The B.C. Lions have opened as slight favourites over the Ottawa Redblacks for this week’s clash in the nation’s capital.
The Lions have been the streakiest team in the CFL this season. They started on a five-game win streak and jumped out to a 5-1 start. The Leos have since gone on a four-game skid with the most recent loss coming 20-11 at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
While the Leos are sliding, the Redblacks are rising. Ottawa are 4-0-1 in the last five games with their last defeat coming back on July 5 to the Bombers.
Over this five-game stretch, Ottawa has found its stride offensively, averaging 28.6 points and 379.8 yards per game. What’s more impressive is that this production has come with three different quarterbacks at the helm in Dru Brown, Dustin Crum, and most recently Jeremiah Masoli.
It’s the complete opposite story for B.C. amid their four-game skid, its offence has completely dried up. Over their first six games of the season, the Lions topped the league in offensive points per game (29.3), net offence per game (428.7), average yards per play (7.43) and total first downs (139).
Over the last four contests, however, the production has fallen off sharply. The Lions have only scored four touchdowns total, averaging 12.8 points per game, 237.5 yards per game, and 4.9 yards per play.
The Lions are hoping to get a boost in the form of 2022 Most Outstanding Canadian Nathan Rourke, who made his re-debut last week. It didn’t go to plan, causing Rourke to issue an apology for his play. He completed eight-of-25 passes for 126 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in his first start back in the CFL in 644 days.
This is the first matchup between these teams this season as they will also play next week in Victoria for the second half of a home-and-home.
The Lions (5-5) visit the Redblacks (6-2-1) with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 24. This week’s full slate of games can be seen below.