Landry's 5 takeaways from Week 14

Hello, Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Thank you for adding evidentiary value to something I’ve often said; Short week, shmort week.

Here are the Week 14 Takeaways.

PUZZLE PIECES ALL OVER THE PLACE BUT WHERE DO THEY FIT?

The Week 14 results have made playoff chases murky and I tell you I’m here for it.

If Hamilton and Saskatchewan are not completely comfy at the top of the East and West, respectively, they each at least have control of their fates. Keep winning and they’d each get a bye.

Below, really only the Calgary Stampeders have some level of comfort with a record of 8-4.

Below those three?

Second place in the East is no longer a far off dream for the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Toronto Argonauts, each sitting just two points behind the Montreal Alouettes, losers of five straight.

In the West, both the BC Lions and Edmonton Elks are within two points of the third-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and all three of them would currently have a claim for a crossover spot in the East.

Six teams, three playoff spots. And a healthy mix of intra-division games as well as inter-division coming up for each of them, including crossover-implicated biggies this week (Edmonton at Toronto and Ottawa at BC).

It’s about to get a bit chaotic.

THEY KINDA THOUGHT. BUT NOW THEY KNOW

The Edmonton Elks have been steadily playing better and better football over the last six weeks or so, but wins had come against lower ranked teams including Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Losses — though they were competitive in them — came against Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and an OK Tire Labour Day Weekend spanking by the Calgary Stampeders.

Saturday’s return-match win over the Stamps is big for psychological reasons, according to Elks QB Cody Fajardo.

“We knew we could play with every team,” said Fajardo after his team’s 31-19 victory. “The difference was can we WIN against any team in the league. A showing like this, tonight, it just goes to prove that we can win against any talented team in this league.”

“The belief is high.”

THE EVOLUTION OF THE CRUMBACK IS NOW COMPLETE

Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum has been known to power his team with his impressive running ability, but it has been evident, in 2025, that the once one-dimensional quarterback has developed into a pretty decent two-threat pivot when he’s been called on to fill in for injured starter Dru Brown.

In Friday night’s stirring comeback win over BC, Crum sure did do some leading with his legs, rushing for two touchdowns as the REDBLACKS scored a last-second, 34-33 decision against the visiting Lions.

But it is also true that Crum showed off his passing prowess in going 18/21 for 245 yards in the second half, hitting receiver Kalil Pimpleton on a beautifully-placed bomb on a 52-yard gain and setting up a 10-yard touchdown strike to Eugene Lewis for the game-tying points.

“I think you’re seeing the continued growth of Dusty,” said happy Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce after the game.

Crumbacks can come in different forms now.

BONG BONG BONG

It’s not that the Hamilton Ticats didn’t have myriad weaponry on offence already, well illustrated by quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and his fleet of game-breaking receivers.

But it’s also been true that, over the course of most of this season, one of their offensive weapons has been pretty quiet, leading some of us to wonder just when — if ever — running back Greg Bell was going to be featured.

That day has come.

Against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, Bell went off for 156 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, giving the Ticats — finally — a complimentary ground game to augment the passing attack.

“I get a lot of questions about why we don’t run it more,” said Ticat coach Scott Milanovich after Hamilton’s 26-9 win. “The reason is because we’re good at the pass game.”

“We go with whatever’s working.”

You’d have to think that Greg Bell will get more opportunities to see if he’s what’s working in the games ahead.

THE MARGIN OF ERROR IS ABOUT AS WIDE AS A GOAL LINE STRIPE

The Saskatchewan/Winnipeg game might well have come out a little differently had a late-game missed field goal return by Roughrider veteran returner Mario Alford gone a wee bit differently.

After running the ball out of the end zone and to his left, Alford decided he could do more if he reversed his field.

Problem was, he also reversed his depth and ran back into the end zone, where he was met and tackled by Winnipeg’s Jaylen Smith.

Had Alford not been able to streeeeetch and get the ball to the front of the goal line, that would have been a safety and a 15-15 game, with Saskatchewan kicking off to the Bombers with nine minutes left.

Then? Who knows? A 21-13 Saskatchewan win might have been something completely different.

Mind you, it might still have been something different if Riders’ QB Trevor Harris and receiver Joe Robustelli hadn’t connected on a 48 yard
beauty on first and ten from their own one.

AND FINALLY: “It’s been four games of this. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve lost a game like this. That’s the annoying part.” — BC Lions linebacker Micah Awe on his team having what looked like victory taken away in Ottawa.

Landry’s 5 takeaways from Week 14

Tags: