CFL Week 15 Preview and Predictions

We have another Saturday triple header this week in the CFL and there is playoff implications everywhere! Last week I went 2-1 thanks the the Riders god awful performance at home against the Redblacks. It is easy to say the Riders didn’t play well but I will also give credit to a great coaching staff in Ottawa who game planned almost perfectly against the Riders (besides in the special teams faze). This week Winnipeg looks to end a four game losing streak, Edmonton and the Riders will try and take over sole possession of second in the west, or at least keep up with each other. Ottawa can stay ahead of Hamilton with a win, and the Lions will attempt to keep a lead for the crossover spot over Winnipeg. here is how I see week 15 playing out.

(3-9) Montreal Alouettes @ (5-7) Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday 8:30pm ET

The Alouettes will give the reins back to Johnny Football on Friday against the Bombers after Antonio Pipkin was walked all over by the Lions defence last week. Johnny Manziel expressed frustration with not starting after his injury so this week it is time to put his money where his mouth is and be the quarterback he talks about being. It will be a tough battle against an angry Blue Bombers team who has lost four games in a row. For the Bombers Matt Nichols will get another start on Friday. I feel like this has to be his last chance before Chris Streveler starts if Nichols fails again. The season could be slipping away if they lose to Montreal this week. The best option for me is to give the ball to Andrew Harris and let him carry the team to victory. He is a game breaker and not only the best Canadian offensive player in the league but maybe the best offensive player period. If he can go off I see the Bombers breaking the losing streak in week 15 but I don’t think it will be easy.

Prediction: Blue Bombers win 29-26

(7-5) Edmonton Eskimos @ (7-5) Ottawa Redblacks Saturday 4:00pm ET

These two teams are a couple of the hardest teams to predict in the league. For Edmonton usually it depends on which version of their defence shows up or if their offence can just put up enough points to cover for a bad defence. For Ottawa it all starts with Trevor Harris. He looks like an M.O.P some weeks and like a green rookie who has never played against a CFL defence the next. For the Esks I think they will have to put up a lot of points this week. Mike Reilly ,who would have something to say about me calling Andrew Harris maybe the best offensive player in the league, will have to will this offence to a win in week 15. If their defence can make a few plays to get the ball back into Reilly’s hands I think they could take this game. For Ottawa Trevor Harris needs to play like he did against the Riders. He has some nice weapons at receiver and just needs to get the ball into their hands. William Powell is a monster and has taken over the leagues rushing lead and could go off again this week. If Edmonton’s offence can’t figure out the Redblacks offence and Trevor Harris doesn’t make stupid mistakes this could be an Ottawa win. I’m going to go with Ottawa this week but I really don’t know which version of each team will show up.

Prediction: Redblacks win 37-34

(7-5) Saskatchewan Roughriders @ (3-8) Toronto Argonauts Saturday 7:00pm ET

The Riders come off of a surprising loss in which I didn’t think their defence played very good and I don’t even have to say anything about their offence. This week is a big week as they have given up their second place lead in the west and will need a win to keep up with Edmonton. The defence needs to get it figured out against the run game because if they don’t James Wilder Jr. can make them look just as silly as Andrew Harris and William Powell have in recent weeks. Ed Gainey had a bad week last week too. I understand he gets matched up against the oppositions best receiver usually but he just needs to be better plain and simple. On offence Zach Collaros needs to figure it out. Last week his receivers were well covered and he wasn’t getting a lot of time. However he wasn’t brought to Saskatchewan for 13 offensive touchdowns. The offence needs to be better this week and it starts with him. For Toronto it is a revenge game for receiver Duron Carter. He will look to pop off against the Riders after he was released earlier this season. If there is one thing Carter is not, its quiet so look for a lot of trash talk on and off the field this week. For the rest of the offence they need to see what has worked well for other teams this season and try and duplicate it. What that is, is lull the Riders defence in with the run and then put the ball in the air for big gains. Seems to have worked last week. The Argos will need near perfect execution this week because I am sure the Riders will want to improve on their performance from last week. I just don’t know if the Argos have perfect in them.

Prediction: Roughriders win 31-24

(6-6) Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ (5-6) B.C Lions Saturday 10:00pm ET

The Ti-Cats got beat by the league’s best team last week at home. They were in the game in the first half but just couldn’t keep up the pace in half number two. This week they take on a Lions team who is climbing the standings and have won two games in a row. Hamilton has some injury issues this week with star running back Alex Green out and receiver Brandon Banks questionable. Those are huge blows for the Tiger-Cats this week. If they were in I would strongly consider Hamilton to win this game. Now it will be hard for me to pick them. Jeremiah Masoli and the Tiger-Cats defence may need to take this game over if they have any chance. For B.C they lost starting quarterback Travis Lulay for at least four week with a shoulder injury. Jonathon Jennings looked good in relief but I do not trust him to be a starting QB in this league. He proved last season and at the beginning of this season that he just usually isn’t that good. The Lions defence was unreal last week against Montreal and maybe that will give them some momentum going in to this week. With the Ti-Cats injury problems I am going to take B.C even though I don’t trust Jonathon Jennings to have a good game.

Prediction: Lions win 33-27

Each week it seems there are more and more things to talk about when it comes to playoffs. The Race behind Calgary and in front of Toronto and Montreal is so close and that will make for very exciting games as the regular season winds down. No longer can teams put up stinkers, specifically in the west, or they will quickly find themselves on the outside looking in. Thanks for reading.

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