• Nathan Rourke and the Lions look to stay hot: After a dominant Week 1 win that saw the Lions QB put up a league-best 90.8 overall grade, they’ll take on a Winnipeg team that’s starting QB Chris Streveler in place of suspended QB Zach Collaros.
• Calgary’s revamped offense delivered in its debut: Now stars like RB Dedrick Mills (80.0 overall grade) and pass rusher Folarin Orimolade (80.5) will look to keep the momentum going against a motivated Argonauts squad.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS VS. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

The B.C. Lions got off to a fantastic start to the 2025 season, easily defeating the Edmonton Elks 31-14 in Week 1. The Lions’ offense was unsurprisingly led by QB Nathan Rourke, who threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns while adding 54 yards on the ground en route to a league-best 90.8 overall grade. The Lions defense won by getting constant pressure on Elks’ QB Tre Ford, forcing him into inaccurate throws and broken plays frequently. EDGE Mathieu Betts had a CFL-high nine total pressures. Meanwhile, Winnipeg is coming into this game off a Week 1 bye. They will be without star QB Zach Collaros as he serves a one-game suspension for failing to respond to a drug test request. That means the Blue Bombers will likely lean on the defending Most Outstanding Player, RB Brady Oliveira (90.4 overall grade in 2024). There’s no RB more poised to handle a big workload, so look for the Lions to do all they can to limit him.

MATCHUP TO WATCH: RT DEJON ALLEN, BRITISH COLUMBIA VS. ED WILLIE JEFFERSON, WINNIPEG

Over the past three seasons, no offensive tackle in the CFL has had a better pass-blocking grade than Dejon Allen’s 82.2. He’s proven to be one of the CFL’s elite pass blockers and was signed to help shore up B.C.’s offensive line. He was solid last week, allowing just two pressures against a strong Edmonton Elks defensive line. This week could be even tougher, though, as he’ll see the legendary Willie Jefferson lining up across from him. Over that same three-year period, Jefferson’s 184 total pressures rank second in the CFL, and he has a fourth-best pass-rushing grade at 90.5. He’ll need a big game to help his Blue Bombers throw off the vaunted Lions’ offense. 

PLAYER TO WATCH: QB CHRIS STREVELER, WINNIPEG

With Collaros out due to suspension, backup Chris Streveler will start his first game of the season. He’s just over nine months removed from tearing three ligaments in his knee during a game last season, but by all accounts, he is fully recovered. Streveler filled in for Collaros for a game and a half last season, to mixed results. Over those games, he completed just 60.0% of his passes for 296 yards and had two turnover-worthy plays to zero big-time throws. He had a 58.3 passing grade, but he did rush for over 100 yards and a 70.2 rushing grade. The Bombers should try to make things easy for him by calling some designed run plays early to get him doing what he does best. If they can control the clock, Streveler can manage this game. 

MONTREAL ALOUETTES VS. OTTAWA REDBLACKS

The Alouettes rode their very talented defense to a relatively easy win last week, holding the Toronto Argonauts to just 276 yards on 47 plays. New starting quarterback Davis Alexander had a solid game, showcasing his accuracy. His 64.0% accuracy percentage was the second-highest in the league, and he finished with a 65.4 passing grade. His counterpart this week, Ottawa QB Dru Brown, had quite the start to the season. Brown took advantage of a Saskatchewan secondary playing incredibly softly to the tune of an 85.0% adjusted completion rate and a league-high 412 passing yards. But it wasn’t enough as the Redblacks fell to the Roughriders 31-26. Brown injured his hip at the end of the game, so his health remains something to watch leading into this game. 

MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR TYSON PHILPOT, MONTREAL VS. CB ADRIAN FRYE, OTTAWA

Before his injury last season, Philpot was on his way to a massive breakout season in which he was competing for the league lead in almost every receiving category. While his 63.5 receiving grade didn’t turn many heads, his 26-yard touchdown catch did. Philpot is capable of burning any corner off the line of scrimmage, and stopping that will be a big challenge for Frye. In Week 1, Frye was targeted seven times and allowed six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. His 148.4 QB rating when targeted was the fourth-highest of the week. One bright spot for Frye was his forced fumble and recovery early in the game that gave Ottawa the ball in Saskatchewan territory. But Frye is going to have to do a better job this week in coverage if he wants to limit Philpot’s impact.

PLAYER TO WATCH: LB TYRICE BEVERETTE, MONTREAL

The CFL’s best linebacker started this season just as he ended last season. Beverette made six total tackles, two solo stops, allowed just one catch for three yards and had an interception. All of that contributed to a league-best 85.2 overall defensive grade. Beverette is just as comfortable stepping up to stop the run as he is dropping into coverage against a receiver. He’s the ultimate weapon for Montreal’s defense, and if he continues to play like he did in Week 1, he’ll be in serious contention for the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award yet again. 

CALGARY STAMPEDERS VS. TORONTO ARGONAUTS

This game features the Toronto Argonauts, coming off a tough loss to the Montreal Alouettes, in which they struggled to move the football. Their run game was non-existent, as RB Deonta McMahon gained just 14 yards on four carries. They’ll need more from that run game, if only to justify cutting last year’s number-two graded RB Ka’Deem Carey before the start of this season. Across the country, the Calgary Stampeders debuted their new-look offense to excellent results. QB Vernon Adams Jr.’s numbers don’t look great on paper, as he totaled just 284 yards passing and two interceptions against zero touchdowns. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story, as he was hit on both picks and finished with an 85.1 passing grade on the night. Adams will look to test his deep ball a little more in this game against a solid Argonauts’ secondary. 

MATCHUP TO WATCH: RB DEDRICK MILLS, CALGARY VS. LB WYNTON MCMANIS, TORONTO

Calgary leaned on RB Dedrick Mills a lot last week, and he did not let them down. Mills carried the ball 17 times for 94 yards, had four missed tackles forced and scored three touchdowns. He finished with a league-best 80.4 rushing grade. He also added three catches for 30 yards. He’ll have his work cut out for him this week when he sees McManis across the field from him. The Argos linebacker is one of the CFL’s best linebackers and led the league last year with a 92.7 coverage grade. Last week, McManis had two solo run stops as well as four tackles and a forced incompletion in coverage. If there’s anyone who can slow down Mills, it’s McManis. This could be a matchup that decides the game.

PLAYER TO WATCH: EDGE FOLARIN ORIMOLADE, CALGARY

Calgary’s defense is made up of young, inexperienced players. But Orimolade is a star and was signed this offseason to lead by example for the team. He started off the season with a bang, recording three quarterback hits, three hurries and seven additional pass-rush wins. His 26.7% pass-rush win rate was the third-highest in the league, and his 75.8 pass-rush grade ranked fourth. Another big game from Orimolade is almost necessary for the Stampeders if they want to slow down Toronto’s offense and come away with a second-straight victory.  

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS VS. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

The third straight game of the week to feature a team that won last week against a team that lost. The Roughriders battled tough to come away from their game with Ottawa with a 31-26 victory. They were led by both a defense that finished with the highest pass-rush grade of any team (76.9) as well as an offensive line that absolutely stonewalled Ottawa’s pass rush to the tune of just six total pressures allowed. The Tiger-Cats had a disappointing start to the season, falling 38-26 to the Calgary Stampeders. Last year’s top QB, Bo Levi Mitchell, struggled, as he finished with zero big-time throws to two turnover-worthy plays and just a 61.1 passing grade. He’ll need to be better this week against an excellent Roughriders secondary. 

MATCHUP TO WATCH: LG TREVON TATE, SASKATCHEWAN VS. DI CASEY SAYLES, HAMILTON

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more consistently dominant defensive lineman in the CFL over the past three years than Casey Sayles. He’s put up pass-rush grades above 83.0 in all three seasons and has a 13.5% overall pass rush win rate. He’s also never graded below a 75.0 in run defense. This week, he’ll see a lot of Week 1’s highest-graded guard in Tate. The Roughrider left guard had a solid 65.8 run blocking grade, but was even more impressive as a pass blocker. He didn’t allow a single pressure or lose even one of his 30 pass-blocking snaps. If he can continue that level of play and wall off Sayles, it could be a big game for Saskatchewan’s offense.

PLAYER TO WATCH: EDGE HABAKKUK BALDONADO, SASKATCHEWAN

While Baldonado didn’t start for the Roughriders, he was far and away their most impressive pass rusher when he rotated in. In just 20 pass rush snaps, Baldonado had a sack, two hurries and three additional pass rush wins. His 30.0% pass rush win rate led the league, as did his 83.4 pass rushing grade. Baldonado is unlikely to get the start over Malik Carney and Shane Ray, but he’s earned a good amount of pass-rush snaps and should see the field plenty in this one. Watch for him to make another big impact and help this Roughriders defense succeed.