Als, Riders and Stamps eyeing 3-0 starts in Week 3 action on TSN
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The 2025 CFL season is in full swing and TSN has you covered with another four must-see matchups in Week 3.
The action kicks off with the Montreal Alouettes looking to improved to 3-0 against the 0-1 Edmonton Elks on Thursday, continues with the 2-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders facing the winless Toronto Argonauts on Friday and includes a double-header on Saturday.
Saturday's action will see the undefeated Calgary Stampeders hosting the 0-2 Ottawa Redblacks and the return of Zach Collaros as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the B.C. Lions.
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Alouettes vs. Elks – Thursday at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on TSN
The new-look Edmonton Elks offence will host a stellar Montreal Alouettes defence in their home opener to open Week 3 on Thursday.
Edmonton couldn’t have asked for a harder opponent for the home opener at Commonwealth Stadium, facing arguably the league’s top team in Montreal.
The Elks will look to rebound following a bye week after getting blown out by the BC Lions 31-14 in Week 1. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke was fantastic in that one, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns while dicing up Edmonton’s defence, which allowed the most net offence in the opening week (446 yards).
Edmonton’s offence struggled even more than the defence under first-year starter Tre Ford. The former Waterloo Warrior completed 18 of 27 passes for 178 yards and one interception, while adding six carries for 54 yards along the ground.
The Elks produced the lowest amount of net offence (248 yards) and the lowest average yards per play (5.17) after Week 1, as Ford struggled to connect with the handful of new receivers the Elks trotted out.
It won’t get any easier for Edmonton in Week 3 as arguably the CFL’s best defence in the undefeated Alouettes come to town.
Montreal allowed more than 26 points just five times last season while averaging 22.4 points against all year. The unit has continued its stifling style in 2025, only allowing 10 points to the Toronto Argonauts in Week 1 and 18 points to the Ottawa Redblacks last week.
Montreal’s defensive line caved in Ottawa’s unit up front last week, causing multiple interceptions off batted balls while forcing pressure all night.
Alouettes’ first-year starter Davis Alexander also had an excellent Week 2 after a fine Week 1. The 26-year-old completed 23 of 32 passes for 344 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, improving to 6-0 as a starter north of the border.
Roughriders vs. Argonauts – Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on TSN
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will look to remain undefeated as they take on the winless defending Grey Cup Champions Toronto Argonauts on Friday.
The Argonauts raised their CFL-leading 19th championship banner last week during their home opener before following it up with a second straight uninspiring performance to begin the 2025 season, losing to the Calgary Stampeders 29-19.
Toronto fell to 0-2 in their championship defence season, largely because of the offence’s inability to get anything going consistently.
With former Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly still not practising, it was Nick Arbuckle once again taking the reins as he completed 31 of 42 passes for 309 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The team failed to put up a major score until the fourth quarter while also struggling to get the run game going.
With Kelly already sidelined as he is still recovering from fracturing his tibia and fibula in last year’s East Final, Toronto’s injury report got longer. Star linebacker Wynton McManis will get an MRI for an MCL injury he suffered during training camp, running back Deonta McMahon is dealing with an ankle issue, and defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas suffered a calf injury and could be on the sidelines for weeks.
The Roughriders roll into BMO field firing on all cylinders with a 2-0 record. It starts with quarterback Trevor Harris, who is off to another solid start as the Roughriders No.1 guy.
The 39-year-old sits in the top three in both completion percentage (71.4 percent) and touchdowns (three) while spreading the ball around. After it was Samuel Emilus going off in Week 1 for eight catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, it was KeeSean Johnson’s turn last week in Saskatchewan's 28-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The 28-year-old caught eight passes for 124 yards and one touchdown and now sits fourth in the CFL in receiving yards.
Defensively, the Roughriders run defence continues to be elite since head coach Corey Mace took over last season. After being one of the best units defending the run last year, Saskatchewan has only allowed 81 total yards along the ground this season, second to the Alouettes (74).
This will be a key matchup as the Argonauts need to find ways to help support the subpar quarterback play with Kelly out.
Redblacks vs. Stampeders – Saturday at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on TSN
The Calgary Stampeders return home to host the Ottawa Redblacks in the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Not many people would have predicted the Stampeders to begin the season 2-0, while taking down the reigning Grey Cup champions in the process. Calgary’s improvement has been a mixture of better play from the quarterback position and the defence as a whole.
Vernon Adams Jr., who the Stamps brought in during the off-season has given Calgary dynamism at the quarterback position. The 32-year-old completed 17 of 25 passes for 301 yards while rushing seven times for 54 yards, leading the Stampeders past the Argos. Anytime Calgary’s receivers were covered downfield, Adams used his legs to extend plays and get first downs.
The run game as a whole has also improved, with Dedrick Mills (122 yards) and Adams (87 yards) both in the top eight in rushing yards this season.
Calgary has been solid defensively as well, allowing the second fewest points per game thus far (22.5). Three new additions at all three levels have been the key, starting with rookie middle linebacker Marquel Lee. The 29-year-old is one of the league leaders in tackles so far with 15 and has been all over the field.
Canadian corner Adrian Greene spent the first three years of his career in BC before moving over to Calgary this off-season. The 26-year-old snagged two interceptions against Toronto last week, including taking one back to the house for six.
Along the defensive line, off-season trade acquisition Folarin Orimolade has been causing havoc since returning to Calgary. The 29-year-old returned to Alberta after spending the first three seasons of his career there and contributed a sack in last week’s win.
Ottawa will be in tough offensively with starter Dru Brown’s status still up in the air.
It was Matthew Shiltz who started last week and struggled. The 32-year-old was brought in on a one-year deal this off-season to compete for a backup spot in the nation's capital and completed 22 of 32 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
Shiltz didn’t receive much help however, with the duo of William Stanback and Daniel Adeboboye only rushing for 34 yards while the offensive line got dominated in pass protection and in the run game.
Ottawa’s defence will have to step up, led by Adarius Pickett, to help support what could be another tough outing for the offence if Brown can’t go.
Blue Bombers vs. Lions – Saturday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on TSN
The BC Lions will look to exact revenge on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch from last week’s opener to close out Week 3.
While one quarterback returns for the rematch in Winnipeg, one will potentially miss the game.
Two-time MOP Zach Collaros returns to the lineup after serving his one-game suspension for failing to make himself available for a drug test. The 36-year-old threw for 4,336 yards and 17 touchdowns last season while completing 70.1 per cent of his passes and will surely be welcomed back with open arms in Winnipeg’s offence.
That’s not a slight on Chris Streveler, who filled in admirably last week leading the Bombers to a 34-20 win over the Lions. The 30-year-old completed 15-of-24 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
While Collaros is back, Brady Oliviera is not, as the reigning Most Outstanding Player could miss multiple games with a shoulder injury, with further evaluation still required, according to TSN's Farhan Lalji.
Oliviera only managed to get two carries off before exiting the contest and being replaced with Canadian rookie Matthew Petrson. The 24-year-old was impressive in Oliviera’s absence, carrying the rock 23 times for 130 yards and a touchdown, and is currently taking first-team reps this week.
Another injury occurred to another prominent Canadian in Lions’ gunslinger Nathan Rourke. The 27-year-old was pulled midway through the fourth quarter of the teams’ loss last week, suffering a pulled oblique, per TSN's Farhan Lalji.
Rourke went down awkwardly after releasing a pass and could be seen grimacing in pain as he worked out on the sideline afterwards.
Entering the game in place of the injured Rourke was 14-year CFL veteran Jeremiah Masoli. The 36-year-old completed 7 of 10 passes for 84 yards and an interception in his limited playing time and would seemingly be the starter in this week’s rematch if Rourke can’t go.