CFL Beat: Week 11

Where in the world is Maestro this week? Vancouver, as it turns out. Unfortunately we’re flying home the night before the Lions host the Alouettes, but I remain confident that I will get to enjoy a CFL game at BC Place at some point in the future. I’ve visited the lower Mainland in all four seasons now, and I think the middle of winter and middle of summer are the two clear-cut leaders in times to visit. Beerguyrob is in Ireland and thus we could not beerguy it up together this time around.

In league news this week:

• Toronto signed DB Branden Dozier, who was released earlier this season by Hamilton; he was nominated back in 2017 for the CFL’s Rookie of the Year award and also received an East All-Star selection in 2018; he played four games for the Tiger-Cats this year before Reggie Stubblefield returned to the lineup, recording 13 tackles in those games.
• Montreal’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson is headed to the six-game injured list, the second Als QB to miss extended time this season. With MBT and #1 Davis Alexander both on the shelf, Caleb Evans will start this week, and the team signed former Argo Cameron Dukes to back him up.
• Ottawa REDBLACKS DB Amari Henderson will miss the remainder of the 2025 season with a torn ACL, an unfortunate outcome for what has been a pretty good season to date. That secondary is starting to look mighty thin.
• Winnipeg DB Terrell Bonds will also miss the remainder of the 2025 season after getting surgery for a recent knee injury – another noteworthy subtraction for them, unfortunately.

Onto the games!

WEEK 10 RECAPS

BC 41 vs. Hamilton 38 (OT): On a night celebrating hometown hero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Hamilton after his NBA title and MVP win from last season, the Lions got revenge on the host Tiger-Cats in overtime. In a seesaw game that featured three TDs from Bo Levi Mitchell, a punt return TD from Isaiah Wooden, and a fourth-quarter interception from Julian Howsare, the Tabbies could not prevent the relentless BC drive to battle back all game long. Nathan Rourke, who had 408 passing yards and two TDs, threw an important late one to Jevon Cottoy that gave the Lions a late 38-35 lead. Marc Liegghio kicked a field goal to send it to the extra frame, but in Hamilton’s first possession, the Lions’ D forced a fumble on receiver Tim White, recovering the ball and setting up Sean Whyte to kick the winner from 20 yards out.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: BC

Edmonton 23 vs. Montreal 22: It was Cody Fajardo’s return to Montreal after his controversial trade this past offseason; the team brass elected to go with younger, less expensive Davis Alexander as their starting QB moving forward, and when healthy, it’s looked like a good bet… but the Als sure could have used some better QB play in this game. Fajardo made his former team pay with a very strong outing, going 27-38 for 289 yards and two TDs to fellow former Al Kaion Julien-Grant, which got his team over an eight-point fourth-quarter lead and sealed the deal for the win. Montreal’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson, traded for Fajardo in the off-season, struggled mightily yet again, throwing an absollutely brutal pick-six at the end of the first half which saw him benched for Caleb Evans. Montreal’s fourth-quarter choke leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for home fans, who already greatly appreciated his absence already due to injury and will now be clamouring for his return even more.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Edmonton

Ottawa 46 vs. Toronto 42: In the CFL, as we all know, it’s never truly over until it’s over. The REDBLACKS opened this game with one of their worst first quarter in their entire existence as a franchise, going down early 22-1 to the Argos. Then Dru Brown caught fire and had the best game of his career, going 26-31 for 373 yards and five TDs (two to Justin Hardy, two to Geno Lewis, and one to Bralon Addison), and the REDBLACKS roared back to take this game late in the fourth quarter. Dustin Crum’s rushing TD also helped matters, but it was the defence – which had barely bothered to show up all game long for both teams – that ultimately provided the clinching play for the visitors. Robert Priester, a key free-agent signing this past offseason who’s been a bit of a whipping boy of sorts for Ottawa media this season, picked off Nick Arbuckle on the Argos’ final drive of the game, clinching an improbably victory for the REDBLACKS and leapfrogging them over Toronto for third in the division.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Ottawa

Winnipeg 27 vs. Calgary 28: This was yet another very close game between two Western rivals, and the Stamps swept their season series against the visiting Bombers thanks to the accuracy of veteran kicker Rene Paredes. The 40-year-old kicker hit four field goals on the afternoon, to go along with teammate Vernon Adams, Jr.’s two TDs, but it was the final kick, from 40 yards out, that let the Stamps walk off with the win. Winnipeg led through the first half of this game, taking a 23-16 lead into haltime, but Calgary’s D made some important halftime adjustments and shut the offense down for the rest of the game, including a scoreless third quarter for Winnipeg. A late field goal and rouge from Sergio Castillo gave Winnipeg one final late lead before Paredes’ final boot sailed through the uprights in dramatic fashion.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

BYE: Saskatchewan (7-1)

WEEK 11 PREVIEWS

Ottawa (3-6) vs. Winnipeg (4-4), Thursday, August 14th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): With a massive offensive showing last week, it looks like the return of a number of starters to Ottawa’s lineup have been a significant boost. This team is still not living up to the potential many people saw at the start of the season, but a two-game win streak after their first bye week is definitely starting to shut up some of their critics. Winnipeg continues to look old and past their prime, in particular QB Zach Collaros. The whole team has had a ton of miles on them thanks to five consecutive Grey Cup trips, and those deep playoff runs do add up over time. Ottawa’s defence is still going to need to be better – the secondary, which was supposed to be one of the areas most explicitly addressed in the offseason, still doesn’t look right thanks to injuries to Alonzo Addae, Adrian Frye, and Charlie Ringland.

PICK: Ottawa

Toronto (2-7) vs. Edmonton (2-6), Friday, August 15th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): It’s a battle of basement dwellers here. The Argos, last year’s Grey Cup winners, have two main problems this year: they lost all their best defensive players, especially in the front seven, and that Nick Arbuckle is absolutely addicted to throwing interceptions at the worst possible times. A third, slightly less significant problem, is that they’ve done a terrible job at establishing the run this year, forcing Arbuckle to throw eleventy billion times a game and exacerbating his pick problem. Something needs to change. These problems point to significant structural issues with the team. For the Elks, last week’s game might be a sign that Cody Fajardo has definitively stolen the starter’s job from Tre Ford for the remainder of the season. Again, there are also significant structural issues on the Elks’ roster as well, especially on D, but last week’s big come from behind win was a great step forward in trying to gel as a team.

PICK: Edmonton

Hamilton (6-3) vs. Saskatchewan (7-1), Saturday, August 16th, 3:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CBSSN, CFL+): Saskatchewan is the clear-cut best team in the league this year, but I think there’s valid arguments for either Hamilton or Calgary being the #2 overall team after them. Hamilton’s offensive prowess always adds for glitz and glamour, but this is going to be one of their toughest tests of the season this week. Saskatchewan’s only blemish on the year has come against Calgary, and they’ve routinely looked calm, collected and control in all three phases of the game. Being at home this week is also going to help matters for them. If only those attendance numbers could climb back again…

PICK: Saskatchewan

Montreal (5-4) vs. BC (4-5), Saturday, August 16th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The Alouettes are floundering without Davis Alexander under centre. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was benched last week after yet another brutal pick-six, and age 37 I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get cut soon after returning from the 6-game injured list. Caleb Evans will get the start this week as Alexander remains a few weeks away. The Als’ offence without him is simply not able to sustain drives enough to give their D a rest, and it showed when they collapsed down the stretch. Against Nathan Rourke and his litany of receivers, I don’t like where that’s headed, even if the secondary is still effective in man situations.

PICK: BC

BYE: Calgary (6-3)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Mitchell, HAM – 2856
2. Arbuckle, TOR – 2651
3. Rourke, BC – 2304

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 21
2. Arbuckle, TOR – 16
3. Harris, SSK – 13

Rushing Yards

1. Butler, BC – 704
2. Mills, CGY – 660
3. Ouellette, SSK – 564

Receiving Yards

1. Coxie, TOR – 794
2. Lawler, HAM – 783
3. Hatcher, BC – 722

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 70
2. Roberts, CGY – 59
3. Pickett, OTT – 55

Sacks

1. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL  – 7
2. Chatfield, TOR – 6
3. Hutchings, CGY – 4

Interceptions

1. Greene, CGY – 4
2. Ento, MTL  – 3
3. Peters, HAM – 3

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 28
2. Hajrullahu, TOR – 23
3. Liegghio, HAM – 21

PICK POOL

Tough week for me last week. At least the REDBLACKS won – which makes the spoiled pick feel a little better. Honestly, a tough week for pretty well all of us. The joys of CFL football!

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Enjoy the games, everyone.