Defensive tests highlight 3 matchups to watch on Friday Night Football
09/27/2024 10:00 AM
TORONTO — We open Week 17 on Friday night with a strong double header.
The Edmonton Elks seek revenge after their loss at home last week to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers have won six in a row now and promise to be inhospitable hosts at Princess Auto Stadium. A Bombers’ win will secure them a playoff berth for the eighth straight season, while the Elks are desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive. A win in Winnipeg would go a long way on that front.
We shift over the West coast for our second game, where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats bring their three-game win streak across the country and try to extend it against a rested BC Lions team that’s coming out of a bye week. Like the Elks, the Ticats need every win they can get if they want to squeeze into the playoffs. The Lions are sitting at second in the West and will turn to Nathan Rourke to lead them to a strong finish over their final four games.
Week-by-week, we’re inching closer to the playoffs. How will these games impact that picture? CFL.ca brings you three matchups to watch on Friday Night Football.
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TONY JONES & CO. VS. EDMONTON’S RUN GAME
Jones stepped in for the injured Adam Bighill last week and gave an inspired effort against the team that he started the season with. Jones was a training camp cut in Edmonton and well, he took his release personally. He had a sack, an interception and a knockdown to go with six tackles and one on special teams in the Bombers’ comfortable 27-14 win last week. That said, the Elks’ run game was still highly productive, going for 195 yards, with Justin Rankin claiming 156 of them. The Bombers picked their poison last week and won, shutting down Edmonton’s passing game. Will they go the same route this week? Either way, Jones will be a big piece of the Bombers’ defensive puzzle.
BO LEVI MITCHELL VS. BC’S SECONDARY
The league’s leading passer makes his way to BC Place on Friday night and he’ll look to get out his scalpel against the Lions’ defence. The Lions are giving up 287.6 passing yards per game and allowing a league-worst 108.3 opponents’ pass efficiency, with their opponents’ completion percentage also at a league worst, at 72.9 per cent.
Mitchell has been in fine form over his last four games, with his team going 3-1 in that stretch. He’s thrown for 1,228 yards in that span with five touchdowns to one interception. The Lions have a league-worst eight interceptions. That may give Mitchell a little more confidence to spread the ball around to his receivers. Mitchell is playing his best football since the 2018 season. That was the last time he was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player and the last time he won a Grey Cup. If Mitchell is connecting with his receivers on Friday, there’s a good chance the Ticats can push their win streak to four games.
NATHAN ROURKE VS. CHRIS JONES’ DEFENCE
The Tiger-Cats’ defence has come to life under the guidance of senior defensive assistant Chris Jones. Since he joined the team on Aug. 19, the Ticats have forced 10 turnovers, going 3-2 in the process.
Rourke’s return from the NFL hasn’t been the smooth resumption of duties that fans would have hoped for; that’s not an indictment on the 2022 Most Outstanding Canadian Player. Transitioning back to the Canadian game in the middle of the season is rarely a smooth one for any player. It almost always takes time and judgements can’t be passed based on a half-season’s work.
Still, with Jones’ defence in Hamilton beginning to evoke the fear that a classic Chris Jones defence has through his coaching tenure in the CFL, Rourke is in for a fast and confusing-by-design attack on Friday night. If he’s up to that task, it could mark a turning point in the Lions’ season. If he isn’t, the benefits fall to the Ticats, who need every win they can get as they race to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
