The last three Grey Cup winners — the 2022 and ’24 Toronto Argonauts and 2023 Montreal Alouettes — all got hot in the latter weeks of their championship seasons after ho-hum starts.
If that trend holds, the B.C. Lions are in great shape.
In danger of missing the playoffs a month ago, the Nathan Rourke-led Lions (9-7) have won four in a row and now find themselves in the driver’s seat to take second place in the CFL West.
If the Lions beat the visiting Edmonton Elks on Friday and finish their season by topping the host Saskatchewan Roughriders in a game that will mean nothing for the first-place-clinched team, B.C. will grab second in the division and host the West semifinal on Nov. 1.
“You start the season out and you want to take steps and you want to build,” first-year Lions head coach Buck Pierce told reporters this week. “You know it’s not going to be an overnight process. You want to be playing for the right reasons and understanding how to win at the right time.”
With the Canadian-born Rourke (second in passing yards), running back James Butler (third in rushing yards) and wide receivers Keon Hatcher (first in receiving yards) and Justin McInnis (fourth in receiving yards), the Lions have the best set of offensive weapons in the league.
But the biggest reason the Lions have found more success recently is their much-improved defence.
The mid-season signings of defensive ends Levi Bell and Bradlee Anae have changed the look of one side of B.C.’s defensive front, seemingly helping star Mathieu Betts at the other.
The Canadian has 10 of his league-leading 14 sacks in the past four games, and B.C. now tops the CFL with 41 sacks for the season. The Lions now rank fourth in the league in opposing net offence.
“It’s hard to pinpoint it just on one thing. but I think the guys are playing with confidence, trysting each other and playing fast,” Pierce said of his defence.
The chance to play a home game in the playoffs is a big motivator for the Lions, who are expecting another crowd of close to 30,000 this week.
“Our fans play a huge role,” Rourke said. “When visiting teams come into BC place, and they have to use silent operation or have a hard time hearing each other, that’s a huge advantage for us. It’s also great scoring and celebrating with them, they uplift us during difficult times as well.
“We definitely want to be able to have a big-time playoff game and host it. I think that would be a huge advantage for us, so we’re playing hard for that.”
The Elks are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture, but they’re not out of it just yet.
The surging Elks (7-9) do need some help — either a Winnipeg Blue Bombers loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders or a Calgary Stampeders loss to the Toronto Argonauts — this week, along with their own win to have a real chance of getting a spot in the final week.
Edmonton is 6-3 in its past nine, with two of those losses on walk-off field goals. The Elks have missed the playoffs the past four years.
“In those cold, tough-weather atmosphere games, you have to be able to protect the quarterback, protect the ball and run the ball, and we did all three of those things (last week in a win over Winnipeg),” Elks QB Cody Fajardo told reporters this week. “We gave up zero sacks, I don’t think we turned the ball over, and our run game was phenomenal.
“That’s why this team, in my opinion, is built for the playoffs. We’ve just got to find a way to get in and punch our ticket. The road’s not going to be easy, but we still have a chance.”
The Argos and Redblacks have been eliminated from playoff contention, meaning the fourth-place West team will cross over and play in the East post-season. One of the Blue Bombers, Stamps or Elks will miss the playoffs.
Saskatchewan, B.C., the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes have locked up four of the six spots.
The Alouettes can send the division-title race down to the final game of the season if they beat third-string quarterback Tyrie Adams and the Redblacks on Saturday in the nation’s capital.
Should the Alouettes prevail, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will need to beat the same Redblacks next Friday to secure the division. If Hamilton were to lose that game, the Alouettes could steal the division with a win on the final day of the season next Saturday in Winnipeg.
The Alouettes certainly look like the team to beat. Quarterback Davis Alexander is 10-0 for his career as a starter, but has been injury-prone.
The Redblacks will have decisions to make after the season on head coach Bob Dyce and general manager Shawn Burke. The team took a major step back this year following last year’s 9-8-1 campaign.
Many CFL scouts will have their eyes on Florida on Friday night as three defensive linemen from Ottawa play key roles in a big NCAA game between the Miami Hurricanes and Louisville Cardinals.
Akheem Mesidor, the top-ranked player in the inaugural rankings for next year’s CFL Draft, has had an excellent year (3.5 sacks) for the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes. Mesidor, playing on the end opposite top NFL prospect Rueben Bain Jr., was listed third among defensive ends on Mel Kiper Jr’s big board for next year’s NFL Draft for ESPN earlier this week.
Meanwhile, interior lineman Rene Konga (1.5 sacks) and defensive end Wesley Bailey (two sacks) are starters for a 4-1 Louisville team. The Cardinals’ first loss came last time out in a 30-27 overtime setback against Virginia.
Bailey was third and Konga seventh in the first CFL Draft rankings.
Friday, Oct. 17: Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-4) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8), 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
Friday, Oct. 17: Edmonton Elks (7-9) at B.C. Lions (9-7), 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, Oct. 18: Montreal Alouettes (9-7) at Ottawa Redblacks (4-12), 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 18: Toronto Argonauts (5-10) at Calgary Stampeders (9-7), 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT