The B.C. Lions have opened as 4.5-point favourites for their heavyweight matchup against the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
B.C. has won back-to-back games over the top teams in the East Division by double-digit margins, crushing the Ottawa Redblacks at home 38-12 before beating the Montreal Alouettes on the road 37-23. The victories ended the team’s five-game losing skid and put them back into contention for first place in the West Division.
Nathan Rourke completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 629 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions in the two wins as he continues to readjust to the CFL. He also rushed for 56 yards and two scores, though it remains unclear if he’ll start this week or if Vernon Adams Jr. will retake the No. 1 job.
The Argonauts are riding a two-game road losing skid, dropping the Labour Day Classic 31-28 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before falling 41-27 to the Redblacks. Chad Kelly threw two first-quarter pick-sixes to Damon Webb this past week and finished the game 36-of-56 on his pass attempts for 463 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions.
The loss proved costly for Toronto as the team now trails Ottawa by five points for second place in the East Division standings. The teams will meet again on Saturday, Oct. 19 at BMO Field, though the Argonauts will have to make up ground before then to increase their chances of hosting a playoff game come November.
B.C. and Toronto haven’t met since Week 1 when the Argonauts won 35-27 after taking a late lead on a 38-yard field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu and sealing the game with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Cameron Dukes.
Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 363 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the loss as he was sacked six times. Dukes threw for 254 yards and three scores in what was only his third career start.
The Toronto Argonauts (6-6) will visit the B.C. Lions (7-6) on Friday night with kickoff slated for 10:00 p.m. EDT.
The rest of the lines for Week 15 in the CFL are as follows.
