CFL Beat: Week 14

With LaboUr Day falling late in the calendar this year, most of my schoolteacher colleagues grumbled about going back to work already – something I cannot relate to right now as I enjoy my first week of parental leave. There has been a lot of peek-a-boo, crawl chasing, and tossing of babies this week – all important training camp activities before the boy is big enough to handle two-a-days and some Oklahoma drills next spring. If he makes the NFL, I’ll retire early – if he makes the CFL, well, there’s a good probability I’ll still be earning more than him as a teacher and musician. Oh well. Time to enjoy some LaboUr Day Classic matchups this long weekend!

In league news this week:

• After being a late cut by the NFL LA Rams, the Montreal Alouettes signed their first-round CFL draft pick, TE Rohan Jones, to a three-year contract that will keep him with the team through the end of 2028. At 6’2″, 238 lbs, Jones will likely get up to speed with the team over the next couple of weeks and add to the offense in myriad ways soon enough.
• The CFL suspended BC Lions special teamer rookie Jacob Bond for two games due to failing a drug test; as a first-time infraction, the penalty is two games, but quickly jumps to nine, then 18, then life for subsequent infractions. Bond specifically tested positive for “D-amfetamine”, a “non-specified stimulant” according to the league’s drug policy.
• The Lions also found themselves in hot water earlier this week after a controversial social media post following their win over the lowly 0-11 Ottawa REDBLACKS, which stated, “The B.C. Lions have decided to respectfully refrain from posting win memes tonight out of an abundance of caution for the well-being of the Ottawa Redblacks and their fanbase,” read the post.Please know the B.C. Lions are excited about their win but extend the deepest of sympathy for all those who experienced another loss tonight. The Road Team, please enjoy yet another lemon. Thank you.” Following anger from the hordes of depressed REDBLACKS fans, the team relented and deleted the post anyway. The world’s getting too soft these days, if you ask me.

Onto the games!

WEEK 13 RECAPS

Montreal 28 vs. Winnipeg 44: Wow. Who saw this result coming? The Bombers were able to stop the Alouettes rushing game, and the normally stout Montreal D had difficulties with handling the Bombers’ run game to boot, making for a surprise Winnipeg victory. Bryce Perkins, the Bombers’ short-yardage QB, had two rushing scores, while star running back Brady Oliveira had another; Zach Collaros threw two more through the air to receiver Ontaria Wilson. Montreal’s Davis Alexander had three TD passes and a rushing score of his own, but at the end of the day, Winnipeg had pretty much a perfect offensive night against a much-vaunted Alouettes team. I suspect the rest of the league will be watching this tape intently as the season moves on…

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Winnipeg

Hamilton 23 vs. Calgary 28: With Vernon Adams, Jr. still on the shelf from a concussion he suffered a couple of weeks ago, Josh Love got his first career CFL start at quarterback for the Stamps. And while he wasn’t perfect, he was good enough, and allowed RB Dedrick Mills to help clinch the game in the fourth quarter with the game-winning TD. It was a tight contest; with five lead changes, the Tiger-Cats led through much of the first half, but it was ultimately Calgary that got the last word in thanks to Mills’ TD; Rene Paredes, back from injury, was also a key contributor to Calgary’s win, kicking five field goals on the night.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Toronto 24 vs. Saskatchewan 28: Toronto led Saskatchewan for almost the entire game… but come the three-minute warning, the Roughriders finally got the lead, and went on to win it. After being down 22-7, the home side chipped away gradually at the Argos’ lead, and in the fourth quarter, thanks to Trevor Harris finding KeeSean Johnson in the end zone, and finally a Tommy Stevens short-yardage special, the Riders snapped their two-game losing streak.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BC 45 vs. Ottawa 24: Believe it or not, this game was actually tied at 17 at halftime… and then, just as we’ve seen time and time again this year, the wheels absolutely came off for the REDBLACKS, who become the first 0-11 team in the CFL since the 2003 season, when the Tiger-Cats went 1-17. Zander Horvath had an absolutely phenomenal game for the Lions, rushing for four TDs and 194 total yards, who’ve now won five in a row and looking much more like the dangerous team we saw in the second half of 2025. The REDBLACKS can’t run the ball, and they also can’t stop the run. It’s some abysmal, abysmal football in Ottawa, who, going on bye this week, will now have gone literally over a calendar year without winning a game. Dark times in our nation’s capital.

PICK: BC

RESULT: BC

BYE: Edmonton (8-3)

WEEK 14 PREVIEWS

BC (6-5) vs. Montreal (9-2), Friday, September 4th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Davis Alexander briefly left last week’s game against Winnipeg with what appeared to be a hamstring injury – an injury that limited him quite a bit last season – but he should be good to go this week according to Montreal. Alexander and Nathan Rourke are probably the two best QBs in the league right now, and with BC having won five in a row and able to run the football with ease, they have a chance to make some noise this week, if Montreal find themselves in similar difficulty to stop the run as they found themselves in last week. Still, that Als pass game is deadly. Amazing that they still scored four TDs and didn’t win. Hard not to pick the home team here all the same.

PICK: Montreal

Winnipeg (6-5) vs. Saskatchewan (7-4), Sunday, September 6th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): It’s the first (and arguably best) of three Labour Day Classic matchups held each year, and the stakes are very high indeed; Saskatchewan has the better team when healthy, but that key caveat of health has been a crutch for them this season coming off their Grey Cup victory in 2025. Winnipeg has had an up-and-down year but had the biggest upset of the season last week against Montreal, so clearly when they’re firing on all cylinders, they can still hang with just about anyone, it seems. To me, Saskatchewan needs to focus on stopping the run; Winnipeg needs to do something about short-yardage stuff, because Tommy Stevens is head and shoulders above the rest of the league at getting those small chunks out at key times, and it has been a dagger so many times this year by Saskatchewan.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Toronto (5-6) vs. Hamilton (4-8), Monday, September 7th, 2:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Another quick drive down the Queen Elizabeth Way to see the Golden Horseshoe rivals square off yet again. It appears that Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu is back healthy again – and will be a boost for his team with a steady leg – and the Tiger-Cats still have no word on when star QB Bo Levi Mitchell will return. This is pretty much a must-win game for Hamilton to keep their season alive; with the crossover rule, it’d be pretty much impossible for any .500 or worse team to make the playoffs this season thanks to the crossover rule, which would allow a fourth-place West team to leapfrog the Tabbies for the third and final spot in the East playoffs.

PICK: Toronto

Edmonton (8-3) vs. Calgary (5-6), Saturday, September 7th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): In the battle of Alberta, the Elks have a notable lead over the Stamps in the standings, and have the benefit of coming in rested off of a bye week. With the way this team has played defensively this year, they legitimately have a chance to go deep this year – which is wonderful news for long-suffering fans in Edmonton. Calgary kept their season alive with last week’s win over Hamilton, but are still in last place in the West due to yet another strong division this year – and of course would be tied for second in the East, but sadly, the crossover rule is limited to a single playoff berth to the third-place spot each season. Next year likely won’t be an issue for them, but them’s the breaks under the current format. At any rate, the team really needs QB Vernon Adams, Jr. to be back healthy if they want to keep the playoff hopes alive at this point in the year – they are technically just one game back of BC and Winnipeg, but the odds still have them on the outside looking in right now.

PICK: Edmonton

BYE: Ottawa (0-11)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Alexander, MTL – 3657
2. Kelly, TOR – 3642
3. Harris, SSK – 3531

Passing TDs

1. Alexander, MTL – 24
2. Kelly, TOR – 24
3. Harris, SSK – 23

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 956
2. Mills, CGY – 874
3. Theis, MTL – 819

Receiving Yards

1. Philpot, MTL – 1316
2. Snead, MTL – 1089
3. Johnson, SSK – 990

Defensive Tackles

1. Darkangelo, TOR – 70
2. Pickett, TOR – 69
3. Findlay, BC – 65

Sacks

1. Hicks, CGY – 8
2. Lemon, TOR – 8
3. Betts, BC – 7

Interceptions

1. Labrosse, CGY – 5
2. Katsantonis, HAM – 5
3. Ford, EDM – 5

Field Goals

1. Castillo, WPG – 36
2. Blanchard, EDM – 32
3. Liegghio, HAM – 25

PICK POOL

Well, I got the Montreal pick wrong last week… but turns out we all unanimously did, so at least I didn’t lose any ground from that particular game.

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

CFL FANTASY

In Week 13 matchups, BC Dick’s Dead Horse beat RoughRougesGTD in a 133-83 romp, courtesy of some massive games from Zander Horvath (164 rush yards and 4 TDs on 24 carries) and KeeSean Johnson (10 catches, 146 yards and a TD). In the second matchup of the week, my dear Maestrottawa was unfortunately bested by last-place Superfluous “U”s by a score of 91-80… Shame on me. Finally, O Spamada absolutely dismantled Sacre Blew in a 131-45 ass-kicking. Injuries did play a factor here, but credit to Ontaria Wilson for a big 32-point week to help seal the win.

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Enjoy the games, everyone.