe.” With an outside shot of catching Winnipeg for second in the West Division, we’ll see if their trend of not alternating results can continue.