The road to the 104th Grey Cup will continue with the opening round of the playoffs this weekend and a couple of intriguing matchups that will help us get a clearer picture of who the true contenders are for this year’s championship trophy. The Edmonton Eskimos will east to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Semi-Final while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will visit the BC Lions in the Western Semi-Final. Here is your CFL betting rundown for the opening round of the playoffs.
Sunday November 13, 2016
Edmonton Eskimos @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
CFL Betting Odds: Edmonton -3
The injury-riddled Tiger-Cats decided to rest the majority of their starters in their regular season finale. That might have been the right decision considering their luck late in the season, but it’s hard to tell what we should expect from quarterback Zach Collaros. The assumption is that Collaros will be ready for Sunday’s game but there could be some rust after he was limited to a single quarter of action in Week 20. Meanwhile, Edmonton also rested its starters in a lopsided win over the Toronto Argonauts last week but should be much more prepared for this week’s crossover showdown after finishing the year relatively healthy. Mike Reilly will be motivated to beat up on a Hamilton secondary that is fairly beaten up and Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker will have an opportunity to put up some big money. Reilly led the CFL with 5,554 passing yards and threw 28 touchdowns so it will be hard for the Hamilton defense to keep him in check. Meanwhile, the Edmonton defense will look to get some shots on Collaros and test how healthy he really is at this point. Tim Hortons Field doesn’t seem to be the hostile environment it was a year ago so the Eskimos should be able to win and cover the spread.
CFL Betting Pick: Edmonton -3
Sunday November 13, 2016
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ BC Lions
CFL Betting Odds: BC -4.5
The Blue Bombers have come a long way since their 1-4 start to the regular season but their toughest test is still ahead of them heading to BC for this weekend’s other semi-final. Winnipeg’s defense has shown flashes of its immense potential and will need to really step up against Jonathon Jennings and company if they want to have any shot at the upset. The Lions offense is capable of putting up some big numbers and after showing glimpses of what they can do throughout the year the spotlight will be on them this weekend. Jennings finished third in the CFL in passing yards behind only Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell so it will be important for Winnipeg to keep him in check. The last two meetings between these clubs were decided by an average of 2.5 points back in Week 16 and Week 17 so while BC should have an edge it won’t be a surprise if the Blue Bombers keep this game close and cover the spread this weekend.
CFL Betting Pick: Winnipeg +4.5
Looking Ahead
The 2016 CFL playoff bracket is set, so take a look at the CFL betting futures before the playoffs kick off. The above matchups will go off this weekend but there are two teams that are resting on a bye awaiting the results. The Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks were the two top teams in each conference and will play the respective winners from each of Sunday’s matchups.
The Stampeders will be awaiting the winner of the Lions-Blue Bombers showdown. The Stamps will definitely be hoping to see the Blue Bombers instead of the Lions as the Lions were just one of the two teams that beat them this season. The Lions really pushed them in a second meeting on July 29th when the Stamps barely outlasted them 44-41.
On the other side of the bracket, the Redblacks are awaiting the winner of the Edmonton-Hamilton matchup. Ottawa is probably hoping that Edmonton gets knocked out in the first round as they’re one of the hottest teams right now while Hamilton is a little banged up. Jason Maas’ team has registered wins in five of their last six games while scoring at least 40 points in three of those contests. They’ve outscored their opponents by a margin of 202-144 in that time. They’re on fire and could ride their momentum all the way to the Grey Cup, so Ottawa will be hoping to avoid them.
