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TORONTO — Week 3 of the CFL season is upon us and our pick makers are working to get a sense of the lay of the land in 2024.
The Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders are 2-0. The Toronto Argonauts are back in action this week and are 1-0, as are the Ottawa REDBLACKS, who jumped into the schedule last week after sitting idle in Week 1.
On the other end of the standings, we have three winless teams. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had victory intercepted from them in the dying moments of their Sunday loss to the Riders. The Edmonton Elks sit at 0-2 and finally, very surprisingly and to the detriment of our pick makers, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 0-2 for the first time since the 2016 season.
Outside of the six-person graphic posted below, some of these surprising wrinkles to the first two weeks of action have likely impacted anyone playing CFL Pick Em presented by Old Dutch. Week 3 sees some strong shifts from pick makers and game players alike. Who do you like in this week’s games? Check out our writers’ picks below.
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OTT at MTL
The Als take all of their momentum — they’ve won 10 games in a row if you go back into the 2023 season — into their banner raising on Thursday at Molson Stadium. The Als have been efficient offensively and have been that same the-buck-stops-here defence in their two wins this year. They get something of a question mark opponent in the new look REDBLACKS. Dru Brown had a very solid debut at quarterback and Adarius Pickett looked very much at home in his new surroundings in Barron Miles’ defence. The writers and a vast majority of the fans see the Als staying undefeated and defending home turf this week, though.
PICK
Writers: 100% Montreal
Fans: 90% Montreal
BC at WPG
The Lions and Bombers met in Winnipeg in Week 3 last year, with the Lions running away with a 30-6 win that caught many around the league off guard. There’s a different vibe this year, however, as the Bombers are dealing with injuries and offensive struggles, while the Lions seemed to have found their groove last week as they handled the Stamps in a win at home. The Bombers are at home, but the writers — save for one brave soul — don’t see things turning around for them this week. The fans lean to the visitors too, but Bomber supporters are making themselves heard.
PICK
Writers: 83% BC
Fans: 64% BC
EDM at TOR
McLeod Bethel-Thompson should get a warm welcome from fans at BMO Field on Saturday. It’ll mark his first game back there since he helped the Argos to their 2022 Grey Cup win. On familiar (natural grass) grounds, he’ll hope that he can rediscover his winning ways, as the Elks have dropped a pair of tough losses to open up their season. To do it, they’ll have to take care of the ball against an Argos’ defence that thrived off of five BC turnovers in their Week 1 win over the Lions. The writers and fans agree — almost to the exact same extent — that the Argos will do just that and move to 2-0 on the season.
PICK
Writers: 83% Toronto
Fans: 84% Toronto
HAM at SSK
A week after an early game of the year candidate, we get a quick Rider-Ticats rematch at Mosaic Stadium. Despite the persistence of Rider Nation in the Pick Em game, this may actually be the hardest pick of the week. The Ticats were at the doorstep of a win on Sunday and led for the majority of the game, until Bo Levi Mitchell‘s pass deflected off of Tim White‘s hand and into the arms of C.J. Avery, which allowed for Brett Lauther‘s game-winning field goal. Will we see a complete game from the Riders this time? Will Bo and his talented crew of receivers get the job done in Regina? The writers are torn. Rider Nation is making its voice heard in Pick Em.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
Fans: 77% Saskatchewan
