Four Things We Learned From Week Two of the CFL

The Argonauts are back

The second week of the CFL season kicked off with the Toronto Argonauts’ taking on the Montreal Alouettes, the Argonauts’ first game of the season.

The rivalry was intense with the Argonauts barely edging out the Alouettes by a score of 20-19. Argonauts quarterback, McLeod Bethel-Thompson, looked sharp in his season debut, completing 71% of his passes for 269 yards and a touchdown. Look for the Argonauts to take advantage of their win and pull away as leaders of the East Division as they take on the BC Lions next week in Vancouver.

who doesn’t love a good thriller 🤷🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/fESd6sDkFD

— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) June 17, 2022

Blue Bombers have Redblacks’ number

In uncommon fashion, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks faced off for the second week in a row.

In their first matchup, we saw a very uncharacteristic game from the Blue Bombers: they gave up 431 yards while only gaining 289 yards themselves—barely squeezing out a win versus Ottawa.

Before their second matchup, doubt surrounded star quarterback Zach Collaros’ availability, but he suited up and looked as healthy as ever. Collaros threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns in a 19-12 rout of the Redblacks.

Winnipeg found themselves playing from behind the entire first half but managed to squeeze out some points as the time ticked down at the end of the first half. The Blue Bombers didn’t look back, outscoring the Redblacks 12-3 in the second half and show casing the dominance we saw from them last season. The Redblacks get the next week off but prepare for a tough matchup against the BC Lions later this month.

Calgary at Hamilton was the game of the week

What a game! Coming into the week, this was the most anticipated and evenly-matched tie (the Tiger-Cats were only one-point favorites).

There’s no quit in these 🐎!@jthurm_20 seals the huge comeback!#CFLGameday | @calstampeders pic.twitter.com/IXMROMAW20

— CFL (@CFL) June 19, 2022

The first 30 minutes of Saturday’s matchup was completely dominated by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, outscoring the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 24-3. The Tiger-Cats were carried by quarterback Dane Evans who threw for an impressive 425 yards and three touchdowns.

The second half was a completely different story. Bo Levi Mitchell put on an offensive clinic, throwing two touchdowns and most of his 313 passing yards in the second half. The Stampeders outscored the Tiger-Cats 30-6 in the second half and in their eventual overtime win.

Levi Mitchell was aided by Kamar Jordan, who had seven receptions for 109 yards. The Stampeders took their second half momentum and finished off the Tiger-Cats in overtime, the game finished with a score of 33-30.

Roughriders mean business

After their domination of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Saskatchewan Roughriders continued their dominance versus the Edmonton Elks, winning by a score of 26-16.

Last week was a team effort by the Roughriders, putting up 30 points while holding the Tiger-Cats to 13. This week, it was very close most of the way, with the Elks going up 13-12 at the end of the 3^rd quarter. From then on, it was all the Roughriders’ game, outscoring the Elks 14-3 in the fourth quarter.

From Rider Nation. 🌾
For Rider Nation. 🍉#BRINGIT https://t.co/5nXUAzhMsM

— Saskatchewan Roughriders (@sskroughriders) June 19, 2022

Their early-season grit has set a determined tone for the Roughriders. Watch them closely.

Looking ahead: Week three will bring surprises

Next week we have some very lopsided games, with three undefeated teams taking on teams that haven’t won any games. Despite some early dominance, the season is still young. Expect some surprise results to emerge.

The final game of next weekend will showcase a more even matchup. The Toronto Argonauts face the BC Lions at 10PM Eastern. The Ottawa Redblacks get a week off after two consecutive losses to the Blue Bombers.