The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host the BC Lions to kick off week 9 of the CFL season in a rematch of last year’s Western Final. The BC Lions are coming off of their bye week after having had their 5-game win streak broken in week 7 when they lost a close one to the Calgary Stampeders 24-25. The Bombers are coming off a close loss of their own in which they lost 14-16 to the Toronto Argonauts in overtime.

CFL Power Rankings Week 8

Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 9 Picks

Game Details:

Date/Location: Thursday, August 1 /Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg, MB

Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM PT

Channel: TSN (Canada), CBS Sports (USA), CFL+ (Global)

Odds: 

Spread: B.C. -4.5 (-115), Winnipeg +4.5 (-105)

Moneyline: B.C. -230, Winnipeg +188

Over/Under: 49.5 (Over -120, Under -102)

B.C. Lions: The Lions look to win what is a great opportunity for them to put some serious distance on their divisional foes who they lost to on the road in the Western Final in each of the last 2 seasons. BC currently holds first in the West Division as they have the tiebreaker over the Saskatchewan Roughriders who are also 5-2. Vernon Adams Jr. leads the league in passing yards having completed 65.7% of his passes for 2,395 yards and 14 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. He is currently on pace for 6,158 yards which would the third most in a CFL season trailing only Doug Flutie (6,619 in 1991) and Kent Austin (6,225 in 1992).

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers season has been a fall from grace thus far as they opened the season with a 5-game losing streak and currently sit 2-6. It’s a far cry from the dominance that saw the team finish 29-7 in the last 2 seasons and appear in the last 4 Grey Cups. Part of the problem has been a slow start from quarterback Zach Collaros who so far this season has completed 67.3% of his passes for 1,723 yards and 3 touchdowns with a league-leading 8 interceptions. Winnipeg had some key injuries early on including one that took Zach Collaros out of a game. Currently, Winnipeg is without star receivers Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen and has also seen plenty of injuries on the defensive side of the ball as well. The Bombers may still have some gas left in the tank as they are better than what their 0-5 start would suggest. 4 of their 6 losses were 1 score games and 2 of them were overtime losses.

Lions Keys to the Game

Get In Collaros’ Kitchen Early

When you’re playing an opponent who has the potential to be dangerous but has been in somewhat of a slump it serves you well to try and keep them in their slump. BC will want to get pressure on him early and make it an uncomfortable game for him from the start.

Do Not Allow Winnipeg to Play Smash Mouth Football

Much of Winnipeg’s success over the recent years derived from running the ball very well. It will be key for BC’s run defenders to play a strong game on Thursday.

Good Pass Protection

Winnipeg’s defensive line can still pose a threat in the pass rush and at times this season pass protection has left some room for improvement for BC. It will be important for BC to have a strong game here as they play in a hostile environment.

Give Stanback the Rock

This becomes increasingly helpful if it’s extra loud in the building at the start of the game. In week 7 Stanback rushed 9 times for 64 yards, 7.1 yards per carry. It seems to me like it would do BC well to give him more carries.

5 Lions to Watch

#31 RB William Stanback

Has rushed 88 times this season for 389 yards, 4.4 yards per carry.

#18 WR Justin McInnis

McInnis leads the league in receiving having caught 48 passes for 780 yards and 6 touchdowns.

#4 WR Keon Hatcher

Making his season debut after missing the first 7 games due to an injury sustained in last year’s Western Final. Last year he caught 78 passes for 1,226 yards and 6 touchdowns over 16 games.

#94 DL Josh Archibald

Leads the team in sacks with 4 over 7 games. Additionally has 10 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.

#46 LB Ben Hladik

Hladik leads the team in tackles with 41 and also has an interception.

5 Blue Bombers to Watch

#20 RB Brady Oliveira

Leads the league in rushing yards having rushed 90 times for 511 yards, 5.7 yards per carry.

#13 WR Lucky Whitehead

Whitehead is making his season debut. He rejoined Winnipeg where he began his CFL career in 2019 a few weeks ago. He played the last 3 seasons for BC before becoming a free agent this past offseason. Whitehead has over 3,000 yards receiving in his 4 season career.

#80 WR Ontaria Wilson

Wilson has seen his production increase significantly recently. He is now 5th in the league in receiving yards having caught 30 passes for 463 yards and 2 touchdowns over 8 games.

#30 CB Tyrell Ford

Ford has 2 interceptions and 29 tackles on the season.

#3 DE Willie Jefferson

Jefferson has 3 sacks on the season. Additionally, he has 14 tackles.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

Winnipeg has sold over 30,000 tickets for this game and the Bombers are very hungry for a win after tasting so many losses this season. I think we’re going to be treated to a great football game on Thursday in which Winnipeg wins a close one over BC. I am predicting Winnipeg to take this one 30-27.

@JonathanClink on Twitter