We start off week nine on the CFL schedule with yet another duel in La Belle Province! The best team in Canadian football heads to the French capital of Canada for some CFL football!
Zach Collaros and the undefeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-0) face off against Trevor Harris and the struggling Montreal Alouettes (2-5).
Whilst the Bombers have been on an unreal tear, all dominance must fall. Will this finally be the week where Winnipeg falls? Find out down below with the CFL betting odds and predictions down below!
Teams’ Previous Matchup Records
Winnipeg is coming off its eighth consecutive win of the year. That puts them atop the CFL rankings with their perfect record!
Last week, the Blue Bombers edged out a close matchup against the Calgary Stampeders as they won by seven points. The Bombers have played in many close games and have come out on top for all of them!
Montreal is heading home after an embarrassing seven-point loss against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. They are currently tied second in the East division.
The Als are hanging onto their playoff spot by a thread! This game is very important for Montreal in terms of momentum.
There is a dynasty budding in Manitoba. With two consecutive Grey Cup victories, they look to continue on their quest for the cup.
Unprecedented Pace
They are one of five teams in the history of Canadian football to be at the 8-0 threshold. Can they continue this unprecedented pace?
The stellar play of Zach Collaros has been key in their unbeaten run. He still stands as the league’s leader in passing yards and is one touchdown back of the CFL league leader.
CFL League Leader
No team can truly contain him. Their offense has two of the top 5 TD receptions leaders as well. Those players are rookie Dalton Schoen and CFL sensation Greg Ellingson. It hardly gets more electric than this.
Their defense has been unreal as well. Perhaps there is no better defense than the Blue Bombers. While no individual has been outstanding, they have been unreal as a unit.
They allow a league-low in points and third in rushing yards allowed. Their secondary is very questionable and is the Achilles heel for the boom squad.
The true question for this team is whether or not their pass defense can contain. Their offense is consistently playing well yet their secondary has allowed over 250 YPG. Montreal has put considerably good numbers in the air. Can the secondary contain or will the Als fly high?
Alouettes Analysis
“No question, (Winnipeg is) a great team, no question, we are going to have to play almost perfect football. But that’s all doable.
Look for an Alouette victory !!” This is what Montréal Alouettes owner Gary Stern had to say about this Thursday’s game. But the question is, is it really doable?
Trevor Harris has rather comparable numbers to his opposing QB. While Collaros has played more games, they have similar INT%, yards per completion, efficiency rating, and completion percentage. Harris is a very solid option at QB.
With his number one target Eugene Lewis doing his thing, he has been very productive thus far. Lewis is second receiving yards and second in targets! What a weapon Geno is!
Als Defense
The Als defense has truly been the downfall of this team. They cannot pull it together late in games, or they let teams run up the score.
They allow the second most points in the league and poor run defense. The defense needs to pick it up because the offense can’t pick up the slack each week.
The question for the Als is can they score consistently? The Als have not done a good enough job at finishing drives. With three downs, it is difficult.
However, they need to finish drives. They are very vertically aggressive, yet they need to find the endzone more because they certainly cannot rely on their defense.
CFL Injury Report
Key injuries for Winnipeg: none
- Key Injuries for Montreal: Vernon Adams Jr. (QB), Chandler Worthy (RB/KR)
Teams Betting Trends
- Winnipeg is 6-2 ATS this season
- Montreal is 4-3 ATS this season
- Winnipeg’s point differential is +7
- Montreal’s point differential is -2
Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Montreal Alouettes Betting Preview
The key to this game will be QB play. Both passers have been phenomenal thus far and have been playing a similar level of football.
The secondaries will be non-existent, so why not let it fly this week? Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros are bound to have a slugfest for the ages!
So what does Vegas think of this matchup? The spread currently favors the undefeated Blue Bombers as they are poised to win by 5.5 points against the birds.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Montreal Alouettes Betting Prediction
My Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Montreal Alouettes Betting Prediction leads toward the Bombers moneyline.
The Alouettes may have been playing lousy football, but they always manage to keep their games close. The bombers have not run away with many games thus far in the year. It is not outlandish to think that Montreal could pull off a very close match.
CFL Pick: Alouettes +5.5.
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