The Toronto Argonauts became the first team to defeat the reigning Grey Cup Champions by defeating the Montreal Alouettes 18-37 and taking the Crown. Montreal will go on the bye week in week 7 which is good timing given the fact that quarterback Cody Fajardo had to leave the game early due to what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 7 Picks
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – The Toronto Argonauts took the crown from Montreal with a 37-18 win in week 6. The Argos will defend it against Hamilton on Saturday.
Court Jester 🃏 – Edmonton Elks remained the Court Jester after losing to Ottawa at home 34-37. They will have a chance to force the title onto Ottawa again on the road on Friday.
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 (5-1)
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 at home 30-26.
Week 6 Result: Lost to Toronto at home 18-37.
The Montreal Alouettes saw their 13-game winning streak come to a close in week 6. Montreal lost their starting quarterback Cody Fajardo late in the first quarter after completing 5 of his 6 passes for 62 yards. Caleb Evans played from that point in his absence and completed 12 of his 22 passes for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions, 1 of which resulted in a defensive touchdown for Toronto.
Montreal remained a pass-heavy team and only handed the ball off to Walter Fletcher 5 times in the game although they did continue to run a lot of screen passing plays. Fletcher accumulated 60 rushing yards on his 5 carries in large part to a 50-yard rush in the second quarter. In hindsight, it may have been beneficial for Montreal to provide more run support to their second-string quarterback as there were only 3 rushes from Fletcher over the 3 quarters that Caleb Evans played.
Week 7: Bye Week.
#2 B.C. Lions (5-1)
Previous Rank: 2
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.
Week 6 Result: Defeated Saskatchewan at home 35-20.
The BC Lions are currently on the longest active winning streak in the league having now won their last 5 games. Vernon Adams Jr. now leads the league in passing yards by over 500 yards after putting up 451 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions in the win over Saskatchewan. Justin McInnis had a monster game as he caught all 14 of his targets for 243 yards and a touchdown. While it was a dominant game for BC through the air there was a regression on the ground as William Stanback was held to just 1.2 yards per carry as he rushed 12 times for 14 yards. Sean White scored the majority of the points in the win as he made all 7 of his field goals and added 2 extra points.
BC Lions (5-1) Week 7 Preview vs Calgary Stampeders (2-3): Prediction, Depth Chart, Injuries, Odds
Week 7: Visiting Calgary on Sunday.
#3 Toronto Argonauts (3-2)👑
Previous Rank: 4
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.
Week 6 Result: Defeated Montreal on the road 37-18.
The Toronto Argonauts became the first team to defeat Montreal last week as they won 37-18. Toronto won all 3 phases as the team scored a defensive and special teams touchdown in addition to the 2 offensive touchdowns scored. Cameron Dukes completed 16 of his 20 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Toronto often kept things on the ground against Montreal’s strong secondary and handed the ball off to Ka’Deem Carey 16 times who rushed for 94 yards, 5.9 yards per carry. Linebacker Wynton McManis scored a touchdown off an interception and Janarion Grant scored a touchdown returning a kickoff 103 yards.
A Closer Look: Tiger-Cats vs. Argonauts CFL Week 7 Matchup by Aaron Sauter
Week 7: Visiting Hamilton on Saturday.
#4 Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-1)
Previous Rank: 3
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.
Week 6 Result: Lost to BC on the road 20-35
The Saskatchewan Roughriders took their first loss of the season as they lost to the BC Lions on the road 20-35. Shea Patterson completed 17 of his 25 passes for 278 yards with 1 interception. Samuel Emilus led the team in receiving as he caught 8 passes for 161 yards. A.J. Ouellette had his highest yards per carry yet as a Rider in the game as he rushed 12 times for 72 yards with 2 touchdowns, 6 yards per carry. It was positive for the Rider’s defense to generate 4 sacks, 2 of which came from DT Anthony Lanier II. Additionally holding William Stanback to just 1.2 yards per carry as he rushed for 14 yards on 12 carries was very positive for Rider Nation. However, allowing 451 passing yards in a game makes victory improbable.
Week 7: Hosting Winnipeg on Friday.
#5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4)
Previous Rank: 6
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.
Week 6 Result: Defeated Calgary at home 41-37.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers saw their offense start to get back to a formidable form after a slow start to the season. Zach Collaros broke 300 yards for the first time this season as he completed 27 of his 36 passes for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Ontaria Wilson had a breakout game as he caught 13 of his 16 targets for 201 yards and a touchdown. Brady Oliveira had a strong game on the ground as he rushed 15 times for 109 yards, a 7.3 average.
Winnipeg At Saskatchewan – Bombers Look To Keep Winning Ways Alive! by Don Cruickshank
Week 7: Visiting Saskatchewan on Friday.
#6 Calgary Stampeders (2-3)
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.
Week 6 Result: Lost to Winnipeg on the road 37-41
Calgary lost a close game in week 6 to Winnipeg 37-41 which saw the game tied at 23 at halftime. Jake Maier completed 20 of his 31 passes for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Clark Barnes led the team in receiving as he caught all 5 of his targets for 80 yards. It was a very strong game for Dedrick Mills who had the strongest yards per carry in week 6 among starting running backs as he rushed 15 times for 131 yards (8.7 yards per carry) with his longest run being a 53-yard run late in the first half.
BC Lions (5-1) Week 7 Preview vs Calgary Stampeders (2-3): Prediction, Depth Chart, Injuries, Odds
Week 7: Hosting BC on Sunday.
#7 Ottawa RedBlacks (3-2)
Previous Rank: 8
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.
Week 6 Result: Defeated Edmonton on the road 37-34
The Ottawa RedBlacks won in week 6 on a walk-off 38-yard field goal from Lewis Ward to win in Edmonton 37-34. Dru Brown led the league in passing yards in week 6 as he completed 26 of his 38 passes for 480 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. 3 different receivers broke 100 yards receiving for Ottawa in the win. Kalil Pimpleton caught 4 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, Dominique Rhymes had 7 receptions for 131 yards, and Justin Hardy caught 5 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Running back Ryquell Armstead rushed 14 times for 40 yards, 2.9 yards per carry.
Dru Brown See’s New Heights with Redblacks by Sam Just
Week 7: Hosting Edmonton on Friday.
#8 Edmonton Elks (0-5)🃏
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.
Week 6 Result: Lost to Ottawa at home 34-37
The Edmonton Elks season has been a tragedy. Week 6 saw the Elks tie the game with only 8 seconds left. The kickoff was an illegal kick out of bounds which resulted in Ottawa getting good field position without any time coming off the clock. Ottawa completed a 29-yard pass to put themselves in field goal range and won the game the next play. It was the 4th game in a row that Edmonton lost by 3 points and the 3rd game in a row in which the final play was their opponent’s game-winning field goal. While Edmonton has been playing good competitive football the losses have accumulated too often and the organization has decided to part ways with head coach and General Manager Chris Jones.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 26 of his 35 passes for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. He currently is third in the league in passing yards per game. Eugene Lewis led the team in receiving yards having caught 6 passes for 89 yards. Hergy Mayala caught 7 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Brown rushed 8 times for 35 yards (4.4 average) and Javon Leake rushed 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 yards).
Green & Gold Game Day Preview – The Jackson Era Begins by Michael Willoughby
Week 7: Visiting Ottawa on Friday.
#9 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-5)
Previous Rank: 9
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 5 Result: Lost to B.C. at home 44-28.
Week 6 Result: Bye week.
Hamilton was on the bye week in week 6.
A Closer Look: Tiger-Cats vs. Argonauts CFL Week 7 Matchup by Aaron Sauter
Week 7: Hosting Toronto on Saturday.
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