Landry's 5 takeaways from Week 18

Hello, AJ Ouellette. Adding your name to the list of high hurdlers, eh?

Impressive. But, kind of a downer as well.

I do love to watch you run through people as opposed to jumping over them, is all. You’ll still do that, though, right?

Here are the Week 18 takeaways.

MORE THAN JUST IMPRESSIVE JUMPING ABILITY, ACTUALLY

Ottawa flips the field and Bryce Carter is MOVING!#CFLGameDay
🗓️: Roughriders vs. @REDBLACKS LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, RDS
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/1kO7JZhlvY

— CFL (@CFL) October 4, 2025

My, my, my. Never mind the hurdle.

He’s also a power runner and a premium blitz picker-upper. AJ Ouellette showed off all that and more in Sasky’s 20-13 win over the
Ottawa REDBLACKS.

And after an off-season of training a little differently than he had previously, he also showed that we should all respect his speed, too.

In racing to play catch-up when Ottawa defensive lineman Bryce Carter looked like he had no one to worry about on what would’ve been a 98-yard fumble recovery touchdown romp, Ouellette doggedly raced the length of the field, finally eroding Carter’s five-yard head start when he caught and muscled him to the ground at the Saskatchewan 17-yard line.

And a touchdown was, instead, a field goal, with two minutes to go.

That was some pretty impressive, cinema-worthy running, as good as anything Tom Cruise has ever put on film.

THEY HOPE THEIR LATEST CLOUD HAS SOME SILVER IN IT

A loss is a loss is a loss, some say and the Calgary Stampeders now have dropped four in a row after Saturday’s 38-24 defeat in Vancouver.

But after finding themselves 31-9 after three quarters, the Stamps may have found the dawn at the end of a long dark night by rallying to cut the BC Lions’ lead to just seven before giving up a late touchdown to end the comeback.

“Let’s try to build off this rally,” Calgary defensive back Damon Webb told Stamps TV after the game. “Momentum into how we used to play.”

“Our guys kept fighting,” said head coach Dave Dickenson. “And to get it back to a one-score game… that was something. Something to build on.”

“I believe in this team. They know that. Hopefully, we can turn the corner, get some wins and get some momentum.”

A home playoff date is dependent on that.

HE’S EFFICIENT I’LL SAY THAT MUCH FOR HIM

You can’t do it much better or more economically than Hamilton’s Brendan O’Leary-Orange did it against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.

Two targets. Two catches. Two touchdowns. 111 yards.

If there was such a thing as a Receiver Efficiency Rating, O’Leary-Orange would have scored a 158.3.

ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH

With Toronto and Ottawa losing in Week 18, it means the crossover playoff scenario will once again be triggered. And once again, it will be a West team making the jump, doing it for the 13th time.

Number of times an East team has done it? Zero.

“Finish fourth in the West and take the easier path,” is something I’ve heard often over the years.

Funny thing about that, though.

Over the previous twelve visits to the East for the playoffs, the team that’s done it has never advanced to the Grey Cup game. In fact, the crossover team has only made it as far as the Eastern final on five occasions and of those five, only once did they come close to punching their ticket, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders saw a lead slip away in the final minute against Ricky Ray and the Toronto Argonauts, in 2017.

Five times the BC Lions have crossed over (1-5, including one Eastern Final loss). Four times for Edmonton (3-4, including three Eastern Final losses). Three for Saskatchewan (1-3).

If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or Calgary Stampeders are the ones to finish fourth in the West, it would mark the first time they’ve ever crossed over.

Well, other than the times the Bombers have crossed over for an entire season, that is. They’ve made seven Grey Cup appearances as an East Division team.

BUTTERFLY EFFECT: IN EVIDENCE

Well how do you like that? Found a place where ‘trickle down theory’ is actually valid.

In looking to improve the productivity and difference-making at free safety, the Saskatchewan Roughriders moved C.J. Reavis back there for Friday night’s game in Ottawa.

That meant they needed someone else to play the spot Reavis has been manning so very well for the team, the SAM linebacker position.

They turned to Antoine Brooks Jr., who’d seen spot duty so far in 2025, starting one game at corner.

In just his sixth appearance of the season, Brooks was pretty SAMMY when he jumped a Dru Brown pass at the Saskatchewan 25-yard line and took it 85 yards for a major and a 13-nothing Roughriders’ lead.

The ripples of defensive change paid off big for the ‘Riders.

AND FINALLY: “Whenever he levellin’ up, it’s a good day.” — Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace on the breakaway speed of receiver Dohnte Meyers.

Landry’s 5 takeaways from Week 18

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