• Mathieu Betts is back in B.C.: Betts finished last season with 21 sacks, 103 total pressures, a 19.7% pass-rush win rate, a 12.1 pass-rushing productivity score and a 90.3 pass-rush grade.
• Toronto’s Ralph Holley having a quietly dominant season: Holley’s overall defensive grade of 82.7 ranks fifth in the CFL, and he’s one of just two front seven players to have both a pass rush and run defense grade above 77.0
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Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
OTTAWA REDBLACKS VS. BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS
Week 13’s first matchup is an immediate rematch from last week’s highest-scoring game. In that game, the Redblacks sent the Lions to their fifth straight loss with a 34-27 victory. Ottawa was led by QB Dru Brown, who returned from injury and threw for nearly 400 yards on his way to leading all quarterbacks last week with an 86.1 overall grade. The Redblacks are one of the biggest surprise teams this season, and a win this week would also push them closer to their first playoff appearance since 2018. Across the field, the Lions got improved play from freshly signed QB Nathan Rourke after a disastrous first game (36.7 overall grade). He finished with a 71.2 grade last week, thanks largely to a strong rushing effort. The Lions will need Rourke to continue that upward trend if they want to win this game and stop their free fall. They also have defensive reinforcements coming in the form of recently re-signed edge rusher Mathieu Betts.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR ALEXANDER HOLLINS, BRITISH COLUMBIA VS. CB BRANDON DANDRIDGE, OTTAWA
Five weeks into the season, Hollins had caught 33 passes for 572 yards and four touchdowns and led the league with 15 explosive receptions and an 82.6 receiving grade. In the six games since, he’s caught just 15 passes for 219 yards, zero touchdowns and five explosive receptions. His 52.0 receiving grade over that span ranks 46th out of 48 qualified receivers. The Lions need Hollins to get back to that early-season form. He’ll have Dandridge to deal with this week. The Ottawa corner made his season debut two weeks ago and has allowed seven catches on nine targets for 60 yards in those two games. Dandridge had a coverage grade of 78.0 a year ago, which ranked eighth in the CFL among outside corners. Either one of these guys getting the edge of the other in this matchup could directly affect the outcome of this game.
PLAYER TO WATCH: EDGE MATHIEU BETTS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
The Lions wasted no time in bringing back last year’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player after he was cut from the Detroit Lions. Betts finished last season with 21 sacks, 103 total pressures, a 19.7% pass-rush win rate, a 12.1 pass-rushing productivity score and a 90.3 pass-rush grade. All of those marks ranked first in the CFL. The Lions as a team currently rank in the middle of the pack for pass rushing. They’re led by EDGE Sione Teuhema, whose 33 total pressures rank seventh in the league. Betts coming back should pay immediate dividends across the defense, as Ottawa’s offense will be forced to focus on him every single time they drop back to pass.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS VS. SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
A month ago, the Bombers were 2-6 and one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 CFL season. Now, a win this week would vault them into first place in the West Division. To do that, they’ll have to beat a Saskatchewan team that hasn’t won a game since Week 7 (coincidentally, against Winnipeg). The Roughriders are 0-4-1 in that span after starting the year 5-1 and need to right the ship. QB Trevor Harris has been one of the best quarterbacks in the CFL when he’s healthy, putting up a 91.1 passing grade this season that ranks second. He’ll need to outduel Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros, who has been having an up-and-down season, to say the least. Last week, he posted a season-worst 39.6 overall grade despite the Bombers winning. Winnipeg has relied on its league-best defense during this turnaround and will no doubt do that again this week.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR DOHNTE MEYERS, SASKATCHEWAN VS. CB TERRELL BONDS, WINNIPEG
While it’s been his corner partner Tyrell Ford who has gotten much of the praise this season for his play, Bonds is quietly having a great season. He’s allowed just 19 catches (on 43 targets) for 268 yards and zero touchdowns. He’s picked off two passes and broken up seven more. Bonds will have to bring that level of play against one of the hottest receivers in the CFL. Meyers was called up from the practice squad three weeks ago and has caught 19 passes for 263 yards in his three games since. Both of those rank second in the CFL over that span. He has seven explosive receptions and his 2.48 yards per route run average ranks third. Meyers has the early makings of a top-flight receiver in the CFL and will be put to the test this week against Bonds.
PLAYER TO WATCH: RB BRADY OLIVEIRA, WINNIPEG
While Winnipeg’s passing offense has struggled throughout this year, Oliveira and their rushing attack has not. The Most Outstanding Canadian leads the league with 809 rushing yards and is averaging an impressive 3.7 yards after contact per carry, the highest mark in the league. He ranks second with a 90.7 rushing grade and once again leads the league with an 8.9% stuff rate (percentage of rushes for no gain or a loss). Oliveira is also on pace for a career-high in receptions and receiving yards. Oliveira has, at times, put this Winnipeg offense on his back and carried the team into wins. One interesting note is that despite all this success, Oliveira has yet to score a touchdown this season. Will this be the week?
TORONTO ARGONAUTS VS. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
The first of the Labour Day games could have major implications for Hamilton. If they lose, they’ll fall five games back of Toronto in the East Division, with just six games remaining. That would almost certainly take them out of the East playoff race and they’d instead be fighting for a crossover berth. Playoffs should be a secondary concern for Hamilton though as they currently rank last in the league with a 2-9 record. A win for Toronto is important to keep pace in their race to the playoffs. While they are not likely to catch Montreal for first, they are just a game and a half back of Ottawa for that second seed and a home playoff game. The good news for Toronto is the return of QB Chad Kelly to their offense last week. Despite just a week of practice with the team, Kelly made a couple of big-time throws and finished with a 71.9 passing grade in leading the Argos to a big win.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: LG RYAN HUNTER, TORONTO VS. DI DEWAYNE HENDRIX, HAMILTON
Hendrix may not play as many snaps as his teammate Casey Sayles, so his total pressures don’t look as impressive (24 versus Sayle’s 36). However, Hendrix is a top pass-rusher in the CFL and a threat whenever he’s on the field. His 90.0 pass-rush grade leads the league, and his 14.8% pass-rush win rate ranks sixth. Blocking him will be a difficult challenge for Hunter. The left guard has struggled at times this year, his 97.4 pass-blocking efficiency score ranks 17th out of 22 qualified guards this season. However, his 68.8 pass-blocking grade ranks second. That means that while he gets beaten more than a lot of guards, it happens much later in the play. Hendrix wins quickly. It’s going to be a battle in the trenches that could dictate this game.
PLAYER TO WATCH: DI RALPH HOLLEY, TORONTO
After starting the season on and off the practice squad, Holley has earned himself a permanent starting role on the interior defensive line thanks to his fantastic play. Holley’s 82.7 overall defensive grade ranks fifth in the CFL, and he’s one of just two front seven players to have both a pass-rush and run-defense grade above 77.0 (Saskatchewan’s Malik Carney is the other). His 82.7 run-defense grade is actually the highest in the CFL among defensive linemen. His 14.8% pass rush win rate is tied for sixth-best. Holley is one of the best all-around interior defenders in the league this season, and he’s more than capable of taking over a game.
EDMONTON ELKS VS. CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Edmonton’s three-game win streak ended last week, but the Elks looked impressive and kept it close against the league-best Montreal Alouettes. Edmonton’s gotten strong play from QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson (89.1 overall grade this season), but the Elks will be hoping to get star dual-threat QB Tre Ford back from injury soon. Whether he’ll be back this week against Calgary remains to be seen. Speaking of the Stampeders, they’re coming off a bye at a critical point in their season. A loss here sees Edmonton tie them with four wins and puts them in a difficult spot. However, a win could see them vault all the way to second in the West if other results go their way. Calgary needs to figure out its run defense if it wants to come out on top in this one. The Stampeders have the lowest-graded run defense in the league, surrendering 6.5 yards per carry as a unit. That’s a recipe for disaster against an Edmonton team that leads the CFL with a 5.5 yards per carry average.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: LG BRYCE BELL, CALGARY VS. DI SHAWN OAKMAN, EDMONTON
It’s been quite the season for Shawn Oakman. The former Argo was cut after being a healthy scratch in the first game of the season before Edmonton picked him up a month later. Since then, Oakman has been one of the CFL's best pass-rushers. Since he was signed in Week 6, Oakman ranks second in pass-rush grade (80.4) and third in pass-rush win rate (14.4%) among interior defenders. He’ll see a lot of Bell, who hasn’t played his best football this season. Bell has a 55.4 pass-blocking grade and a 97.8 pass-blocking efficiency, both ranking outside the top ten among guards. If he can’t stop the massive defensive lineman across from him, it could be a long night for the Calgary offense.
PLAYER TO WATCH: QB JAKE MAIER, CALGARY
While pretty much every team in the CFL has seen injuries, controversies, or benchings at the quarterback position, Calgary’s Maier just keeps on going as Calgary’s starting QB. Maier has been good but not great this season. He has one of the lowest turnover-worthy throw rates (3.2%, ranks third) but also one of the lowest big-time throw rates (4.0%, ranks ninth). If Calgary can keep Maier clean, they have a bonafide star quarterback. Maier has a passing grade of 88.1 when kept clean, but his grade drops to 49.5 when he’s under pressure. That’s the third-largest dropoff among starting quarterbacks in the CFL. If Maier can stay clean and start pushing the ball down the field a bit more, Calgary should start seeing more offensive success.
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