CFL Pick’Em Marquee Matchup: Undefeated squads collide
Daniel Crump/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The BC Lions will have another tough test on the road as they face the undefeated Toronto Argonauts, a week after beating a previously unbeaten Blue Bombers squad in Winnipeg.
BC looks like the team to beat in the West with a dominant defence leading the way to a 3-0 campaign. The Lions have allowed only 21 points in three games with two of those games being played on the road. The unit led by defensive lineman Mathieu Betts and defensive back Garry Peters gave up only six points in the last two games combined, holding an explosive Bombers passing offence to only 214 yards, the lowest mark of Week 3. They held their opponents to just one touchdown drive in 39 attempts.
Meanwhile the defending champions look in midseason form after cruising to 2-0 with wins over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Elks in the last two weeks. Quarterback Chad Kelly has taken over the starting position and continues to impress for a Double Blue team that has scored 75 points over two games behind a strong running attack that leads the league with seven touchdowns. Toronto’s pivot himself is tied with teammate A.J. Ouellette for the lead in rushing majors with three each.
It’s a battle between an unmovable object in the Argos offensive line and an unstoppable force in the Lions’ pass rush. Toronto’s line allowed a pressure in only eight per cent of their snaps against the Elks in Week 3, while the Leos tallied seven sacks on Zach Collaros and the Bombers.
BC hadn’t started 3-0 two years in a row since 1995 and looks like an even more complete squad than the team that lost last year in the Western Final to Winnipeg. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. leads the league in touchdown passes with five and is second in yards with 861, while running back Taquan Mizzell is second in rushing yards with 224. Wide receiver Dominique Rhymes missed last week’s game against the Bombers but teammates Alexander Hollins, Lucky Whitehead and Justin McInnis filled in the gap and combined for 209 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
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Game Notes:
- Week 4 wraps up with a battle between two of the last three undefeated teams in the 3-0 BC Lions and 2-0 Toronto Argonauts.
- BC has won each game by 16 or more points – the first time they have done that since Aug-Sep 2006.
- The last time Toronto had won their first two games by a combined 30 or more points was in 1991 winning by 17 and 23.
- The Lions have started 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1994-1995.
- BC allowed just six points over their last two games – matching the lowest two-game total allowed in club history (Aug. 1964).
- The Argos have yet to allow a point in the third Quarter outscoring opponents 18-0.
- Taquan Mizzell ranks second in the CFL in rushing just nine yards off the CFL lead (224).
- Toronto leads the CFL at 8.8 yards per 1st down play; BC is second at 7.2 yards per 1st down attempt.
- Toronto leads the CFL in second down conversions at 61 per cent, BC ranks third at 53 per cent.
- The Lions and Argos are the only two clubs yet to throw a Challenge flag this season.
- This week the Argos look to start 3-0 for the first time since 1991.
- Vernon Adams Jr. has now won his last five starts back to 2022 and has a touchdown pass in each of his last seven starts. He is now 24-14 in 38 career starts. At 2-3 Toronto is the only club against whom he does not have a winning record.
- Chad Kelly threw for a career-high (tied) 264 yards and one touchdown last week connecting with seven different receivers. Kelly’s most important impact in 2023 however is leading eight touchdown drives in just 27 possessions (30 per cent rate).
- Mathieu Betts leads the CFL with five sacks. The last National to lead the CFL on his own was Brent Johnson in 2006.
- David Ungerer recorded his first career blocked kick last week and caught 3 passes for a team-high 75 yards and a TD.
- Ryan Dinwiddie at home has a 12-5 mark at BMO Field with the Argonauts.
- The seven Sacks BC had last week matched their most in a game since 2014 (10 vs Winnipeg, Oct. 25th).
- Andrew Harris is closing in on the top-five all-time rushing yards list, sitting 78 yards back of Charles Roberts. Harris also has 5,414 receiving yards, needing just 10 more to tie Dave Stala and crack the top-100 all-time.
- Sean Whyte is five points back of Bernie Ruoff for 12th all-time in scoring. He leads the CFL with 33 points through in 2023.
- Boris Bede made all three of his field goal attempts this year and 82.1 per cent for his career, moving him past Sandro DeAngelis (81.9 per cent) for seventh in FG accuracy.
- The 37 rushing attempts by Toronto was their highest total since Sep. 6, 2004, when they had 40 runs in a 30-0 win over Hamilton.
- The Argos have scored seven times on the ground already – just two less than their nine total rushing TDs in 2022.
- Garry Peters leads the CFL with four pass knockdowns thus far giving him 48 for his career.
It’s anyone’s guess as to who will take this one in this week’s Pick ‘Em Marquee Matchup. Who are you siding with?
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