Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
TORONTO — With a quarter of the season now in the books, all nine teams in the CFL continue to jockey for position in the East and West Divisions as we move into the midsummer months of the season.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are hoping their next portion of the schedule brings about positive change for them, as they turn to Matt Nichols for a spark in a matchup against the defending Grey Cup Champions at Commonwealth Stadium to kick off Week 6 action on Thursday Night Football.
There’s a little something in the air in Regina after the Riders picked up their first win of the season in a late-game thriller last weekend against the REDBLACKS. Chris Jones and the Green and White look to make something out of that positive momentum in a road visit against the Montreal Alouettes, who will be honouring the legendary Ben Cahoon and retiring his number 86 at halftime.
In the back half of a Friday Night Football double-header comes this weeks CFL Pick ‘Em Marquee Matchup, as the 3-1 BC Lions travel to Cowtown for a battle for first in the West against the 2-1-1 Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps will be vowing for revenge after dropping the season-opener to the Lions in B.C. back in Week 1.
Rounding out Week 6 is another battle for first, this one in the East Division as the Toronto Argonauts travel to Ottawa for some Sunday night football in the nation’s capital. Henry Burris is back under centre for Ottawa while Logan Kilgore makes career start No. 1 for the Argos, who have a chance to claim sole possession of first in the East with a road win.
BUY WEEK 6 TICKETS
» Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET: Winnipeg at Edmonton
» Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Saskatchewan at Montreal
» Friday, 10:00 p.m. ET: BC at Calgary
» Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET: Toronto at Ottawa
THIS WEEK IN THE CFL
The Life of Adarius: Through four games this season, Eskimos receiver Adarius Bowman has 34 receptions for 543 yards (136 per game), good enough to place him second in the league in receiving yards. His current pace would break the all-time single-season receiving yards record of 2,444 set in 1994 with the Calgary Stampeders.
Week 5 scoring: Week 5 marked the highest-scoring week of the season thus far (and the highest since Week 2 in 2015) with 56.3 points per game. All four winning teams scored at least 30 points.
More scoring: Scoring is up five per cent compared to last year and 13 per cent compqred to 2014. Part of it has to o with an increase in passing, which is up 110 yards per game compared to a year ago (an increase of 21 per cent) and 162 yards compared to 2014 (an increase of 34 per cent). However, average rushing yards have dropped 36 yards to 152 yards per game this season.
Comeback kings: The Ticats set a new club record by erasing a 25-point deficit, scoring the game’s final 31 points en route to a 37-31 victory. Jeremiah Masoli set the all-time record for consecutive completions with 23 in a row, breaking Jason Maas’ long-standing record of 22 completions in 2004. So far this season there have been 16 comeback victories in 20 games, six of them coming with the team down 10 or more points. BC and Ottawa each have three comeback victories while Montreal has not yet recorded one.
Coming off a loss: The Eskimos and Bombers are both coming off Week 5 losses, which doesn’t bode entirely well for Winnipeg. The Eskimos have won nine of their last 10 games coming off a loss but are still a distant second in that department to the Stamps, who are 11-0 after a loss since July 12, 2012.
The right amount of rest? Much like Calgary did in Week 5 against Winnipeg, the Lions now have the advantage of facing the Stampeders coming off a bye week. The Lions are 15-6 coming off the bye since 2002, not far behind league-best Calgary at 16-4 since that time.
» THE WEEKLY SAY: A question for every team in Week 6
Derel Walker and the Esks’ offence are playing at a record-breaking pace (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
WEEK 5 GAME NOTES
Lewis over 900: Last week Nik Lewis became the seventh player to reach 900 career receptions, joining an elusive club that includes Geroy Simon (1,029), Ben Cahoon (1,017), Terry Vaughn (1,006), Darren Flutie (972), Allan Pitt (966), and Don Narcisse (919).
Discipline restored: After a season-high average of 26.3 penalties in Week 4, Week 5 penalties dropped to an average of 18.3 penalties per game. The current average for the 2016 season is 20.2 penalties per game, which is a 13 per cent drop from the same point last season.
Reilly, Reilly good: Edmonton pivot Mike Reilly has an active streak of seven consecutive games where he has thrown for more than 300 yards. That is an Edmonton club record and is two games short of the all-time CFL Record set by Sam Etcheverry in 1956 and tied by Kent Austin in 1991.
Road warriors: Home teams split all Week 5 games, but road teams still hold a 14-5-1 edge (.725 winning percentage). The combined road record for road teams in Week 6 is 5-2.
All eyes on the Riders: Last week’s most-watched game was between the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Between TSN and RDS, 946,000 viewers tuned into the game.
Not the same defence: Through four games, Edmonton has allowed 33.5 points per game – that is the most allowed by the club through the first four games since 2009 (35.0) and compares to just 14.5 points against per game through four games in 2015.
Dressler fitting in: Weston Dressler is getting more and more involved with the Bomber offence, last week setting a new 2016 CFL season-high with 12 receptions for 118 yards, one TD and a two-point convert. The 12 catches were a personal single-game high for Dressler.
Down by 13, won by 13: The Lions trailed Saskatchewan 20-7 late in the 1st half but came back to outscore the Riders 33-7 over the final 31:34 two weeks ago. It was BC’s largest comeback to win since an 18-point recovery over Montreal on July 25, 2008.
Bo Levi Mitchell: Mitchell carries a streak with at least one TD pass in each of his last 19 games which is a Stampeders club record. That streak of 19 in a row is two games back of No. 4 all-time (Doug Flutie, 1996-97 and Anthony Calvillo, 2008-09). The Stamps starting QB is now 30-7-1 in his first 38 CFL QB starts.
Defensive battle on the horizon: Through Week 5, BC and Calgary rank first and second respectively in allowing the fewest points and the fewest opponent offensive TDs, and second and fourth in fewest net yards allowed. They have a combined 23 QB Sacks made and have dominated time of possession (Calgary No. 1 at 31:35; BC third at 28:43).
