8 Thoughts following the BC Lions’ 35-19 win at home against the Montreal Alouettes.
Other Articles Ahead of Week 6:
QB Rankings, Stars of the Week
RB Rankings, Stars of the Week
WR Rankings, Stars of the Week
Fantasy Football Sleepers, Picks
Thoughts Following Montreal’s Loss
The BC Lions Defense Has Been Consistently Excellent
BC has held their opponents to under 20 points in all but 1 of their 5 games. The only game in which BC allowed more was in large part due to the fact that Vernon Adams Jr. threw 6 interceptions in the game.
BC did get lucky in this game to have a Montreal defensive touchdown taken away by a controversial call in the first minute of the game. The defense allowed a fair amount of passing yards to Cody Fajardo but they were very stingy against the run. Montreal only handed the ball to William Stanback 6 times but he was only able to pick up 17 rushing yards (2.8 yards per carry). BC played a good defensive game and only gave up 1 touchdown.
So Many Sacks
Coming into this game BC had 14 sacks in 4 games. For the second time this season, the Lions had 7 sacks in a game. The first time was against Winnipeg. Mathieu Betts led the sack parade again as he picked up 2 sacks. Betts leads the league in sacks with 9 over his 5 games played. The BC pass rush has been amazing.
Quincy Mauger, Ben Hladik, Sione Teuhema, David Menard, and Woody Baron all picked up a sack as well.
Woody Baron’s Field Goal Block Was Huge
Woody Baron had a massive field goal block late in the 2nd quarter. He fought through the blocks and came in right down the middle and got both hands up for one of the better field goal blocks I have seen. Jalon Edwards Cooper was heads up and immediately tracked the ball with his eyes and caught it in the backfield taking it 58 yards the other way for a touchdown. It was a fantastic play by both players.
Bo Lokombo Continues to Be Everywhere
Bo Lokombo led the team again with 7 tackles. He currently leads the team in tackles with 30.
Very Good Bounceback Game for Vernon Adams Jr.
Vernon Adams Jr. completed 20 of his 25 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown. His 129.3 passer efficiency rating was the highest of any quarterback this week. He also added 22 yards on a very nice rush. He made a bad throw early in the game that resulted in a pick 6 but fortunately for the BC Lions, it was taken away due to a penalty.
Coming off a 6 interception game last week it is very positive to see him bounce back with such a strong performance.
Shaun Shivers Looked Excellent in His CFL Debut
Shivers started at running back in place of Taquan Mizzell who was injured this week. Shivers ran the ball 14 times for 63 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He also caught both of his targets and added another 73 receiving yards, 71 of which were YAC. He did have a fumble on his 68-yard reception during which the ball was punched out of his hands at the 1-yard line. Regardless it was still a very good debut for Shivers. He’s a smaller running back but he plays a big game that is not afraid to be highly physical.
BC Established the Run
Last week all 3 CFL teams that lost ran the ball 10 times or less. BC ran the 10 times in their loss to Toronto but attempted 39 pass plays. You don’t have to be a statistician to understand that this is a pretty predictable way to play call. Establishing the run is key to keeping the defenses on their toes and helps open the passing game.
This week BC ran the ball 16 times compared to 25 pass attempts and the offense was very efficient overall.
The BC Lions Receiving Room is Loaded
Looking at the receivers on the stat sheet this past week Alexander Hollins who led the team in receiving yards coming into this game had only 1 catch on 2 targets for 12 yards. Dominique Rhymes who is regarded by many as the most dangerous receiver on BC had 2 catches on 2 targets for 37 yards.
The BC Lions are a conundrum to defend against for the passing game because you can try to shut down a couple of their players and it just creates an opportunity for others to explode. Keon Hatcher had 6 catches on 7 targets for 68 yards. Lucky Whitehead 5 catches on 8 targets for 38 yards. Jevon Cottoy caught all 4 of his targets for 55 yards and a touchdown. Justin McInnis did not appear on the stat sheet in this game as he was playing in a backup role but he has still had some massive games as well this year.
The BC Lions are one of if not the best receiving room in the CFL with such a great crop of talented receivers who have all been benefiting at different times from Vernon Adams Jr’s ability to distribute the ball to different receivers.
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Mike Mitchell’s Week 6 Power Rankings
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