- Saskatchewan Roughriders (Last Rank 3)
Another week, another top dog. The Riders defense is incredible, holding the Blue and Gold to only 3 Sergio Castillo FGs. Just when it looked like the Bombers might get back into the game, the Riders D forced two turnovers (one interception from Adam Auclair and one forced fumble from Jameer Thurman that was recovered by Marcus Sayles) that extinguished any hopes of a comeback. On offense Ajou Ajou was able to come in relief of Kian Schaffer-Baker and get his first 100-yard game as a pro. They have a short week as they travel to Montreal to face the Alouettes on Thursday Night Football. - Montreal Alouettes (Last Rank: 2)
Montreal is coming off their bye week, but the only thing that really matters is the status of QB1 Cody Fajardo, who injured his hamstring when they played Toronto the week prior. He did not participate in the first day of practice this week, but Jason Maas is not ruling him out yet. Caleb Evans did not have a great day in relief and if he is to get the start against the Riders #1 ranked defense on Thursday, it might be a long game for the home fans in La Bella Province. - BC Lions (Last Rank: 1)
The Lions had a tough Sunday in Calgary. Vernon Adams was not able to get anything going with either of his two favourite targets, Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins. He did throw 2 TDs but evened out with 2 INTs and the Lions in general seemed to play down to their opponents and got caught in a trap game. K Sean Whyte is still perfect and moved into second place on the consecutive FGs made list but is still quite a way back from Lewis Ward’s 69. The bye week is coming at the right time for BC as they can flush this loss and look to resume dominating next week. - Ottawa REDBLACKS (Last Rank: 6)
The REDBLACKS were able to get the home and home sweep over the Elks. This week’s game was certainly more of a defensive struggle than the previous meeting, but in the end, they do not ask how, they ask how many. Ryquell Armstead’s lone TD proved to be the difference but will need to do more offensively this week as they host the Calgary Stampeders on Friday Night Football. - Calgary Stampeders (Last Rank: 7)
Speaking of the Stamps, they were able to beat the BC Lions at home in an ugly win. Not often are teams going to win when the take 180 yards in penalties, but they were able to capitalize on 3 BC turnovers and Jake Maier was able to throw for 3 TDs without any INTs. They head to the nation’s capital to face the REDBLACKS on Friday. - Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Last Rank: 9)
Hamilton was able to finally get into the win column when they beat their archrivals the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night. It was not flashy, but the Ticats were able to fend off the Argos late surge after Nick Arbuckle came in relief for Cameron Dukes for the second consecutive game. They look to continue their winning ways in the 2024 version of the Toilet Bowl as they head to Edmonton to face the winless Elks. - Toronto Argonauts (Last Rank: 4)
Defensive coordinators around the CFL have figured Cameron Dukes out. I do still think he can be a valuable player in this league, but he is having a tough go as of late. The Argos dropped their second straight loss, and it might be Arbuckle time in the Six. Nick has come into both losses and did show the ability to move the ball and put points on the board. They now turn their attention to hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday night. - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Last Rank: 5)
The Bombers’ offensive woes continued as the Riders limited them to just nine points this week. Much like the Argos, QB play is not what it needs to be with Zach Collaros only having 2 TD passes vs 7 INTs and a league low (for starting QBs) efficiency rating of 77.4. The Bombers head to the centre of the universe to face the Argos this week. - Edmonton Elks (Last Rank: 8)
What can I say. I thought a coaching / GM change would help get the Elks to reach their potential and they would be able to get out of Ottawa with a win. But they dropped their second game in 5 days which QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson made clear he was not happy with in his post game scrum that blasted the league about a lack of player safety from his perspective. K Boris Bede followed up a terrible last kickoff in last week’s game with a 4/7 performance on FGs. They now have the distinction of hosting the first 2024 Toilet Bowl this week as the 1-5 Hamilton Tiger-Cats come to town.
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