The playoff contenders have already been determined entering the final week of the CFL regular season, but a couple of teams still need a win in Week 21 to secure the best possible position.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-7) can secure first place in the East Division and a first-round bye by beating the Ottawa Redblacks (4-13) on Friday, while the BC Lions (10-7) need only defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-5) on Saturday to secure second place in the West and home playoff game. If one team loses, the playoff bracket will be in chaos.
In the East, a loss or draw for Hamilton would open the door for the Montreal Alouettes (10-7) to clinch first place after beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) on Saturday. A draw would also be good enough if Ticats lost.
In the West, the scenarios are much more complicated. The Lions could still secure home-field advantage with a loss if the Calgary Stampeders (10-7) lose to the Edmonton Elks on Friday and Winnipeg falls the next day. If the Bombers win, BC will need to at least tie the game to stay ahead, while they will have to at least match the output the Stamps are generating.
In any other scenario, Calgary would host the West semifinals rather than Vancouver, although the two teams would likely play each other anyway. The only scenario in which this won't happen is if the Stampeders win or tie, Winnipeg wins and BC loses, making the Lions a crossover team.
While all six teams are guaranteed to have a shot at immortality, seeding matters. The last team to make the Gray Cup without having a playoff game was Winnipeg in 2019, and they won that game. No team has ever won the Gray Cup via crossover.
