A few seasons ago, the CFL’s East Division looked to be turning a corner.
After years of struggling to compete with their counterparts out West, the tide seemed to be shifting. From 2020-2024, the East’s third-place team finished with a better regular season record than the West Division’s third-place club, preventing a West team from crossing over for the playoffs.
This season, that progress seems to have hit a wall, with the division falling back to its old, losing ways.
Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
The Nick Arbuckle-led Toronto Argonauts look like the best team in the CFL East these days.
Three of the four East teams are in the middle of losing streaks. The Ottawa Redblacks have dropped their last two; the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are on a three-game skid; and the once-promising Montreal Alouettes have now lost four in a row.
The only team not currently reeling is the Toronto Argonauts, who have rallied to win two in a row, but, at 4-8, are only two points up on the last-place Redblacks. That’s hardly a ringing endorsement of the division’s strength.
Beyond the standings, the struggles in the East are compounded by a major issue: the quarterback position.
The Argos are getting by with Nick Arbuckle, but they are eagerly awaiting for the return of Chad Kelly, who is expected to make his 2025 debut in Week 15. Meanwhile, the Alouettes are a mess without Davis Alexander and his 8-0 record, and the Redblacks are desperately hoping for the return of Dru Brown to salvage a playoff push.
The Ticats are the only team with their starting quarterback healthy and active, and even they are in a downward spiral.
Add it all up and we’re likely heading for a crossover playoff scenario. It would be the first since 2019, when the Edmonton Elks (8-10) crossed over to the East and finished with a better record than the Argos (4-14) and Redblacks (3-15).
It should be noted, especially for those fan bases in the West that might be eyeing the unorthodox route to the Grey Cup, that not one of the 12 previous cross-over teams have made the championship game, let alone won it. I guess there’s got to be a first, and maybe 2025 will be the year.
Now, let’s talk about what else caught my attention this week in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.
1) The Bombers-Roughriders game was a true classic, with the Riders squeezing out a four-point victory. The real craziness was in the Toronto-Hamilton matchup, a thrilling affair that went down to the wire and was decided by video review. As exciting as that game was, the Riders’ victory over the Bombers was more memorable, made so by a comedy of errors in the final minutes from both sides. Winnipeg had no business being in that game, down 14 points with five minutes to play, but it came within a two-point convert of sending the game to overtime. As for the third and final game of the weekend, the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks didn’t seem to get the memo, with the Stamps making quick work of their provincial rivals. Regardless of the lopsided affair in Alberta, it was great to see most of the weekend live up to the hype.
2) The Roughriders’ victory over the Bombers was significant for the standings. At 9-2, the Riders maintained their one-game cushion over the 8-3 Calgary Stampeders, who have already locked up the season series tiebreaker. More importantly, it gives the Riders some significant breathing room from the 6-5 Bombers in third place, with a home playoff game now looking like a near guarantee. It also solidifies Saskatchewan as a legitimate Grey Cup contender; while the Riders have been playing at a high level all season, a win against their biggest rivals proves they can get it done when it matters most.
3) You could feel the frustration inside the Bombers locker room after their loss. While losing a close game to their biggest rival is always tough, this felt deeper. Quarterback Zach Collaros was visibly seething, offering one- and two-word answers in his post-game presser. Though he was diplomatic, you could tell he was bothered, especially when he seemed to object to the two-point conversion play call, implying it was a “play every team runs” and therefore predictable. Running back Brady Oliveira also bit his tongue, but his displeasure was palpable, particularly with his mere five carries. For a team built on a strong running game, that number is a head-scratcher. With Jason Hogan in his first season as offensive co-ordinator, there were bound to be growing pains. The question now is whether this is just a bump in the road or if something more serious is brewing within the locker room.
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4) Three weeks ago, I would have said you were crazy, but the Argonauts might just be the best team in the East right now. With two wins in a row, they seem to have finally found their groove. This turnaround shouldn’t be all that surprising, as Ryan Dinwiddie is one of the best head coaches in the CFL, and it was only a matter of time before he got his team to click. With Kelly expected to return in Week 15 after the team’s bye week, the Argos could be on the verge of a significant run. They have two home games against Edmonton and Montreal following their week off, and with the rest of the East seemingly in freefall, we could be looking at a major shake-up in the division standings very soon.
5) I can only imagine the devastation in the Tiger-Cats locker room after their heartbreaking loss to the Argonauts. It’s not often you score a go-ahead touchdown with just 18 seconds remaining and still come up short. On the game-winning play, both Stavros Katsantonis and Jonathan Moxey went for the interception on the pass to Dejon Brissett, but both missed, likely never expecting him to get back up and run another 30 yards. Brissett’s accidental step out at the four-yard line — confirmed only after a lengthy video review — made the loss even more gut-wrenching. It was a brutal way to lose at home, especially to your most hated rival, and it’s a defeat that will surely sting for some time.
6) The Calgary-Edmonton game, while not the most exciting, was also the most predictable of the bunch. The Elks were on a decent run of late, but the Stampeders are a legitimate powerhouse, and getting them at home on a Labour Day weekend served them well. What’s most impressive about the Stamps is their ability to win without relying solely on quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. On Monday, he finished with just 162 passing yards and one touchdown. The slack was more than picked up by running back Dedrick Mills, who rushed for 106 yards on 17 carries, and a stifling defence that limited the Elks to just seven points, and none in the fourth quarter. It’s a complete team, and that’s what makes them the scariest team in the league.
7) The next two weeks are huge for the B.C. Lions and Ottawa Redblacks. Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot and are coming off of disappointing losses they had to sit on through their bye week. Now, they’ll face off in a home-and-home series, with neither team able to afford a split. The Lions currently hold a two-point lead in the West over the last-place Elks, and will need to keep pace with the Bombers, even if a crossover is possible. Meanwhile, the Redblacks are two points behind the Argonauts for the final playoff spot in the East. A sweep by either side could be the difference between making the post-season and watching from home.
Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.
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