We’ve now hit the seventh week of the 2022 Canadian Football League season and to this point, fans and bettors are enjoying the many regulated Ontario sportsbooks to choose from when it comes to betting on CFL in Canada.
Below, we’ll do a preview of each while providing betting odds from a variety of sites along with some Week 7 CFL picks.
Week 7 CFL betting odds
The Week 7 slate has the potential to shrink to three games if the Roughriders are unable to get in at least one practice this week while dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, a situation we’ll discuss further below.
The remaining contests each have their unique angles – the Redblacks continue to chase that elusive first win, the Lions look to atone for a Week 5 stumble, and the Blue Bombers remain on a quest to keep their record unblemished.
Below we’ll analyze the odds for each game so you can make educated Week 7 CFL betting picks at the sportsbook of your choice. For more about betting on this week’s action, check out the best CFL Week 7 sportsbook offers.
Friday, July 22: Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Edmonton Elks– 9:00 p.m. EDT
The Blue Bombers continue to build up steam in their quest for a three-peat, as they come into Week 7 as the league’s last remaining undefeated team. Winnipeg would seem to have the biggest mismatch of the week on its hands against the Elks, and QB Zach Collaros appears to be hitting mid-season form after throwing for over 300 yards in two of his last three games.
A date with the Elks’ porous defense could be just the cure for the Blue Bombers’ most prominent blemish at the moment, their lackluster ground attack. Edmonton is yielding a CFL-high (by a good margin) 139.5 rushing yards per game at a whopping 6.0 yards per carry and has conceded 12 rushing touchdowns.
On the other side, running a consistently balanced attack may well be a steep hill to climb for the Elks, as Winnipeg is giving up just 73.7 rushing yards per game and has yet to allow a rushing score, despite Ka’Deem Carey’s impressive showing against the Bombers last week.
Young QB Taylor Cornelius could eventually be goaded into mistakes if the offence is rendered one-dimensional, and he’lll also be without trusted veteran Derel Walker (hip/groin); factoring in Greg Ellingson (hip) is also listed as questionable for the Bombers, I like the chances of scoring being suppressed enough to allow the Under to hit.
The Pick: Under 48.0 points (play up to -115)
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Sunday, July 24: Toronto Argonauts at Saskatchewan Roughriders – 7:00 p.m. EDT
As of this writing, there are legitimate questions as to whether this game will be played due to the COVID-19 outbreak on the Roughriders, although that matter should be settled one way or the other by the end of the day Thursday.
Saskatchewan had to cancel both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practices due to 10 players being in health and safety protocols. That naturally throws the entire outlook of this game into a bit of chaos, to say the least.
The two teams played a hard-fought Week 6 contest, but if the Riders are patching multiple holes with replacements, the Argos will naturally be at a significant advantage. Therefore, a final pick on this game will be rendered once the situation has additional clarity, likely by midday Friday at the latest.
7/23 UPDATE: It appears the Roughriders will have to go with Jake Dolegala at quarterback, as per Thursday comments from head coach Craig Dickenson, although he did not completely rule out the possibility of Cody Fajardo being able to play at least part of the game.
Nevertheless, with Saskatchewan also still down Shaq Evans (ankle), Duke Williams suspended due to his pregame fight in Week 6 and the likes of Kyran Moore (knee) and Mitchell Picton (ankle) also carrying questionable designations, Dolegala could be working with a very limited group of weapons.
Cam Phillips is also questionable for the Argonauts due to an undisclosed non-injury related issue, and there are a host of other players on either side that could miss the game. As such, this has the makings of a disjointed type of rematch that I would certainly lean towards the Under on.
The Pick: Under 46.5 points (play up to -115)
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Thursday, July 21: Montreal Alouettes at Ottawa Redblacks – 7:00 p.m. EDT
The Alouettes enter this matchup trying to erase the bad taste of a 32-31 loss to the Elks that saw Montreal get outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter. The Als now face a team that’s in just slightly worse shape than them in the Redblacks which continue to hunt for their first win.
With Trevor Harris having thrown two interceptions in back-to-back games, it’s possible Vernon Adams gets a shot under center at some point. The Redblacks are allowing 285.2 passing yards per game, a 72.8 percent completion rate, and a CFL-high 10.5 yards per pass.
Walter Fletcher enjoyed a featured role on the ground against Edmonton and broke off a 42-yard run that showcased his impressive speed. Both Fletcher and backfield mate Jeshrun Antwi could find themselves in a good position against Ottawa’s run defence, which has allowed the second-most rushing yards per game (116.4) at 5.0 yards per carry.
While Caleb Evans did a fine job in his first start for Jeremiah Masoli (leg), the challenge will be stiff against a Montreal secondary that’s conceded the second-fewest passing yards per game (250.6), the fewest average yards per pass (7.5) and that’s snagged six interceptions.
Ottawa is likely to stay competitive throughout most of the contest, but this is a narrow spread that the Alouettes have a good chance of covering.
The Pick: Alouettes -2.5 (play up to -115)
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Thursday, July 21: Hamilton Tiger-Cats at British Columbia Lions – 10:00 p.m. EDT
The Tiger-Cats finally have a win under their belt, but they now have the unenviable task of facing off against a Lions team that is coming off a bye week and trying to prove their blowout loss to the Blue Bombers in Week 5 was just a hiccup.
Hamilton’s Dane Evans put together his best game of the season in Week 6 and has an impressively diverse group of pass catchers, but the Lions have allowed a CFL-low 229.0 passing yards per game and three passing touchdowns, along with a league-low 77.2 passer efficiency rating as well.
Meanwhile, Nathan Rourke and company will aim to continue operating at a clip that’s led to them averaging a CFL-high 466.3 yards of net offence per game. The Lions’ offence doesn’t have any true weak points – it’s ranked tops in both rushing yards (129.3) and passing yards (345.5) per game.
However, the matchup against Hamilton’s defense may be tougher than one would assume. The Tiger-Cats are allowing the third-fewest yards of net offence (328.4), lowest 2nd down conversion rate (40.4 percent) and second-lowest yards per play (5.8)
Given the defensive prowess of both clubs and high total, I’d actually play the Under here over trying to guess whether BC can cover the hefty eight-point spread.
The Pick: Under 52.5 points (play up to -115)
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