CFL 'Quick Kicks': Week 2

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week 2 of our weekly review of each CFL game week for the 2024 season. ‘Quick Kicks’ will bring you week to week news of how the games went, scores, surprises, and a general feel of ‘what we learned’ from the games.

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Let’s dive right in. The opening game of the weekend saw the Ottawa Redblacks, who are celebrating a decade since re-establishing a franchise in Ottawa, beat out the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19. Fans of Ottawa who have seen their team go 14-54 between 2019 & 2023 will be hoping this is a sign of better things to come this season. Meanwhile, Winnipeg have gone 0-2 for the first time since 2016 and will want to get back the form that has seen them play in the last four Grey Cup games.

This was a hugely symbolic win for the Redblacks as not only was it the first game of their decade anniversary, but the Blue Bombers were the first team they every played in a regular season game. Plus, just to add to that, former Winnipeg backup QB Dru Brown is now the main man guiding the Redblacks. He made a good debut too going 20 of 33 for 238 yards and 1 TD. Meanwhile on the other side, former 2-time CFL MOP Zach Collaros has yet to throw a TD in two games and finished 15 of 31 for 285 yards and 2 interceptions in this game.

Ottawa are now 6-3-1 in season opening games.

The second game of the season saw the defending champions the Montreal Alouettes head to Edmonton where they climbed to 2-0 with a 23-20 win. With this W the Als recorder their seventh consecutive regular season win which is their best run since 2006. Montreal have also now won 5 of their last 6 games against the Elks whereas Edmonton had won 11 in a row prior to that.

The Als are using the same recipe for success they had last year. This game saw them gave zero turnovers and the D came up big when needed with two interceptions and a crucial third down stop. Cody Fajardo looked sharp going 20 of 30 for 269 yards and 2 TDs. Across the field McLeod Bethel-Thompson once again threw for 300 yards, but his 28 of 42 for 300 yards 2 picks and zero scores was much less efficient.

Edmonton have gone 0-2 at home to start the season losing by a combined 11 points, but they have shown flashes and will hope that converts into wins soon.

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Game three saw the BC Lions at a sold-out BC place host the Calgary Stampeders. A lot of the talk leading up to this one centred around 50 Cent being the attraction for the pregame concert entertainment for the opening game of the Lions season. And that certainly helped the Lions who sold 53,788 tickets for the game. After the kick-off concert came the game and the Lions won a competitive one 26-17.

Whereas last week the Lions had 5 turnovers & gave up 6 sacks on the way to defeat, this week they had just one turnover and gave up zero sacks. Meanwhile the Leos held Calgary to just 61 yards on the ground. Even so this one was tied 17-17 into the final quarter. After the Lions had a long drive to take the lead the key play came when Josh Woods batted a fumbled ball out of bounds. It’s a sign of good coaching that the US based players know the CFL rule, last to touch the ball get possession in this situation.

Vernon Adams Jr finished 17 of 29 for 277 yards with three TDs and ran in the winning score on the ground. Meanwhile Jake Maier, making his 29th straight start for the Stampeders went 26 of 33 for 339 yards with 2 TDs and 1 pick.  

The final matchup of Week 2 saw the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a thriller that the Riders took with a 33-30 comeback win. According to the Riders own site, this is the first time in Franchise history the Roughriders have begun the season with back-to-back road victories to start a season. They seem to be the new cardiac kids too recording 21 unanswered fourth quarter points in Week 1 and 13 unanswered fourth quarter points this time around.

Tim White, who should be WR1 on the team made just 4 catches on 9 balls thrown his way for 57 yards and bobbled the ball up leading to the pick that gave Saskatchewan a chance at a walk off win. Tabbies fans will hope this is just a blip. Meanwhile, QB Bo Levi-Mitchell is starting to look more like his old self this season having thrown for 680 yards and 4 touchdowns in the opening two games of the year. Next week these two get to do it all again as the Roughriders home opener sees them host the Tiger-Cats.

MOP's - Week 2:

O – Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan) 32 of 45 390 yards and 2 touchdowns passing.

D – Ben Hladik (BC Lions) 10 tackles & 1 interception.

ST – Brett Lauther (Saskatchewan) 4 for 4 on Field Goals, including a walk-off 43-yard game winner. 6 for 6 on all kicks.

Interdivisional Standings Week Two: East Division 2 West Division 1

Interdivisional Standings 2024 season: East Division 4 West Division 2

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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