5 stats that could shape Week 12

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — We are officially past the halfway point of the 2025 CFL season and there’s a lot of data to collect about each team.

With dynamic football being played all over the country on a weekly basis, there’s no shortage of interesting matchups to keep an eye on. All four games on the slate in Week 12 offer intriguing storylines made even more intriguing by the numbers behind them.

While numbers only matter until the football is in the air, they could offer us a glimpse into what’s to come.

CFL.ca brings you five stats that could shape Week 12.

633.2 – COMBINED PASSING YARDS PER GAME BY LIONS AND ARGONAUTS

If you like fireworks, the matchup between Lions and Argos on Friday is the perfect game for you. That’s because the two teams rank first and second in passing yards per game, combining for a total of 633.2 per game, 325.3 by the BC and 307.9 by Toronto.

Led by quarterbacks Nathan Rourke and Nick Arbuckle, respectively, these two teams know how to win through the air by employing star receivers Keon Hatcher Sr. and Damonte Coxie. The latter was not a participant in practice this week, though, and could be an important absence to keep an eye on for Saturday.

226.0 – COMBINED RUSHING YARDS PER GAME BY ROUGHRIDERS AND STAMPEDERS

So you prefer a ball-control, rugged style of play that is as efficient as any out there? Say no more, Riders and Stamps are here for you. Make no mistake, these two can put up as much fireworks as Lions and Argos, but their running games are also among the best in the league with the Stamps first in rushing yards per game (115.7) and the Riders third (110.3).

There are multiple reasons as to why these two teams have such prolific rushing attacks. One of them is the threat of the passing games led by Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr. and Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris. The two veteran pivots open things up for the offence by attacking down the field, placing first and second in average yards per attempt (10.4 for Adams Jr., 10.3 for Harris) while their offences rank first and second in plays of over 30 yards. That makes it so that opposing defences can’t key in on the running game and stop the likes of Calgary’s Dedrick Mills and Saskatchewan’s AJ Ouellette on their rushing attempts. The duo currently ranks second and third in rushing yards behind only BC’s James Butler, averaging over five yards per attempt and serving as the perfect complement to their pivots.

In Week 6, when the Stampeders handed the Riders their only loss of the season, it was Mills rushing 14 times for 85 yards, while Ouellette was kept to six attempts for nine yards. Who will dominate the ground on Saturday?

61.8 – OPPONENT COMPLETION PERCENTAGE ALLOWED BY THE BLUE BOMBERS

This is a stat that was made even more important due to the absence of pivot Caleb Evans for the Montreal Alouettes. The Als announced via depth chart that quarterback James Morgan will start the game against Winnipeg, marking the fourth signal-caller to start a game for Montreal this season.

Morgan took over for an injured Evans in Week 11 and completed 20 of 33 passes for 211 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and will now be tasked with facing a defence that is keeping opponents to the lowest completion percentage in the league. The Bombers defence has allowed a league-low 176 completions on 285 passing attempts. It’s up to Morgan and a receiver group led by Tyler Snead to find ways to complete passes and keep the chains moving at Princess Auto Stadium.

13 – LEAGUE-LOW TURNOVERS BY THE EDMONTON ELKS

Nobody has taken care of the football like the Edmonton Elks this season. The Double E has given the ball away to its opponents a league-low 13 times. That means that if the Ottawa REDBLACKS want to stop a suddenly red-hot Elks team, they will have to find a way to pressure Cody Fajardo and the offence into making a mistake.

The REDBLACKS have forced 21 turnovers so far in 2025, good for the third best mark of 2025, including 11 interceptions (tied for second best with Saskatchewan). Defensive back C.J. Coldon leads the team with three picks and will look to add to his total to help Ottawa navigate the absence of starting pivot Dru Brown.

59 – BIG PLAYS BY SASKATCHEWAN AND CALGARY

Back to Calgary for the final stat of the week: big plays. A big play is a play that goes over 30 yards passing or 20 yards rushing. On special teams, it means 30 yards or more on a punt return or missed field goal attempt return, or 40 yards or more on a kickoff return.

The Riders and Stamps are first and third respectively in this category, which explains why they are first and second in the West Division. Saskatchewan has amassed 31 big plays while Calgary has done it 28 times. Harris and Adams Jr. are MOP candidates and this is yet another stat that backs it up. The veteran pivots are tied for first in big plays with 19 apiece.

This game has all the elements of a CFL classic. A good rivalry, two dynamic quarterbacks and two rosters filled with stars like Mills, Ouellette, KeeSean Johnson, Dominique Rhymes, to name a few. Must-see TV.

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