Landry's 5 takeaways from Week 16

Hello, Bernice Espy, of Calgary. Congrats on winning 200 bucks in groceries on Ottawa’s final-play touchdown on Saturday.

“Garbage time” TDs are meaningless? Don’t try telling that to Bernice.

Here are the Week 16 takeaways.

THE DOUBLE DOUBLE IS DEFINITELY IN PLAY

After he turned in another stellar performance, BC Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke is the front-running candidate for Most Outstanding Canadian in 2025.

When you break Russ Jackson’s record for passing yardage by a Canadian in a single season — a record that withstood the passage of time for 56 years — it is so.

But there is something else.

Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira doubled up in 2024 by winning both MOC and Most Outstanding Player and Rourke has put himself in a position to perhaps pull off that double himself a year later.

The 27-year-old threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns against Calgary on Friday night, rushing for three more and totalling 43 yards on the ground.

Rourke’s 2025 passing numbers put him among the leaders this season, ranking him third, just behind Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle and a mere 250-ish yards behind the league leader, Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell. He’s now piled up nine 300-plus yard games in 12 starts.

He’s the top-rushing pivot in the CFL, standing eighth, overall, behind seven running backs.

With four games left to play, if Rourke and the Lions keep surging, another double-up by a Canadian is a definite possibility.

MATH, THEY SAY, IS HARD. EVEN HARDER NOW

After tough losses in Week 16, the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Elks are looking at some hard math in their quests for playoff berths.

“We have to win every game as we go forward,” Ottawa coach Bob Dyce told TSN 1200 after his team’s loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“Now, we got four games,” Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie told reporters after the Argos fell to Montreal. “Probably gotta win ‘em, all four.”

“I think we gotta win out, just to have a chance,” said Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo in a post-game scrum following a loss in Hamilton.

Did I say the math was hard? Okay, it’s not the actual math that’s hard for the Elks, REDBLACKS and Argonauts. They each face a zero-sum kind of reality in the weeks ahead.

It’s what is needed to make the numbers add up that’s hard.

PASSING? IT’S NOT MANDATORY, YOU KNOW

Absolutely incredible to see the statline in the wake of Winnipeg’s victory over Ottawa on Saturday.

Even more incredible to know that quarterback Chris Streveler’s passing line (3-8 for 54 yards) was not even a Blue Bombers’ club record for lowest aerial output by a QB in a single game.

Over at BlueBombers.com, writer Ed Tait informs us that the great Kenny Ploen actually went oh-for-nine in a rain-soaked game back in 1960.

Guess what? Winnipeg won that one, too, over Edmonton, by an 18-14 score.

Whatever critical words you’d use to describe the Bombers’ 26-18 win over the REDBLACKS, they are going to use a different one to characterize it.

“Gritty,” was the word used by both Streveler and running back Brady Oliveira, post-game.

Asked to assess the Winnipeg offence afterward, head coach Mike O’Shea — appearing mildly annoyed by the question — replied: “We won. That’s it.”

Because passing, it turns out, is optional.*

BONUS TAKEAWAY: *At least when you get a 128-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown and rush for 172 yards, it is.

THEY DON’T WATCH HIM KICK. BUT IT’S NOT FOR THE SAME REASONS AS BEFORE

Marc Liegghio ran into mighty struggles as a sophomore kicker in Winnipeg, back in 2022. That season the pressure mounted, both on Liegghio and on the team, as he struggled through an up and down — more often down — campaign.

Never mind all that.

These days, Liegghio has earned the right to be called one of the clutchiest clutch kickers in the CFL, responding to pressure while also battling the notorious, unpredictable winds at Hamilton Stadium, booting a walk-off, 41-yard field goal to give the ‘Cats a 29-27 win over Edmonton on Saturday night.

That’s just his latest conquest, by the way. After a stellar 2024 season (43-for-48 on field goals, 38-of-40 on converts), Liegghio has followed up in 2025 by leading all field goal kickers with a 95.1 per cent make rate, going 39-for-41 (37-39 on converts).

“Some of them don’t even watch me kick,” Liegghio told TSN of his Hamilton teammates, after the win over the Elks. “They have that much confidence in me. That’s just somethin’ I love knowing.”

Remember when Marc Liegghio was considered a liability?

Nah, me neither.

HANG OUT LONG ENOUGH IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN

Winnipeg defensive back Cam Allen grabbed the first two interceptions of his CFL career and both of them looked remarkably easy, with an errant ball sailing over the intended target and right to him on each of them.

He was stationary on each of them, feet planted, a few yards away from the fray, the ball coming to him, chest high. Cheese plate.

“All the credit to my teammates,” said Allen, “making sure they line me up in the right spot.”

“Rally to the football,” they always say.

Hang out in the right place, though, and the football will rally to you.

AND FINALLY: “Nah. Nope.” — Calgary coach Dave Dickenson on whether coming off a bye week could have accounted for his team’s sluggish first half against BC.

Landry’s 5 takeaways from Week 16

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