The Montreal Alouettes remained on top after a comeback victory extended their win streak to 13 games. The Saskatchewan Roughriders also remained undefeated with a 30-23 win over the Toronto Argonauts. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers got their first win of the season over the Ottawa RedBlacks after opening 0-4 to start the year.
Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 6 Picks
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – Montreal Alouettes held the Crown by defeating Calgary 30-26. Toronto will challenge for the crown on Thursday.
Court Jester 🃏 – Edmonton Elks remained the Court Jester on a bye last week. They will have a chance to force the title onto Ottawa on Sunday.
If a team defeats the Crown Holder they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder.
If a team loses to the Court Jester they become the new Court Jester thus freeing the previous team from being the Court Jester.
#1 Montreal Alouettes (5-0)👑
Previous Rank: 1
Week 1 Result: Defeated Winnipeg on the road 27-12.
Week 2 Result: Defeated Edmonton on the road 23-20.
Week 3 Result: Defeated Ottawa at home 47-21.
Week 4 Result: Defeated Toronto on the road 30-20.
Week 5 Result: Defeated Calgary 30-26.
The Montreal Alouettes trailed the Calgary Stampeders 15-26 heading into the 4th quarter and battled back to win 30-26 in week 5. It was an impressive stat line from Cody Fajardo who completed 35 of his 42 passes for 374 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Receiver Tyson Philpot and running back Walter Fletcher did well to maximize the yardage on their receptions as Philpot had 57 YAC and Fletcher had 100 YAC. Philpot caught 12 passes for 134 yards while Fletcher caught 9 passes for 104 yards and rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on just 5 carries. Linebacker Tyrice Beverette led the team in tackles with 9 and had 3 for a loss.
Montreal is now on a 13-game win streak and will host the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday.
Montreal Alouettes (5-0) Week 6 Preview vs Toronto Argonauts (2-2): Prediction, Depth Chart, Injuries, Odds
Week 6: Hosting Toronto on Thursday.
#2 B.C. Lions (4-1)
Previous Rank: 3
Week 1 Result: Lost to Toronto on the road 27-35.
Week 2 Result: Defeated Calgary at home 26-17.
Week 3 Result: Defeated Winnipeg on the road 26-24.
Week 4 Result: Defeated Edmonton at home 24-21.
Week 5 Result: Defeated Hamilton on the road 44-28.
The B.C. Lions defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on the road 44-28 in week 5. Vernon Adams Jr. blew up the stat sheet completing 26 of his 36 passes for 383 yards and 4 touchdowns. VA currently leads the league in passing having completed 68.6% of his passes for 1,752 yards and 11 touchdowns with 1 interception. He is currently on pace for 6,307 passing yards which would be 2nd all-time in the CFL.
Two receivers broke 100 yards as Justin McInnis caught 10 passes for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns and Alexander Hollins caught 6 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. William Stanback had his best yards per carry yet as he rushed 14 times for 82 yards and a touchdown and also caught 5 passes for 74 yards.
Game Preview: BC Lions (4-1) Week 6 Preview vs Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0): Prediction, Depth Chart, Injuries, Odds
Week 6: Hosting Saskatchewan on Saturday.
#3 Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-0)
Previous Rank: 4
Week 1 Result: Defeated Edmonton on the road 29-21.
Week 2 Result: Defeated Hamilton on the road 33-30.
Week 3 Result: Defeated Hamilton at home 36-20.
Week 4: Bye week.
Week 5: Defeated Toronto at home 30-20.
Saskatchewan’s defense was great in week 5 generating 4 turnovers from interceptions and another from a fumble recovery. Saskatchewan’s success defensively stemmed from strong play from the defensive line as many pass rushers were highly impactful in the win. Both Micah Johnson and Anthony Lanier had a sack. Lanier also had 9 additional pressures and Johnson had 4 additional pressures. Bryan Cox was also very impactful generating 6 total pressures.
Linebacker Jameer Thurman also made a big impact in the pass rush generating 5 pressures. Thurman also played a big part in limiting Ka’Deem Carey as he had a solo run stop and 2 shared run stops. Linebacker C.J. Avery had 2 pressures and 2 solo run stops. There were many players who made positive impacts among the defensive lineman and linebacker groups in this win for Saskatchewan.
Shea Patterson completed 15 of his 23 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown to get the win in his first start in the CFL. Saskatchewan had a decent game in pass protection last week considering the quality of their opponent. However, there still needs to be improvement in consistency in pass protection if the Riders hope to make a Grey Cup run led by Trevor Harris. Shea Patterson has the toolset to partially mitigate the effects of pressure such as on his 9-yard rushing touchdown when he scrambled after being pressured. However, Trevor Harris likely does not have the mobility and durability for inconsistent pass protection to be a sustainable combination with him under center. The run blocking will also need to be better for the Riders moving forward.
Week 6: Visiting B.C. on Saturday.
#4 Toronto Argonauts (2-2)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 1 Result: Defeated BC at home 35-27.
Week 2 Result: Bye week.
Week 3 Result: Defeated Edmonton at home 39-36.
Week 4 Result: Lost to Montreal at home 20-30.
Week 5 Result: Lost to Saskatchewan 23-30.
The Toronto Argonauts lost for the second week in a row as they fell to the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23-30. It was some rough sailing for the Argos offense as Saskatchewan was able to frequently get pressure to the quarterback and had success in stopping the run. Cameron Dukes had 4 interceptions after having only 1 over the first 3 games of the season although 1 was the result of a drop from a receiver. Ka’Deem Carey had his lowest yards per carry as he rushed 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 average) with 1 touchdown.
Toronto will need to see stronger play from their offensive line moving forward than what was an abnormal low for the group in week 5.
A bright spot on defense was defensive tackle Robbie Smith generating 7 total quarterback pressures. Linebacker Wynton McManis led the team in tackles with 8 and also had a solo run and pass stop and was involved in 3 shared run stops.
Week 6: Visiting Montreal on Thursday.
#5 Calgary Stampeders (2-2)
Previous Rank: 5
Week 1 Result: Defeated Hamilton at home 32-24.
Week 2 Result: Lost to BC on the road 17-26.
Week 3 Result: Bye Week.
Week 4 Result: Defeated Winnipeg at home in overtime 22-19.
Week 5 Result: Lost to Montreal on the road 26-30.
Calgary was well positioned to hand Montreal their first loss in 13 games as they entered the 4th quarter leading 26-15. Unfortunately for the Stampeders Montreal battled back to keep their win streak alive.
Jake Maier was limited by Montreal’s pass defense to 18 completions on his 28 attempts for just 106 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Calgary did have success on the ground as Peyton Logan rushed 6 times for 65 yards in large part due to a 42-yard carry. BJ Emmons rushed 5 times for 15 yards. With Maier having averaged just 3.78 yards per pass attempt in hindsight it may have been better for Calgary to mix in more run plays against Montreal’s defense that has been so successful against the pass.
Week 6: Visiting Winnipeg on Friday.
#6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-4)
Previous Rank: 9
Week 1 Result: Lost to Montreal at home 12-27.
Week 2 Result: Lost to Ottawa on the road 19-23.
Week 3 Result: Lost to BC at home 24-26.
Week 4 Result: Lost to Calgary on the road in overtime 19-22.
Week 5 Result: Defeated Ottawa at home 25-16.
Winnipeg finally has their first win of the season after starting the year 0-4. The Bombers defeated the Ottawa RedBlacks last week 25-16. It was a game in which both teams were having most of their offense come through the run game. Brady Oliveira rushed 23 times for 129 yards (5.6 yards per carry) in what is his most productive game so far this season. Getting Oliveira going is huge for Winnipeg as an essential component of their success over the last several seasons has been dominance in the run game. Chris Streveler started in place of Zach Collaros who did not play due to injury. Streveler completed 13 of his 21 passes for 127 yards. Streveler also rushed 13 times for 79 yards and a touchdown. Many of Winnipeg’s points came on the leg of Sergio Castillo who made all 6 of his field goals including a 53-yarder.
Game Preview: Bombers Feeling 2x Lucky vs Calgary by Don Cruickshank
Week 6: Hosting Calgary on Friday.
#7 Edmonton Elks (0-4)🃏
Previous Rank: 7
Week 1 Result: Lost to Saskatchewan at home 21-29.
Week 2 Result: Lost to Montreal at home 20-23.
Week 3 Result: Lost to Toronto on the road 36-39.
Week 4 Result: Lost to B.C. on the road 21-24.
Week 5 Result: Bye Week.
Edmonton was on the bye in week 5. They will look to get their first win on Sunday as they host the Ottawa RedBlacks.
Week 6: Hosting Ottawa on Sunday.
#8 Ottawa RedBlacks (2-2)
Previous Rank: 6
Week 1 Result: Bye Week
Week 2 Result: Defeated Winnipeg at home 23-19.
Week 3 Result: Lost to Montreal on the road 21-47.
Week 4 Result: Defeated Hamilton at home 24-22.
Week 5 Result: Lost to Winnipeg on the road 16-25.
Ottawa fell to Winnipeg by a score of 16-25 in week 5. Dustin Crum played the majority of the game at quarterback as Dru Brown left the game in the first half after taking a late hit to the head. Brown had completed 2 of his 6 passes for 24 yards at that point. Dustin Crum finished the game with 8 completions over 11 passes for 102 yards with 1 interception. Crum also rushed 8 times for 55 yards.
Despite the loss, it was a positive game for Ottawa on the ground as Ryquell Armstead rushed 17 times for 103 yards and a touchdown (6.1 yards per carry).
Middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox led the team in tackles with 12. Defensive lineman Michael Wakefield had the lone sack for Ottawa in week 5.
Week 6: Visiting Edmonton on Sunday.
#9 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-5)
Previous Rank: 8
Week 1 Result: Lost to Calgary on the road 24-32.
Week 2 Result: Lost to Saskatchewan at home 30-33.
Week 3 Result: Lost to Saskatchewan on the road 20-36.
Week 4 Result: Lost to Ottawa on the road 22-24.
Week 4 Result: Lost to B.C. at home 44-28.
Hamilton is tied for first in passing touchdowns scored with BC and Montreal at 11. Unfortunately, they also lead the league in passing touchdowns allowed at 11 and in total offensive touchdowns allowed at 15. Hamilton has at times had their zone coverage exploited by offenses and currently has allowed the 2nd highest passer efficiency at 113.9 trailing only Toronto who has allowed 117.1.
Bo Levi Mitchell completed 32 of his 48 passes for 374 yards and 3 touchdowns in week 5. He is currently second in the league in passing yards having completed 67.8% of his passes for 1,671 yards and 11 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. BLM is having a resurgence in his career this season but unfortunately, it has not equated to any wins for the club.
James Butler was held to 27 yards on 9 rushes (3 yards per carry). Butler rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries in week 1 averaging 9.2 yards per carry against Calgary but since has been 3 yards or under per carry in every game since.
Hamilton will need to get more consistency in their run game and defensive play moving forward if they hope to redeem the 2024 season.
Week 6: Bye Week.
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