From the Editor's Desk: We're talkin' playoffs in Week 17

09/27/2024 09:56 AM

With just five weeks left in the regular season in the CFL, the playoff picture could become a little clearer this weekend.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers need to win against the Edmonton Elks and they will punch their ticket to the post-season.

If Ottawa beats the Saskatchewan Roughriders, they too will clinch a playoff spot. Or, if they don’t win, they’ll hope for both Edmonton and Hamilton to lose. Those two teams losing will put Ottawa into the playoffs by eliminating the possibility of the REDBLACKS being impacted by a West to East crossover.

Montreal could clinch the right to host the Eastern Final this weekend. If they win, or if the REDBLACKS lose, the Alouettes will get the first round bye in the playoffs and the Eastern Final will be played on Saturday, November 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun week.

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Here's my CFL Fantasy team for this week:

QB – Bo Levi Mitchell ($13,200) CAPTAIN
RB – Justin Rankin ($5,000)
RB – William Stanback ($13,000)
WR – Dominique Rhymes ($10,000)
WR – Shemar Bridges ($10,000)
FLEX – Charleston Rambo ($8,000)
DEF – Montreal Alouettes ($10,000)

This week I’m going with Bo Levi Mitchell at quarterback. It’s no surprise that on the Tiger-Cats’ three-game winning streak, Bo has put up double-digit FP performances. It’s also worth noting that the Ticats offence is leading the CFL in passing yards 323.9 and BC’s defence gives up the fourth-most in the CFL (287.6). I think Mitchell is going to get a lot of yards this weekend in BC.

At running back, I’m going with Justin Rankin and William Stanback. Edmonton has been using a running back by committee approach and I keep taking the wrong Elks running back on my CFL Fantasy team. I took Rankin this week because he’s getting the start and I’m hopeful he’ll be the one to get most of the touches, building on his 17.0 FP performance last week against Winnipeg.

Stanback had back-to-back 20+ Fantasy Point performances in Week 13 and 14 and after a 4.8 performance against Toronto in Week 15, I’m hoping he can get back to the double digits against a Ticats run defence that allows 108.5 yards per game on the ground.

Dominique Rhymes and Shemar Bridges are my receivers this week. Bridges has been great for the Ticats in his first CFL season and I don’t think that will change that anytime soon. Rhymes had three-straight double digit Fantasy Point performances including 23.8 and 28.9 points in Weeks 14 and 15, respectively. I’m hoping Jeremiah Masoli will look to the veteran this weekend in Saskatchewan.

Charleston Rambo is my FLEX player this week. Like Bridges, Rambo has had a stellar rookie campaign and has exploded for a few big Fantasy performances as well. Here’s to hoping Cody Fajardo looks to him early and often in Toronto.

And finally, my defence is the Montreal Alouettes. I’ll admit, seeing the Als defence put up 17 FP last week had me intrigued. Plus, with Marc-Antoine Dequoy returning, the same Marc-Antoine Dequoy who picked off Chad Kelly in the Eastern Final last year and returned it for a TD to kick off a huge defensive performance by his team in that game, I think Montreal’s D will have a field day at BMO Field once again.