West Division powerhouses collide in Week 12 action on TSN
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Week 12 of the CFL season has arrived with four games in three days of action coming up on TSN.
The week begins on Thursday with a 2023 Grey Cup rematch between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the reeling Montreal Alouettes. Then, Friday Night Football features the Edmonton Elks, who have a new life in the 2025 season, travelling to the nation’s capital to take on the Ottawa Redblacks.
Wrapping up the week is a Saturday doubleheader, beginning with the Toronto Argonauts trying to snap a three-game losing streak against the BC Lions, before the West’s best throw down in a game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders.
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Blue Bombers vs. Alouettes - Thursday on TSN
Kicking off Week 12 on Thursday is a 2023 Grey Cup rematch as the struggling Alouettes play host to the Blue Bombers.
Montreal’s season has completely gone downhill over the past three weeks, losing three quarterbacks to injury while losing three straight games.
First, starter Davis Alexander hit the six-game injured list after battling through a hamstring injury to start the season. Then McLeod Bethel-Thompson joined Alexander on the six-game IL with an elbow injury, all before last week’s starter, Caleb Evans, suffered a knee injury in the team’s Week 11 loss to BC.
Montreal has gone 2-5 since starting the year 3-0, and has been outscored 93-46 during the three-game skid.
The Alouettes are also dealing with injury problems elsewhere on the roster. Receivers Austin Mack and Tyson Philpot have missed time, as have safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy and cornerback Kabion Ento.
It’s not just that they’re dealing with injuries, it’s that they’re dealing with injuries to so many key contributors.
Though Winnipeg isn’t nearly dealing with as much adversity as right now, they’ve had some rocky finishes lately to say the least.
In Week 10, the Blue Bombers coughed up a 17-point lead to the Stamps before Calgary kicker Rene Paredes hit a 40-yard field goal for the win. Then Winnipeg squandered another 17-point lead to the Redblacks last week but were on the right side of walk-off field goal, with Sergio Castillo nailing a 47-yarder for the win.
It’s been an up and down season for Winnipeg, who also started 3-0 before running into the Stampeders in back-to-back weeks, losing both games by a combined score of 77-36.
Winnipeg might not be coming into this one firing on all cylinders, but all of Montreal’s cylinders are in the shop for repair.
Elks vs. Redblacks - Friday on TSN
Friday Night Football features the streaking Elks as they travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Redblacks.
While three quarterback injuries loom large over Thursday’s matchup, a third injury to a quarterback in Friday’s contest hangs over this one.
Redblacks pivot Dru Brown left the team’s Week 11 loss to the Bombers early after suffering an apparent lower-body injury. He attempted to jog off the field with a heavy limp, but went back down to the ground again.
This is the third injury this season to Brown, who missed three games earlier in 2025 with a hip injury before exiting the team’s Week 7 contest against the Tiger-Cats with concussion-like symptoms.
Head coach Bob Dyce has said it’s “not likely” Brown will be ready for this one, which means Dustin Crum would step in.
The 26-year-old Crum has completed 62.4 per cent of his passes for 625 yards and two touchdowns this season, while adding another 199 yards and six touchdowns along the ground.
He’ll have to keep pace with Cody Fajardo, however, who has breathed new life into the Elks’ season.
Over the past four weeks as a starter, Fajardo has completed 77.2 per cent of his passes thrown for 1,165 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. The 33-year-old veteran has stepped into the lineup and sprayed the ball across the field to Edmonton’s young receiving core efficiently, which in turn has opened the running game for Justin Rankin.
The roster isn’t perfect, but the team is on the upswing after pushing two of the CFL’s best in the Riders and Tiger-Cats to closes finishes and claiming two straight victories over the Alouettes and Argonauts.
This matchup also proves big for the crossover picture, as both Edmonton and Ottawa are a couple of games back of the current last playoff team in the Lions.
Lions vs. Argonauts - Saturday on TSN
Saturday’s doubleheader begins at BMO Stadium as the Argonauts try to snap a three-game skid against the Lions.
If the Argonauts want a chance at turning their season around after an abysmal 2-8 start, they almost must win this one as they’re chasing down the Lions, along with the Elks and Redblacks, for that final playoff spot.
After their Grey Cup victory less than a calendar year ago, things have gone almost as poorly as they could have.
Toronto sits dead last in the CFL in the standings and in major statistical categories like points allowed, rushing yards for and against. To add insult to injury, starting quarterback Chad Kelly has still not suited up yet as he recovers from the fractured leg he suffered in last year’s East final.
There have been some bright spots, however. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle has played at about as good of a level as you can ask, receiver Damonte Coxie has emerged as a top weapon, and Andrew Chatfield Jr. and Cam Judge have been standouts defensively.
But the road doesn’t get any easier for the Argonauts, as the Lions, especially their offence, have been one of the CFL’s best.
BC has scored at least 27 points in each of the past five games and is currently riding a two-game win streak with victories over Hamilton and Montreal.
The main area of focus for Toronto’s defence might have to be on Keon Hatcher, who is coming off a stellar performance in Week 11 that saw him make 11 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fourth 100-plus-yard game for the CFL’s new receiving yards leader this season. Hatcher and quarterback Nathan Rourke, who has also been on fire over this five-game stretch, are operating on a level that can only be matched with Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell and Kenny Lawler.
Roughriders vs. Stampeders - Saturday on TSN
Week 12 wraps up with a bang as the West’s best go at it in a game between the Roughriders and Stampeders.
The CFL’s two best teams will collide in the final matchup of Week 12, as the Stampeders (6-3) play host to the league’s best Roughriders (8-1).
Saskatchewan has separated themselves from the pact so far in 2025, after dismantling the Tiger-Cats 29-9 in their Week 11 victory.
They top the CFL in so many statistical categories, including offensive points for, points allowed, net offence allowed, rushing yards allowed, time of possession, big plays, and sacks just to name a few.
Oh yeah, they also have one of the Most Outstanding Player frontrunners in 39-year-old Trevor Harris at quarterback.
The only team to beat Saskatchewan this year, however, the Calgary Stampeders.
Calgary claimed a 24-10 victory over Saskatchewan back in Week 6, in a game where Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 428 yards and three touchdowns while Dedrick Mills ran for another 85 along the ground.
Calgary had nearly 550 yards of offence in that one, as the offensive line was able to move around the Saskatchewan front in the run game. The line also kept Adams upright, allowing the league’s best pass rushing unit one sack.
The key was that run game, as Calgary’s 134 rushing yards were the most the Roughriders have allowed this season, as they have averaged 61 rushing yards allowed against their eight other opponents.
The Stampeders lead the league in rushing yards per game (115.7) and are the only team to find success against the Riders. If they can succeed along the ground once again this week, they’ll certainly have a shot at winning.