Banjo Bowl part of Saturday tripleheader in CFL Week 14 action on TSN
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With Labour Day weekend now in the rear-view mirror, the final stretch of the Canadian Football League season begins with four games packed into two days of Week 14 action on TSN.
The week begins with a Friday Night Football matchup in the nation’s capital as the Ottawa Redblacks look to snap a two-game losing streak against the BC Lions.
Saturday features the first tripleheader of the year, with three divisional matchups on tap. First the Hamilton Tiger-Cats travel to take on the Montreal Alouettes. Following that will be rematches from last week out west, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers clashing before the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks finish off the week.
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Lions vs. Redblacks - Friday on TSN
The Lions and Redblacks will both look to shake off recent losses in the nation’s capital on Friday.
The week begins with two teams that have been middling recently, as both the Lions and Redblacks are .500 over their past four games.
The Redblacks enter the game with questions about who will start at quarterback.
Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce did not rule out starting quarterback Dru Brown returning from a knee injury in Week 14, after he was a limited participant in practices on Monday and Tuesday.
“Dru is still working forward, he’s still working with the training staff,” Dyce told reporters ahead of the team’s Week 14 matchup. “He was out there yesterday throwing the ball well and looked good. We’ll continue to evaluate that as the week progresses.”
The 28-year-old has had to deal with a variety of injuries this season and has now missed four contests for the Redblacks through 13 weeks.
If Brown can’t go, it will be Dustin Crum taking the reins as he has taken first-team reps throughout this week’s sessions. It would be the 26-year-old's fourth start of the season for Ottawa. He is 4-13 all-time as a starter in the CFL dating back to 2023.
Whomever starts, they’ll be going up against a Lions defence that has been brutal over their past five games, in which the team has gone 2-3. They are allowing a league-high 35.6 points over that time, including giving up 52 points, the most points scored this season, to the Toronto Argonauts in their last showing.
The big three of Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke, the CFL’s rushing touchdowns and yards leader James Butler, and receiving yards leader Keon Hatcher can only do so much, though they have done a lot. BC leads the league in offensive points per game (27.7), mostly thanks to those three, as they’ll go up against an Ottawa defence that finds itself in the bottom half of the CFL in most statistical categories.
Tiger-Cats vs. Alouettes - Saturday on TSN
Saturday’s tripleheader begins with an Eastern Division matchup in Montreal between two struggling teams in the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats.
Six weeks ago, both the Tiger-Cats and Alouettes were sitting pretty atop the East Division standings with 5-2 records. Fast forward to Week 14, and the two teams have a combined record of 1-7 since. Montreal is riding a four-game losing streak and Hamilton is midst a three-game skid.
Regardless, this matchup will be for first place in the East.
The Alouettes, who are now under .500 at 5-6, will have had 16 days off by the time this game rolls around, and it already is paying dividends for a team that has a lengthy injury report. Tyson Philpot, Austin Mack, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Sean Thomas Erlington, and Mustafa Johnson all practiced in full during Tuesday’s session, while starting pivot Davis Alexander was limited.
The time off will also give fourth-string quarterback James Morgan, who has been thrust into the starting role, more time to get comfortable with the first team.
In his first career CFL start back in Week 12 against the Bombers, the 28-year-old completed 18-of-33 passes (54.5 per cent) for 198 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
As for Hamilton, they roll into Week 14 after being on the losing end on the craziest finish of the 2025 season thus far, when Toronto Argonauts receiver Dejon Brissett made an insane catch to set up a walk-off field goal.
It’s been the defence that has let Ticats fans down over this three-game skid, allowing 35 points per game, one point shy for the most allowed over that time frame (Lions). The team needed a big stop last week and back in Week 10, when this losing streak began, but just haven’t been able to get them.
Offence hasn’t been a problem for Hamilton, as Bo Levi Mitchell and his plethora of receivers are still firing on all cylinders, leading the CFL in points for (30.3).
To boil it down, it’s a matchup of a good offensive and bad defensive team in the Tiger-Cats taking on a good defensive and bad offensive team in the Alouettes. Whichever team can get their failing unit up to par first could be the difference.
Roughriders vs. Blue Bombers - Saturday on TSN
It’s the Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg as the Blue Bombers will try to make up for their Labour Day Classic loss last week against the Roughriders.
One fact remains true for the 9-2 Roughriders: The only team to beat the league-leaders are the Stampeders.
The Blue Bombers got very close to changing that in last week’s Labour Day Classic, but an interception by Riders corner Tevaughn Campbell on a potential game-tying two-point conversion would seal the deal.
While Saskatchewan historically has been better in the first half of this home-and-home series, the same can’t be said for the annual rematch in Winnipeg.
Heading into the 21st Banjo Bowl, the Blue Bombers lead the all-time series 13-7, have won nine of the past 11, and are currently riding a five-game win streak that dates back to 2019.
A Winnipeg win would keep the 6-5 Blue Bombers within striking distance of the West’s top teams, and another repeat performance from Zach Collaros would go a long way in helping do that.
After a career-high performance in Week 12 where he completed 87.1 per cent of his passes (27-of-31), the 37-year-old quarterback had arguably his best game of the season last week, completing 70.3 per cent of his passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
Collaros’ receiving core has also gotten a boost, with Nic Demski and Dalton Schoen back healthy, while the team also added Ontaria Wilson following his NFL release.
Last week was only the third time this season that Saskatchewan’s defence has allowed more than 30 points, if they can get closer to their average of 22.3 points allowed per game, they’ll be in good shape, especially with Trevor Harris, A.J. Ouellette, and KeeSean Johnson helping lead an offence that is putting up the third most points per game (28.3) on the other side of the ball.
Stampeders vs. Elks - Saturday on TSN
The second half of the Alberta home-and-home showdown rounds out Saturday’s tripleheader and Week 14 as the Elks host the Stampeders.
The Stampeders and Elks will close out a week of CFL football for a second consecutive week, but this time the game will be in Edmonton.
The previous game was the worst the Elks’ offence has looked since Cody Fajardo took over, failing to score a touchdown and losing 28-7, while having their three-game win streak snapped in the process.
Last week’s lack of offensive production from Edmonton wasn’t necessarily shocking, as Calgary’s defence has been phenomenal all season.
The unit is the only one north of the border to allow fewer than 20 points per game (19.5) while they also allow the third least net offensive yards per game (354.2). They find themselves near the top in most defensive categories, and it's largely thanks to their defensive line.
The powerful Jaylon Hutchings (seven) and speedy Clarence Hicks (six) are in the top four in sacks, while both Hutchings and Hicks, plus edge Folarin Orimolade are in the top 10 in pressures.
The 26-year-old Hicks also leads all defensive linemen in tackles for loss (five), while the 25-year-old Hutchings sits second in defensive tackles amongst linemen.
Edmonton did not do a great job up front last week, allowing four sacks. Fajardo, Justin Rankin, and the rest of Edmonton’s young offence will have to try and get back on track, as on the other side, the Stampeders are 8-1 when Vernon Adams Jr. plays wire to wire.