We have reached the always-discussed one-seventh point of the CFL season, and we’re starting to get a sense of who these teams are for 2025.
Week 2 was kind to us as we went 4-0, bringing our overall record to a lovely 6-2. Let’s keep that momentum going this week.
Montreal Alouettes vs. Edmonton Elks — Thursday, June 19, 9:00 p.m. EDT
The Alouettes will kick-off Week 3 as they take on Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium in what will be the home-opener for this new-look Elks squad.
Montreal has looked like the most complete team in the league through two weeks, ranking first in net defence and tied for second in points per game. It’s still early in the season, but when the initial numbers match the eye test and the preseason predictions, it’s easy to buy into the Alouettes — they feel like the real deal.
Davis Alexander continues to find his groove as a starting quarterback, going 6-0 in his career. After some modest numbers in Week 1, Alexander reached the 300-yard mark for the first time in last week’s win over Ottawa.
Montreal’s receiving corps has so many weapons to beat opponents with, and it feels like Alexander is starting to unlock a lot of its potential early in the season. That should do him well against Edmonton’s defence, which struggled in Week 1 against the B.C. Lions, allowing Nathan Rourke to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Montreal’s defence is back to their usual smothering ways. They lead the league in takeaways through two weeks and have actually allowed fewer points than Edmonton despite playing one more game than the Elks. It’s a very difficult matchup for Tre Ford and his offence.
Week 1 was a reminder that while we may like a lot of the changes Edmonton made this offseason, this team still has a young quarterback, a rookie head coach, and a roster that was thoroughly overhauled. I think they’re growing something good in Edmonton but it’s just that — growing.
Meanwhile, Montreal has grown very much and should show the difference between the two this week.
PICK: Montreal -5.5
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Toronto Argonauts — Friday, June 20, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Saskatchewan looks to continue their dominance over Ontario when they take on the Argos this weekend at BMO Field.
The Riders are 2-0 after victories over Ottawa and Hamilton to start the year. It hasn’t been a perfect start for the Green and White — aside from the record, obviously — but they are still in a good spot going into this rematch of the 1997 Grey Cup.
Saskatchewan has had great moments on both sides of the ball this year. On offence, they have back-to-back 100-yard games from Samuel Emilus and KeeSean Johnson, respectively, though the former appears to be banged up.
The unit will be a tough matchup for the Argos, who have had some issues on defence the first two weeks of the season. Last week, Toronto’s secondary struggled against Vernon Adams Jr. and the Stampeders passing attack. The previous week, it was Sean Thomas-Erlington who got them on the ground for 86 yards. Saskatchewan has looked good running the ball the first two weeks of the year and with Ka’Deem Carey on the roster, this could be considered a “revenge game.”
On the offensive side, things just haven’t clicked for Nick Arbuckle after his Grey Cup heroics last season. I expect Toronto’s offence to have some problems against the aggressive Saskatchewan secondary, whether it’s him or Chad Kelly under centre this week. The Riders got back to their ball-hawking ways last game against Bo Levi Mitchell and the Tiger-Cats — if that continues at BMO Field, it could be a long day for the defending champions.
The Riders do have some flaws right now — kicker Brett Lauther is coming off a stinker — but the Argos aren’t in a position to take advantage of any of them right now.
PICK: SASKATCHEWAN -2.5
Ottawa Redblacks vs. Calgary Stampeders — Saturday, June 21, 4:00 p.m. EDT
The Stampeders are the surprise of the 2025 campaign as they look to go 3-0 when they take on the Redblacks at McMahon Stadium.
Calgary’s offence has been given the boost you’d expect from adding Vernon Adams Jr. Even though V.A.’s stats don’t yet include a passing touchdown, he’s been a very noticeable upgrade for the offence. The emergence of young receivers Clark Barnes and Jalen Philpot has been impressive as they’ve exchanged 100-yard efforts to start the year. That type of production will be important, depending on the status of Reggie Begelton.
The Stampeders are facing an Ottawa secondary that has struggled to start the year. Ottawa had a very difficult time with Samuel Emilus and the Riders’ offence in Week 1, while Montreal put up 344 yards through the air on them last week.
Taking trends from last year can be a bit of a tricky proposition, but the Redblacks had some significant struggles on the road last season, going 2-7 with their wins coming against non-playoff teams. Again, take that with a grain of salt because one of those non-playoff teams was Calgary.
Ottawa just seems like they’re dealing with a few too many issues right now as Dru Brown remains banged up. This game probably looks different later in the year but for now, I don’t see the Redblacks being able to keep up with Calgary. And from our perspective, I don’t believe Ottawa holds up their end of the bargain to get this number over the total.
