CFL 'Quick Kicks' 2025: Week 8

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week eight of our weekly review of each week of the 2025 CFL season. ‘Quick Kicks’ brings you week to week news of how the games went, scores, surprises, and a general feel of ‘what we learned’ from the games.

Let’s dive right in. The first game of the weekend saw the Montreal Alouettes battle the Calgary Stampeders in the Stamps back yard. It was the visitors who came out on top with a closely contested 23-21 victory.

It was a case of each half mirroring the other here as Calgary got out to early leads only for Montreal to be slightly ahead at the half and at full-time. The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that the Als were missing starting QB Davis Alexander and were on the road at a truly in-form Calgary team.

Standing in for Alexander, McLeod Bethel-Thompson finished the game 30 of 40 for 280 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Perhaps the biggest offensive passing play however came when the Als left in short yardage QB Caleb Evans, and he hit on a 42-yard pass off a flea flicker to put Montreal in scoring position. Tyler Snead played a big part too as he snagged 7 catches for 103 yards for the Als.

Vernon Adams Jr was out of the game late on following a collision on a run where he dove instead of sliding. Up to that point he was 15 of 25 for 193 yards with 1 touchdown. PJ Walker replaced him and went 3 of 7 for 20 yards but the Stamps found themselves on a run of punts and a turnover on downs after things fell apart offensively following a Dedrick Mills fumble and Adams Jr exiting the game. A shame for Mills who had been a focal point with 14 carries for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns, including bursting through tackles and inspiring teammates before that.

For Montreal Jose Maltos hit on all five of his field goal attempts, including from 57 yards out with just over a minute remaining to give them the win. With this win the all-time series between the two could hardly be closer as Calgary now lead it 43-42-2.

The second game of the weekend had the Edmonton Elks take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina. Played on the 25th of July, exactly 5 months to the day to Christmas day the organisation had a little fun and themed this one as ‘Christmas in July’. Kudos to the Riders fans who turned out in Christmas themed apparel in the heat of summer. Meanwhile the team delivered the one thing the comms team couldn’t promise – the gift of a win. That 21-18 victory meant that Saskatchewan moved out to 6-1. This is only the fourth time in franchise history they have started out 6-1, the previous times being in 1970, 2008 and 2013. (For those wondering, those seasons finished with a loss in the West Final, a loss in the West Semi-Final and Grey Cup championship off the back of 14-2, 12-6 and 11-7 records).

Former Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo had been promoted to starter for Edmonton for this one and boy did he take a beating. The Saskatchewan D was relentlessly pressuring up front and registered 8 sacks of their former pivot along the way.  Those sacks were spread around too as AJ Allen had 5 tackles and 1 sack, CJ Reavis had 4 tackles and 1 sack, Malik Carney had 4 tackles and 2 sacks, Micah Johnson had 2 tackles and 2 sacks, and Shane Ray added 2 tackles and 2 sacks also.

Through all the hits and pressure though he was an admirable 26 of 33 for 346 yards with 2 touchdowns. On the other side of the field Trevor Harris led his team to another win by finishing 25 of 33 for 268 yards with 2 touchdowns. Samuel Emilus led the receiving corps with 6 catches for 113 yards and a score and KeeSean Johnson added on 9 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown too.

This one maybe shouldn’t have finished as closely as it did as Saskatchewan looked in complete control going into the final quarter ahead 21-4. A real worry for the Riders and their fans is that the team has not been finishing well of late. This is the third week in a row where they have scored precisely zero points in the fourth quarter. The coaching staff will no doubt be preaching the importance of playing a full sixty minutes despite the win.

When it comes to themes, one that has developed for Edmonton of late is that if they run the ball well, they do well and if they don’t run the ball well, they suffer. Here the Roughriders held Edmonton to 25 rushing yards. 20 of those yards came via the quarterback. Other than that, they had five carries net just five yards.

Trevor Harris totals in this game moved him to 13th all-time on the career passing yardage list and 16th all-time on the career touchdowns thrown list. As he once again had a completion percentage of over 70 percent that has extended his own live league record to 10 consecutive games.

The third game of the weekend was between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the hometown Toronto Argonauts. In a repeat of last year’s Grey Cup contest we got a repeat result as the Argos won 31-17 at a rainy BMO Field. Toronto is now 4-1 in the last five matchups between these two at BMO.

Last week we talked about the worries around Zach Collaros and concussions. Well, this week he went off at halftime with an ‘undisclosed injury’ and that hasn’t really alleviated the worry. Up to that point he wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire going 5 of 10 for 79 yards with 2 interceptions. Which was somewhat reminiscent of how the Grey Cup went last year (except Collaros came back in for the second half for that one).

In another nod back the 2024 Grey Cup game, Nick Arbuckle had a good game here, and for the first time all season didn’t throw an interception in a game, finishing 22 of 31 for 316 yards with 2 touchdowns (as well as running 3 times for 32 yards). As Chad Kelly was placed on the six-game injured list, this was the perfect time for Arbuckle to have a good game and calm some of the nerves around the team’s offence. Although the biggest passing play probably came when return specialist Janarion Grant threw a 41-yard pass to Damonte Coxie to really lift the team and crowd.

As for Coxie, he had 6 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. He made a few tacklers miss to get there and for a while in this one that was a real theme, – the Blue Bombers seemed to really struggle on tackles and the Argos were gobbling up extra yards due to that.

One thing to look out for next week as these two replay in Winnipeg as part of a home-and-home series is if Chris Streveler starts depending on Collaros’ health. He looked pretty good here stepping in and going 11 of 18 for 146 yards and a touchdown to give the Bombers a flicker of hope.

A final mention should go to Toronto’s kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, who after missing an extra point early on went on to go six for six on field goal attempts. A season high worth 18 points in a game that was won by 14 points overall.

The final game of the weekend was in Vancouver as the BC Lions and their guests the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battled it out. It was the visiting Tabbies that won a thriller in the battle of the cats edging this one 37-33. It could have been very different as the Lions led 33-23 with just under 3 minutes to play. CFL fans love to say, ‘no lead is safe’ and that proved to be the case here as Hamilton answered with two touchdowns, including the winner with just 17 seconds showing on the game clock.

The Lions certainly had their chances in this one, leading 14-3 in the first, and twice going on to score after forcing a turnover. But it’s all about how you finish and the Ticats were the ones to see it out and record their fifth consecutive win. This was also their first win over a West Division team this season as, against form and predictions, the East swept the interdivisional games this week. This is the first time Hamilton have won five in a row since 2019.

When the Ticats signed Bo Levi Mitchell before the 2023 season some wondered if he was in decline. He only played six games that year and threw 6 touchdowns to 10 picks, then last year his Head Coach dropped him, only for the presumptive starter to get injured. Since then, it has been a career renaissance for Mitchell, the 2024 East MOP led the league in passing yardage, and following this game he is doing that again, having thrown for 2201 yards and 15 touchdowns in seven games. Here he finished 34 of 41 for a season high 389 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Perhaps, when it comes to a lock for being a future Hall of Fame selection, we should all have kept in mind the old saying, form is temporary, class is permanent.

The Lions D kept Kenny Lawler in check at receiver, holding Mitchell’s favourite target this season to 2 catches for 29 yards. However, Kiondre Smith stepped up with 14 catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For BC, Nathan Rourke finished 20 of 27 for 289 yards, whilst running back James Butler, who had been released by Hamilton before the season, rushed for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries. He did also have a fumble however that gave Hamilton a spark just when they needed it early on.

With the win Hamilton joins Montreal at 5-2 atop the East Division standings, whilst BC drop to 3-5 and fall back in the West behind Winnipeg, Calgary and Saskatchewan.

Week 9 starts out with Calgary in Montreal for Thursday night football (early Friday morning here in the UK). Three of four games will be in the early hours UK time. The best one for UK viewers to check out is on Saturday at 8PM (UK time) as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Edmonton Elks. That said, all the games are available free on CFL+. The league’s free streaming service is a great way to check out some CFL action and see what you think of it. They are also available to catch up the next morning so there is every chance to see some three-down action.

MOP's of Week 8:

O – Bo Levi Mitchell QB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 34 of 41, 389 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 4 carries for 23 yards.

D – Malik Carney DL, Saskatchewan Roughriders: 4 tackles, 2 sacks.

ST – Jose Maltos K, Montreal Alouettes: 5 for 5 on field goals including a 57-yard game winner, 4 kickoffs for 289 yards (72.3-yard average).

Interdivisional Standings 2025 This Week: East Division 3 West Division 0

Interdivisional Standings 2025 season: East Division 5 West Division 7

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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