TORONTO — After a gruelling 21-week regular season, the CFL Playoffs are finally upon us, with the Western and Eastern Semi-Finals set to kickoff on Saturday.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing host to a playoff game for the first time in three years, as they welcome the BC Lions into what promises to be a raucous, hostile environment at Mosaic Stadium. Out East, the Toronto Argonauts will be waiting at BMO Field for the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The Argos are in the playoffs and hosting a game for the fourth consecutive season. The REDBLACKS are on the road for a non-Grey Cup playoff game for the first time in their 10-year history and are back in the post-season for the first time since 2018.
CFL.ca’s writers head into the playoffs to make their picks, but the winner in this season’s pick race is cemented. Jamie Nye’s 57-24 record — and the five-win lead he holds of Matt Cauz, who sits in second place — meant that the best Cauz could do is run the table while Nye lost out in the playoffs to have them both sit at 57 wins. However, they both picked the Argos and Riders to win this week. Whatever happens beyond this week, Nye will be the winningest pick maker here in 2024.
Let’s get into this week’s games. You can continue to make your picks at the CFL Game Zone to play Playoff Pick ‘Em presented by Old Dutch.
2024 CFL PLAYOFFS
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» Head To Head: Who has the edge in the WSF? | The ESF?
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» Buy Semi-Finals Tickets: Eastern Semi-Final | Western Semi-Final
BC at SSK
The Lions are hoping they’ve found the spark they’ve been seeking in the second half of the season with Vernon Adams Jr. at quarterback. That seemed to be the case in their dominant showing against the Alouettes in Week 20. They’ll need that spark and a strong defensive effort to go into Mosaic and take down a Riders team that won four of its final five games, before resting its starters in last week’s finale against Calgary. The writers see the Riders’ defence as too tenacious and think Trevor Harris should be able to chip away at a Lions’ defence that’s been very pass-friendly this year.
PICK
Writers: 83% Saskatchewan
OTT at TOR
The Eastern Semi-Final gives us one team that has surged into the playoffs, in the Argos, welcoming a REDBLACKS team that lost five of its last six, quite literally falling into its first playoff berth since 2018. The fourth quarter of the Argos-REDBLACKS Week 20 game might leave us wondering which version of which team we’ll see on Saturday, but if you go with the momentum and consider that the Argos are 7-2 at home this year while the REDBLACKS are just 2-7 on the road, you can see why so many of the writers see them getting through this game and moving on to what would be a big Eastern Final rematch with the Als next week in Montreal.
PICK
Writers: 83% Toronto