• Don’t throw at Saskatchewan HB Rolan Milligan: He’s knocked down nine passes and leads the CFL with a 23.7% forced incompletion rate. His 85.7 coverage grade ranks first among defensive backs in the league.
• LB Adarius Pickett doing it all for Ottawa: Pickett has a run defense grade of 85.8 and a coverage grade of 82.6, both of which rank fourth-highest in the CFL among all defensive players
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Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS VS. MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Week 8 in the CFL kicks off with the most anticipated matchup of the early season. The Roughriders are 5-1 and top the West Division while the Alouettes are 5-1 and top the East Division, but only one team can win. At the start of the season, this game would’ve been billed as a quarterback battle between Trevor Harris and Cody Fajardo. However, with both players out for extended periods due to injuries, the onus falls to their backups and supporting casts. Specifically, their defenses. These two rank first and second in nearly all defensive categories, including points allowed, yards per play allowed, opponent passer rating and turnovers. Don’t be surprised if this game ends up being one of the lowest-scoring games of the season.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: QB SHEA PATTERSON, SASKATCHEWAN VS. QB CALEB EVANS, MONTREAL
This isn’t a typical matchup to watch because neither player will share the field at the same time. However, with both teams fielding outstanding defenses, it will almost certainly come down to one of these quarterbacks outplaying the other to get the win. Patterson struggled over his first couple of games but has played solid enough in his last two. His 77.4 passing grade ranks second among CFL quarterbacks in that span. Evans has been a fantastic short-yardage quarterback throughout his career but has never been known for his passing ability. He has 279 passing attempts over the past three seasons and has thrown just 10 big-time throws to 15 turnover-worthy plays. Evans’ rushing ability may be the x-factor in this one, with 18 missed tackles forced over 60 non-quarterback-sneak carries since 2022.
PLAYER TO WATCH: HB ROLAN MILLIGAN, SASKATCHEWAN
Teams keep targeting Milligan in coverage, and he keeps making them pay. He’s been targeted 38 times in coverage (fourth-most in the CFL) and has allowed just 19 catches for 257 yards and a mere nine first downs. He’s allowed three touchdowns, but he’s more than made up for it with his ball skills. Milligan leads the league with four interceptions, and he’s dropped another four. He’s knocked down nine passes and leads the CFL with a 23.7% forced incompletion rate. His 85.7 coverage grade ranks first among defensive backs in the league. Perhaps Montreal will be the first team to realize that they shouldn’t throw at Milligan.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS VS. OTTAWA REDBLACKS
It’s been an impressive start to the season for Ottawa, recording four wins in its first six games. That’s as many wins as the Redblacks had all of last season. QB Dru Brown has overcome a rough start and has been the highest-graded quarterback over the past two weeks (81.3 passing grade). For Calgary, it’s been an up-and-down start, but the Stampeders are coming off a huge win over the B.C. Lions last week. They’ll need a good game from QB Jake Maier (82.7 season passing grade, fourth-best in CFL) if they want to come out on top in this one. A win keeps both of these teams within striking distance of the top of their respective divisions, while a loss could potentially put them in a three-game hole.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR JUSTIN HARDY, OTTAWA VS. HB KOBE WILLIAMS, CALGARY
A year after just barely breaking 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, Hardy is following that season up with an even better one. He’s on pace to catch 96 passes for 1,626 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which would shatter last season’s marks. Hardy’s 16 explosive receptions are the third-most in the CFL this season, and his 76.4 receiving grade ranks second. He’ll have to work hard to get open against Williams though, one of the CFL’s premier halfbacks. Williams’ 75.8 coverage grade currently ranks ninth among all CFL defensive backs. He’s allowing just 0.73 yards per coverage snap. That’s a lot less than Hardy’s 2.34 yards per route run. If either one of these guys can win this matchup decisively, the game result could follow.
PLAYER TO WATCH: SAM LB ADARIUS PICKETT, OTTAWA
As good as Pickett was last year when he was named a CFL All-Star, he’s been even better this season. Pickett has an 85.8 run-defense grade and an 82.6 coverage grade, both of which rank fourth-highest in the CFL among all defensive players. He also has a 14.6% pass rush win rate, which ranks 15th in the league. He’s not just capable at all three phases of defensive football, he excels at each one. He never needs to come off the field and is capable of completely taking over a game on defense. A big game from him here could swing the tide in Ottawa’s favor.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS VS. TORONTO ARGONAUTS
There has not been a team more disappointing than the Blue Bombers have been this season. Finalists in the last four Grey Cups, Winnipeg finds themselves 2-5 and near the bottom of the West Division. Those five losses are already more than they had in any of their previous three seasons. The Bombers defense has been improving, but their offense has not been its usual self. Meanwhile, Toronto is essentially treading water until it can get last season’s Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly back at quarterback. Current QB Cameron Dukes has the lowest grade among starters at 62.4 and has just three big-time throws this season. Toronto has leaned on their rushing and screen games to win so far this season and they’ll likely need to do that again this week if they want to come out on top.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: RB KA’DEEM CAREY, TORONTO VS. LB ADAM BIGHILL, WINNIPEG
Right now, Toronto’s offense runs through its running back. Carey has been the highest-graded RB in the CFL this year, as he has an 89.7 rushing grade and a league-leading 13 explosive runs. Carey has also added almost 150 receiving yards and is a true dual-threat weapon for this Argonauts offense. Bighill hasn’t had a great season outside of a great Week 4 and is one of the CFL's lower-graded run-defending linebackers. He has 11 stops but also eight missed tackles in the run game. If he can’t help slow down Carey and this Toronto rushing attack, the Argonauts could cruise to a victory here.
PLAYER TO WATCH: QB ZACH COLLAROS, WINNIPEG
It hasn’t been easy for Collaros this season, especially compared to how he started the 2023 season. Through his first seven games last year, the former M.O.P. had 14 big-time throws and three turnover-worthy plays. This year he has just four big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays. He’s desperately missing his star WRs Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen. However, Schoen is done for the year and Lawler still isn’t practicing. Collaros needs to find a way to step up and put this offense on his back. Nobody has more big-time throws over the past three seasons than he does and he’ll need to find the old Collaros again if Winnipeg wants to avoid falling into an insurmountable hole.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS VS. EDMONTON ELKS
While the week begins with the top two teams facing off, it ends with the bottom two. Edmonton and Hamilton have one win combined and currently sit at the very bottom of both their divisions. Both teams have been close in plenty of losses, but this isn’t horseshoes. It’s not too late for either of these teams to turn their seasons around, and it would start with a win this week. Edmonton’s QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson is the second-highest graded quarterback in the league at 89.2, and the Elks will hope that he can finally get them over the hump. It hasn’t been as smooth for Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell, whose 74.1 passing grade ranks sixth.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: RG HUNTER STEWARD, EDMONTON VS. DI CASEY SAYLES, HAMILTON
Sayles may only have two sacks on the season, but there haven’t been many defensive players playing better than him. Sayles has 23 total pressures, the fourth most in the league. He also has 18 additional pass rush wins, which gives him a 13.8% win rate. That ranks fifth among all interior defenders. He also has seven solo run stops. Steward will have his hands full, as the right guard has struggled this season. He’s allowed eight total pressures but also has 14 additional pass-blocking losses. His 59.0 pass-blocking grade ranks 11th among guards and his run-blocking grade is ninth. This could be a big game for Sayles and could swing the result Hamilton’s way.
PLAYER TO WATCH: RB JAMES BUTLER, HAMILTON
Butler hasn’t been overly special as a rusher this season. He has a 73.6 rushing grade that ranks seventh among starting RBs. He’s still forcing missed tackles at a high rate though, as he has a 0.23 missed tackles forced per carry rate that ranks third. He’s really dangerous out of the backfield. Butler’s 83.4 receiving grade ranks second among running backs, as does his 1.47 yards per route run average. Butler has always been able to contribute to all offensive phases, and he’s starting to get back to that level after an early season slump. If he can keep building on that, he can help pull Hamilton back into the win column sooner rather than later.
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