Playoff Primer: Lions-Als, Ticats-Redblacks in pole position, Argos/Bombers wait

Moving on with the Playoff Primer series, here's a look at the remaining key playoff fights heading into Week 19.

Third place in the West: 

Contenders: 6-10 B.C., 6-10 Montreal (via crossover), 5-12 Winnipeg

The race for this last remaining playoff spot has narrowed a little since last week, with the Bombers' loss to the Redblacks, the Lions' win over the Ticats, and the Alouettes' win over the Argonauts making it highly unlikely it will be Winnipeg claiming it. The Bombers aren't mathematically eliminated yet, but their chances are extremely slim; they would need both B.C. and Montreal to lose their final two games, and they would also need to beat Toronto in Week 20. Winnipeg's on a bye this week, and either a Lions' victory or tie against the Argos Friday (7 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) or Alouettes' victory or tie against the Eskimos Sunday (4 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) would knock them out.

The fight between B.C. and Montreal is still very much underway, though. The Lions finish with Friday's road game against the Argos and next week's home game against Calgary, and if they win both, they're in regardless of what the Alouettes do (as Montreal would have to finish with more points to pull off the first-ever East to West crossover). If the Lions slip up, though, the Alouettes can get in as long as they finish with more points; they wrap up the season with games against Edmonton and Saskatchewan. B.C.'s likely favoured, as equal results in the last two weeks mean they're in, but a lot may depend on how hard 12-4 Calgary plays them in the final week. If the Stampeders have a first-place bye to play for, and if they throw everything into it, they'll likely be favoured to knock off the Lions, and that could give Montreal an opportunity. If Calgary takes that game less seriously, though, that might pave the way for a B.C. playoff berth.

First place in the West:

Contenders: 13-4 Edmonton, 12-4 Calgary

The Eskimos have a little more of an edge now compared to last week, as they won against the Roughriders while the Stampeders were on a bye. They hold the tiebreaker between the teams, so if they win Sunday against Montreal, they clinch first place. Edmonton also takes first if Calgary loses Saturday against the Roughriders (3 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) or next week against the Lions. Calgary needs to have Edmonton lose or tie their final game this week, and they need to get more points than the Eskimos over the final two weeks.Thus, the edge goes to Edmonton. They are playing a motivated Montreal team, though, so this isn't a sure lock for them yet.

First place in the East:

Contenders: 10-6 Hamilton, 10-6 Ottawa, 9-7 Toronto

This race has also narrowed, as Toronto's loss to Montreal last week leaves them in a tough position. The only chance for the Argos to get first place now would be winning both of their remaining games (against B.C. Friday, against Winnipeg next week) and having Ottawa and Hamilton tie both of their remaining games against each other. Meanwhile, the Ticats and Redblacks both have excellent chances at first place; their games against each other (in Hamilton Sunday, in Ottawa next week) should decide first place, and it could come down to points between the clubs if they split the series. If one of those clubs wins both games, though, that could pave the way for Toronto to sneak into second (especially as they hold the season-series tiebreaker against Ottawa).