Edmonton starts out the week with a trip to Winnipeg for Thursday Night Football. The Blue Bombers came off a tough road loss in Ottawa. Not a guaranteed win for the Blue Bombers but fairly certain.
The battle of southern Ontario gets an early debut at Tim Hortons Field on Friday night. Hamilton is riding a 2-game winning streak and could use a win over undefeated Toronto to contend for a playoff spot.
Saskatchewan gets to spend a late Saturday afternoon night in Vancouver. Mason Fine now leads the Roughriders after the devastating Trevor Harris injury. Saskatchewan needs some momentum but the BC Lions defence will have something to say.
Ottawa goes west to visit Calgary on Sunday night. The Stampeders hope this is a good chance to get their first home win of the season. The RedBlacks are winless on the road in 2023.
CBS Sports Network has the Saturday and Sunday games.
Montréal, like Toronto, gets its second bye week before August.
CBS Sports Network
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ BC, 7p
Sunday
Ottawa @ Calgary, 7p
TSN
Thursday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Friday
Toronto @ Hamilton, 7:30p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ BC, 7p
Sunday
Ottawa @ Calgary, 7p
Bye week: Montréal
Edmonton Elks tie 1953 St. Louis Browns' all-time pro sports record with 20th consecutive home loss https://t.co/dIyOddIP0y#CFL #Elks #GoElks #ElksCharge pic.twitter.com/soZpfM5rsz
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) July 14, 2023
The Edmonton Elks set a modern record for worst start in franchise history, going 0-6 for the first time since 1938 (the current franchise was founded in 1949). The team has lost 10 in a row in any stadium going back to 2022.
Edmonton tied the 1953 St. Louis Browns for the worst home losing streak in North American sports at 20 games.
Hamilton's Matthew Shiltz won his first CFL game as a starter against a West Division team. Previously, Shiltz had 10 CFL starts at quarterback, going 5-0 against East opponents and 0-5 against West teams.
The Tiger-Cats scored 24 unanswered points on a 3rd-quarter run. Taylor Powell came in for the injured Shiltz, who was placed on the 6-game injured list. Hamilton signed Antonio Pipkin as a veteran backup at quarterback.
The Elks might win by Labour Day, somewhere, but not likely in the next 30 days.
The Taylor Cornelius left-handed throw for a Pick 6 for the Tiger-Cats got Chris Jones to switch QBs to Jarret Doege. We aren't saying Tre Ford is the long-term answer but playing him is a smart move.
DIAL IT UP 📞#CFLGameday | @sskroughriders pic.twitter.com/TRYXclPbIy
— CFL (@CFL) July 16, 2023
This is not the game-winning play and not the team that won the game. This is the play people will claim they saw in person when they watched it on TV. 3rd and 24. Backup quarterback in place. Calgary's Jonathan Moxey going for the interception instead of knocking the ball down. Tevin Jones standing there: waiting for a deflection. Getting said deflection and somehow scoring all on the same play.
Calgary and Saskatchewan have split the first 2 games with the Roughriders having a 1-point advantage in the total points scored. You have to wait until October 13 in Calgary to find out the season series winner.
Mario Alford returned 2 punts for touchdowns to keep the Roughriders closer than they should have been.
Nothing about the play looked good. Trevor Harris was running for a first down. No slide. Harris suffered a tibial plateau fracture of his right knee midway through the 4th quarter. Harris is 37 years old. He will have the surgery with a chance to return sometime late this season.
Mason Fine should do well as the starter for Saskatchewan. The suggestions from 3 Down Nation for Edmonton and Ottawa should also apply to Saskatchewan and Hamilton. Someone sign Michael O'Connor.
2023 CFL Week 6 preview
2023 CFL Week 5 preview
Watched the first half of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Ottawa. The sarcastic cheer when the RedBlacks finally got a first down. As much as the CFL tells us that no lead is safe, you figured Winnipeg would do enough to win in the nation's capital.
Dustin Crum had impressed with his legs. His arm and receivers did a lot better in the second half.
We don't see too many upsets these days in the CFL. Good to see an upset happen that was very unexpected. Ottawa has a 2-game home winning streak.
2023 CFL Week 4 preview: Canada Day weekend
2023 CFL Week 3 preview
The Alouettes made things close against Toronto. This game got pushed down on the excitement list, given how the Saturday doubleheader went. Still, Montréal was tied with Toronto at the 3-minute warning in the second half. The Argos had a lot of penalties but remain the only CFL team to be undefeated.
2023 CFL Week 2 preview
Montréal, Hamilton, and Ottawa got to 2-3 in very different ways. The Alouettes beat the other 2 teams in divisional play, so Montréal has the edge. Figuring the Toronto Argonauts will win the East, the winner gets a home playoff game, the second team might make the playoffs (crossover, perhaps), and the third team won't make the playoffs.
In terms of a potential crossover, Calgary is also 2-3.
2023 CFL Week 1 preview
The CBS Sports Network audience got to see the overtime-winning Dustin Crum run in Ottawa. This is the encouraging sign for potential similar scenarios.
We've seen CFL+ skip past the kickoff winner intro at times as well as the halftime statistics. The CFL+ coverage should reflect every on-air moment from TSN.
2023 CFL preview
2023 CFL preseason schedule
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
WHAT IS HAPPENING!? with Dustin Nielson 😂 pic.twitter.com/ktYHVLJuoM
— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) July 17, 2023
Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor with Ryan Rishaug got to watch history in Edmonton on Thursday night. Marshall Ferguson and Duane Forde were with Kenzie Lalonde in Montréal in a much closer game than expected on Friday.
Rod Smith and Forde with Matthew Scianitti were in the nation's capital on Saturday afternoon. This was Smith's first CFL game in the month of July. We don't ask where or why; we hope Smith and his world is in good shape in every way possible.
Nielson and Suitor with Brit Dort finished the doubleheader in Regina on Saturday.
Paul LaPolice hung out with Smith and Forde. Turns out LaPolice will do a few games as a colour analyst. We have talked about the turnover on the play by play side. TSN experimented with Henry Burris as a game analyst before the pandemic; otherwise Suitor, Forde, and Dunigan have been the only 3 game analysts.
We got to see one of the old CFL on TSN play by play guard at the game in Edmonton Thursday night. Gord Miller was talking with CFL commissioner Randy Ambroisie and, in a separate conversation, Edmonton legend quarterback Ricky Ray. Miller is from Edmonton.
Suitor made the joke that Miller would suggest a rule change to Ambroisie. We know Miller has cut back on his workload in recent years. Would be nice to include Miller somehow in the CFL coverage, maybe in the role Brian Williams used to do for the CFL on CBC and later on TSN. Miller and Matt Dunigan were a fun team to watch when you could get them together for a game.
logo credit: CFL
Twitter captures: @3DownNation; @CFL; @JayOnSC
Comments