After the first few weeks of the season we’ve seen a handful of divisional games but this week, the divisional rivalries headline all four games.
The storyline for all of the games is the opportunity for teams like Edmonton and BC to keep pace early this season with the teams above them in the standings.
Out east, the Alouettes have a serious shot to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division as they already have control over the East after three straight wins.
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The next closest is Ottawa with one single win, while Hamilton and Toronto are looking for their first victories.
The unfortunate part of this season is the health of the starting quarterbacks and that could play a part in how you pick the games this week. Dru Brown and Nathan Rourke are questionable, Chad Kelly could be making a return and the Alouettes may be without Davis Alexander.
So keep an eye on those injury reports before finalizing your picks for CFL Pick ‘Em or CFL Fantasy.
Edmonton at Winnipeg
Thursday, June 26
8:30 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+
The Elks head into Winnipeg looking for their first win of the season. The Blue Bombers defence has opened the season strong against the BC Lions, without Nathan Rourke of course, but the Bombers have only allowed 17 points per game.
The Elks defence is on the opposite end of the spectrum. General manager Ed Hervey went out and brought in a lot of talent but they’re clearly taking some time to find the chemistry.
The Bombers made some tough decisions this off-season to move forward without some big names and haven’t missed a beat. Matthew Peterson has also stepped in well for the injured Brady Oliveira. Zach Collaros has one of his favourite targets to start the season with Dalton Schoen but it’s Keric Wheatfall that has been a great breakout player. Through two games Wheatfall has almost surpassed what he did in seven games last season.
Edmonton’s offence has sputtered out of the gate. Justin Rankin is budding star who needs to get the ball more because I could see a dynamic threat of Rankin and Tre Ford.
PICK: EDMONTON
Montreal at Hamilton
Friday, June 27
7:30 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CFL+
This is a game that has plenty to think about before defaulting to Montreal being 3-0 and Hamilton starting the season 0-2.
The Alouettes are the class of the East Division but with Davis Alexander’s hamstring injury they could be going with McLeod Bethel-Thompson this week. Most teams want to be cautious this early in the season so it would make sense to go with MBT. But the Alouettes offence does lose a lot of the escapability that Alexander and Cody Fajardo have given this offence in the past three seasons.
On the other side of the field you have the Tiger-Cats coming off a bye week as the coaching staff has time to refine their game plan after a tough start to the season.
Last year, the Tiger-Cats were 3-0 off of a bye week. You can’t ignore that. You also can’t ignore the talent the Tiger-Cats have, especially on offence. The big thing to watch is how the Tiger-Cats defence comes out after the break. They are also a talented group who hasn’t been able to put it together. Hamilton does need their defensive line to step up as they’ve been gashed along the ground and give too much time for quarterbacks to pick apart the secondary.
This pick is very assumptive based on being cautious with Alexander.
PICK: HAMILTON
BC at Saskatchewan
Saturday, June 28
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/CTV/CBSSN/CFL+
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are off to a 3-0 start to the season and the big reason is their line play. Their defensive line is pressuring the quarterback often with a trio of players starting the season with two sacks each.
The offensive line of the Riders has been impressive by surviving with so many injuries already this season and they have a strong run game and have allowed just two sacks through three games.
The Riders are also using everyone on their offence to move the ball. They’ve had three different 100-yard receivers in the first three games and AJ Ouellette is averaging over six yards a carry.
Over in BC, we’ll see what happens with Nathan Rourke but like Montreal, the Lions will want to play it safe with their young franchise quarterback. Jeremiah Masoli struggled in his debut in 2025 but he has some strong receivers around him with Keon Hatcher Sr. leading the league in receiving and Justin McInnis being one of the top Canadian talents in the CFL.
The matchup that weighs on me in this game is the Riders strong run game to start the year with the Lions struggling stopping the run.
PICK: SASKATCHEWAN
Toronto at Ottawa
Sunday, June 29
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS Info/CBSSN/CFL+
Will Chad Kelly be back? Will Ryan Dinwiddie have lit a fire under his team after a very honest post game last week? Will Dru Brown be ready to return for Ottawa? Do the REDBLACKS have a bit of momentum after their windy win in Calgary?
Yes, I know that is a lot of questions but I ask them for good reason. There are plenty of things that remain unknown ahead of Sunday’s game.
What we do know are both of these teams are still trying to find their footing and their identity to start the season.
I think Ottawa’s ability to run the ball in Calgary may have been the jolt they needed to find some of that identity.
PICK: OTTAWA