CFL Beat: Week 2

I might be one of the only people on the continent who’s more locked in for the start of Canadian football than the start of the Canadian-hosted World Cup. I suppose ticket availability is one thing – when you’re paying anywhere from four to five figures for tickets, even on the resale market – and not to mention that FIFA takes 15% from both buyer and seller on the transaction – it’s hard not to feel more inclined to go to watch live football for as cheap as $25 Canadian per game. That’s good value for money anywhere – I don’t care if it’s the CFL, college sports, or even third-division Afghan buzkashi. Anyways, I hope Gianni Infantino falls down a manhole cover somewhere.

In league news this week:

• Montreal signed OL Anthony Vandal this week, after he was a late cut from Toronto’s training camp; the two-year CFLer started 15 games for the Argos last year at both left and right guard. Montreal OL Justin Lawrence heads to the six-game injured list with a lower-body injury, most likely an ankle; he’ll likely be replaced at centre by veteran Cyrille Hogan-Saindon moving forward.
• Longtime BC Lions OL Hunter Steward signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Lions this week; he played seven seasons with the team from 2013-2019, as well as two years in Ottawa and one in Edmonton. A 2013 draft pick of BC, Steward played 89 regular season games and four postseason games for the Lions, and 141 total regular season games in his CFL career.

Onto the games!

WEEK 1 RECAPS

Montreal 30 vs. Hamilton 27 (OT): The Alouettes scored their first win of the season on the road after being down 24-10 in the third quarter. Thanks to a late push from a big pick-six by Robert Kennedy III (fortunately, not the US Secretary of Health & Human Services) off of Bo Levi Mitchell, a TD from Davis Alexander to Tyson Philpot, and a final game-tying field goal with less than two minutes left,  the game was sent off to overtime. Hamilton started off with the ball, but DB Kabion Ento picked off Mitchell to give the Als immediate possession, and the Als scored a field goal to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat – an energizing start to 2026 for them!

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Winnipeg 30 vs. Calgary 28: Brady Oliveira racked up his seventh straight regular season game of 100+ rush yards, and WR Tim White scored his first TD as a Blue Bomber to help the visitors spoil the home opener in Calgary. The Stamps had a good offensive night, with RB Dedrick Mills racking up 112 rush yards and a TD of his own, and QB Vernon Adams, Jr. going for 239 pass yards, a pass TD, and a rush TD of his own… but when push came to shove, the Stamps’ D couldn’t shut down the Bombers’ ground game when they needed to most, and Sergio Castillo hit a walk-off 38-yard chip shot field goal to clinch the win for Winnipeg.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: 

Edmonton vs. Ottawa: In a wet and windy game in the nation’s capital, the REDBLACKS, despite a new coaching staff and some notable roster changes, looked much like their old selves, with undisciplined play and tons of turnovers costing them once again. The weather didn’t do either team too many favours, but applause to Elks RB Justin Rankin, who led the way with 196 combined yards to spur his team to the win. QB Cody Fajardo is now 10-1 lifetime against Ottawa – a remarkable result and mostly I am just glad that he’ll only need to face them one more time this year barring any crazy crossover playoff or Grey Cup shenanigans.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: 

BYE: Saskatchewan, Toronto, Winnipeg

WEEK 2 PREVIEWS

Hamilton (0-1) vs. Winnipeg (1-0), Thursday, June 11th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Hamilton is likely going to be a good team this year – but Bo Levi Mitchell does need to stop turning over the football. Quite obvious, one cannot declare an overall trend after just a single game, but no doubt that his two picks really sealed the deal in losing last week’s matchup against Montreal. Winnipeg did a great job of feeding Brady Oliveira, especially in high-leverage moments, and it paid off for them; I just wonder how much work he’s going to get this year due to a thinner overall roster this season compared to last. Running backs always want to go, of course, but mileage does take its toll after a while…

PICK: Winnipeg

Toronto(0-0) vs. Montreal (1-0), Friday, June 12th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): It’s the Argos’ first game of the year, and due to the scheduling quirks of their home stadium hosting the 2026 World Cup, they’re going to play a bunch of road and neutral-site games to start the year – not an ideal situation for a team looking to establish a rhythm in a strange season. Also not ideal to kick off 2026 against your strongest division rival either, I suppose, but perhaps it’s just better to get those scheduled losses over with early in the year. One question that I think comes to mind for many of us is how Sex Pest Chad Kelly is going to do in playing his first meaningful football in almost 18 months, as he missed all of 2025 following a broken leg suffered in the 2024 East Final. He is, certainly on paper, still the best QB on Toronto’s roster, but it can be exceptionally hard for quarterbacks to find their game rhythm after all that time away. If Toronto, who appear to be quite thin on paper compared to the championship roster of two seasons ago, have any chance of making the playoffs this year, it’ll be pretty much entirely up to Sex Pest Chad Kelly to play some of the best football of his career. I personally have my doubts that he’s up to the task for an entire season.

PICK: Montreal

BC (0-0) vs. Saskatchewan (0-0), Saturday, June 14th, 4:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The Lions, who face many of the same scheduling quirks that the Argos are dealing with due to their own home stadium also hosting World Cup matches, open on the road against their West Final opponents and last year’s Grey Cup champions, the Roughriders. While BC is considered by many to be Grey Cup faves again due in part to having arguably the best player in the league on their roster – QB Nathan Rourke, himself a Canadian – the Riders still appear to have a better defence on paper, even after losing a number of key contributors from last year’s team to free agency. Perhaps maybe the Lions will prevail over the course of an entire season, but to open the calendar on the road in a game that will honour the championship squad from last season, I’m not sure it’s a recipe for immediate, early momentum.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: Calgary (0-1), Edmonton (1-0), Ottawa (0-1)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Alexander, MTL – 336
2. Mitchell, HAM – 307
3. Fajardo, EDM – 266

Passing TDs

1. Alexander, MTL – 2
2. Adams, Jr., CGY – 1
3. Fajardo, EDM – 1

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 113
2. Mills, CGY – 112
3. Rankin, EDM – 102

Receiving Yards

1. Snead, MTL – 163
2. Philpot, CGY – 96
3. Rankin, EDM – 94

Defensive Tackles

1. Cantin-Arku, MTL – 8
2. Anderson, EDM – 8
3. Jones, WPG – 8

Sacks

1. Ceresna, WPG – 3
2. Beverette, MTL – 1
3. Carter, OTT – 1

Interceptions

1. Kennedy III, MTL – 1
2. Morris-Brash, CGY – 1

Field Goals

1. Blanchard, EDM – 5
2. Maltos Diaz, MTL – 3
3. Liegghio, HAM – 2

PICK POOL

An auspicious start to the season for Game Time Decision, who anchors the pool with a perfect week.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.officepooljunkie.com/picks-pickem.php?Pool=NFA9D4OXO6C2U0A1

CFL FANTASY

In Week 1 action in the inaugural [DFO] CFL Fantasy League, O Spamada defeated BC Dick’s Dead Horse by a score of 72-62; QB Vernon Adams, Jr. and WR Tyson Philpot led the way for Spam’s opening-season victory, well out-scoring their projected totals.

In the second matchup of the week, Superfluous “U”s took down RoughRougesGTD by a lopsided score of 71-23; most of GTD’s Week 1 roster was on a bye… Gotta check those schedules, folks…

In the third and final matchup of the week, Sacre Blew took down Maestrottawa in a nailbiting 92-90 decision, despite my sweet baby angel Justin Rankin having an absolutely massive 30-point game for me. So disappointing…

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Enjoy the games, everyone.