The BC Lions travel to Toronto to take on the Argonauts Monday night following a dominant win in Winnipeg. Both teams are undefeated.
BC Lions (3-0): The BC Lions are coming off what has the be the biggest statement game a team has had this season on the road in Winnipeg. They beat the Blue Bombers 30-6 in week 3. Prior to week 3, the Bombers were averaging 43 points a game. BC will face last season’s Grey Cup Champions in Toronto Monday.
Toronto Argonauts (2-0): The Toronto Argonauts have beaten both Hamilton and Edmonton to start the season. For Argonaut’s quarterback, Chad Kelly, it is his first season as a starter in the CFL. The offense has looked good so far as Toronto has scored 75 points in their first 2 games.
Game Details:
Date/Location: Monday, July 3 / BMO Field, Toronto, ON
Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM PT
Channel: TSN (Canada), CBS Sports (USA), CFL+(International)
Odds:
Spread: BC -3.5 (+100), Toronto +3.5 (-110)
Moneyline: BC -170, Toronto +145
Over/Under: 47.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
BC Lions vs Toronto Argonauts
BC is coming off a dominant win on the road in Winnipeg, a place teams rarely win as the visitor. If BC wins on the road this week in Toronto against the Grey Cup Champions then there is a serious argument to be made for them as the best team in the league.
BC Lions’ offense has looked very capable as quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is second in yards in the CFL. Rookie runningback, Taquan Mizzell, is 2nd in rushing yards in the league. Despite injuries to the receiving room, the receiving group has looked fantastic with other receivers filling bigger roles in the absence of injured receivers, in particular Alexander Hollins.
The Toronto offense has been productive thus far over their 2 games with Chad Kelly playing under center. Chad Kelly has demonstrated an excellent ability to push the ball downfield with long throws and has the 2nd highest yards per attempt. However, Kelly’s completion percentage is just 58.7%. Kelly has also thrown 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 1 of which was a pick 6 last week against Edmonton. He’s thrown just as many touchdowns to his opponents as to his own team so far.
No quarterback has thrown for over 200 yards in a game against BC this season. This is going to be a serious trial for Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly.
BC Players to Watch:
#13 Alexander Hollins WR
Hollins has been fantastic for BC this season. His 221 receiving yards make him first in that category for the team. Last week he was BC’s most targetted receiver as he caught 8 of 10 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown. With Lucky Whitehead on the 1-game injured list, I expect another big game from Hollins.
#18 Justin McInnis WR
McInnis had 8 targets last week for BC catching 4 of them for 54 yards and a touchdown.
#4 Keon Hatcher WR
Hatcher missed the first 3 games for BC this season due to injury. Last season he was one of three Lions’ receivers to have 1,000-yard seasons.
#25 Taquan Mizzell RB
Mizzell is 2nd in the league in rushing yards and has looked very good in his first 3 CFL games. Last week against Winnipeg he had 10 carries for 50 yards against Winnipeg who are often stingy against the run.
#90 Mathieu Betts DE
Betts had 3 sacks last week and a knockdown. He could not be stopped by Winnipeg last week.
#47 Sione Teuhema DE
The pass rush last week against Winnipeg was dominant. Teuhema had 1 sack and helped the BC pass rush keep Collaros under 200 yards last week.
#1 Gary Peters, CB
Peters was clutch last week with 7 tackles and 2 knockdowns both came in the end zone preventing touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week as a result.
#29 Jalon Edwards-Cooper, CB
Was named to the PFF Team of the Week in week 3. Allowed 2 receptions on 4 targets and had 3 tackles.
#14 Marcus Sayles, HB
Was targeted in coverage 3 times last week and allowed 0 receptions.
#92 Woody Baron DT
Had the third-highest PFF grade in week 3 among defensive linemen as he had 2 QB hurries and 4 pressures generated.
Depth Charts:
BC Lions Injury Report/Game Status:
There are some changes in the receiver group. Lucky Whitehead is going to miss this game with a hamstring injury. Keon Hatcher is playing his first game of the season as he comes back from a foot injury. Dominique Rhymes is returning after missing last week also with a foot injury. Ayden Eberhardt is moved back to the practice roster as a result of returning receivers.
At linebacker, Max Rouyer is coming in listed as a third-string linebacker in place of Brooks Parker who is being moved to the practice roster.
Score Prediction:
I predict BC to win this game 27-13. BC is playing hungry and wants to show that they should be considered the best team in the CFL. Their defense last week was on fire and I foresee them being too much for Chad Kelly to handle in his 4th career CFL start.
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My Twitter: @JonathanClink
