CFL's two best teams set to open Week 8 Thursday on TSN
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Week 8 in the CFL season opens Thursday with a battle between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
With each team atop their respective divisions at 5-1, the matchup could turn out to be an early Grey Cup preview.
Montreal suffered their first loss of the season two weeks ago against the Toronto Argonauts, which was their first loss since Week 15 of the 2023 season.
More importantly, they also lost quarterback and 2023 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo to a hamstring injury. Sincde departing that game in the first quarter, the team has been mum on the status of Fajardo through their bye week.
"He didn't finish the game and that tells you something," Als head coach Jason Maas said of Fajardo's status after the July 11 loss. "We'll get that imaged and looked at, and then we'll have a time frame for his return. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later."
Maas was not ready to rule out Fajardo for their game against Saskatchewan, but the veteran has not returned to the practice field as of yet.
Fajardo has thrown for 1,636 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions in the six games he has played so far this year.
His replacement, Caleb Evans, completed 12-of-22 passes in relief against Toronto, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Evans has 22 interceptions against 15 touchdowns in his 51 games in the CFL with the Alouettes and Ottawa Redblacks.
On the other side, the Roughriders have dealt with QB injuries of their own, but the team’s strong all-around play has kept them atop the West.
Their defence battered the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a 19-9 victory last Friday that kept them ahead of the BC Lions, who sit 5-2 with one more loss than Saskatchewan.
Quarterback Trevor Harris has had a strong start to the season, passing for 872 yards and seven touchdowns in their first three games, but he has missed the last three with a knee injury suffered in Week 3.
Shea Patterson has done just enough in relief, with 772 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. A.J. Ouellette, who joined Saskatchewan after four seasons with the Argonauts, ranks third in the league with 389 rushing yards.
The Roughriders’ defence has held their opponents below 24 points in four of their six games this season, while the Alouettes have failed to exceed 24 points only twice in six games.
“There’s a ton of challenges,” said head coach Corey Mace of their upcoming game against Montreal. “We’re on a short week, which we just came off of. They’re the defending champions. Montreal [has] — in my existence — been one of the hardest places to play. They’re coming off a bye week.
“We’ve got to get it done. That’s it,” he said.