Dave Chidley/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Week 18 only features three games but there’s a lot at stake.
We have two streaks colliding in Hamilton, where the four-in-a-row Tiger-Cats host a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that’s won seven straight. The other two games on the schedule carry some playoff implications with them. The Calgary Stampeders are fighting for their playoff lives as they head to BC to face the Lions, while the Edmonton Elks are in the same boat, looking to top the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders while keeping a close eye on that Stamps-Lions game.
Let’s see who CFL.ca’s writers have this week.
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WPG at HAM
The two hottest teams in the league — and the top-two ranked teams in the CFL.ca Power Rankings presented by AMSOIL — meet on Friday evening at Tim Hortons Field, determined to keep on winning. There is another streak at play here though. The Bombers have struggled to win at THF in recent years. The Ticats have defended their home turf against the Bombers from 2018 through 2023, excluding the cancelled 2020 season and the shortened 2021 season, where the Bombers didn’t play a regular season game in Hamilton. The Ticats’ wins have for the most part been comfortable ones, with an average margin of victory of 11.25 points. Two of our writers see that trend living on for another year. The rest? They think the Blue and Gold will continue to roll.
PICK
Writers: 66% Winnipeg
CGY at BC
The Lions were left with the sting of a blown lead and overtime loss to the Ticats last week, but have to find a way to snuff out this two-game losing streak and their bigger issue, winning just two of their last nine games. The Stamps, meanwhile, make their way to BC Place as a good opponent and perhaps as a good shoulder to cry on. Calgary is winless in its last six and stuck in the West Division cellar. The Stamps are coming out of a bye week and will need that extra rest and prep if they’re going to take down the Lions and pick up their first road win of the season. If that seems like a tall order, it’s because it is. Still, one writer sees it as a possibility. The rest think the Lions get back on track in Friday night’s late game.
PICK
Writers: 83% BC
SSK at EDM
Our Week 18 finale gives us a pair of teams trending in different directions. The Riders are on a two-game win streak and jumped ahead of the Lions for second in the West in Week 17, while the Elks’ playoff hopes took a hit in their pair of losses to the Bombers. The Elks are in must-win mode and the Riders will have to be ready for that, if they want to continue to make strides to hosting a playoff game this season. Our writers think that’s just what will happen this week.
PICK
Writers: 100% Saskatchewan
