Calgary will be at home with the McMahon Stadium crowd behind the Stampeders, but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have managed to cover four of the last five meetings.
The Canadian Football League continues its fifth week of CFL betting action on Saturday, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers face off with the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday night.
These two former West Division rivals now find themselves on opposite ends of the CFL world, as Winnipeg has since shifted East. The Bombers are a game and a half behind the Montreal Alouettes for first place in the East, while Calgary is tied for first in the West but hold the tiebreaker over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Winnipeg has a major problem at the quarterback position, as QB Buck Pierce is probably going to miss his second straight game due to a knee injury this week. Pierce actually has the highest quarterback rating amongst all starting signal callers in the league with a 108.3. He threw five TDs against two picks, completing 65.8 percent of his passes.
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However, assuming that Pierce is on the shelf for the week, QB Steven Jyles will be taking over under center. Jyles hasn't been a full time starter at any point during his CFL career. He did a decent job last week in a 47-21 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, completing 14-of-22 passes for 267 yards with a TD and two INTs. He completed five passes for at least 20 yards on the game, stretching a very thin Edmonton 'D.' Jyles also used his fantastic legs, rushing for 63 yards and two TDs on just eight carries.
Jyles, Pierce and RB Fred Reid have already combined to rush for 547 yards and seven TDs. Jyles leads the CFL with four TD runs on the season.
Defensively is where the Bombers have really made their mark this year. They are averaging allowing just 307.2 YPG, the best mark in the CFL. They have the second most efficient pass defense in the league, allowing just 7.4 yards per pass attempt. Winnipeg is also third in the CFL in rush defense at just 102.0 YPG on the ground allowed.
The Stampeders are coming off of their biggest half of football of the season. A 33-13 second half against its rivals from Saskatchewan led Calgary to a 40-20 win at McMahon Stadium.
Even though QB Henry Burris did toss a pair of interceptions, his four TD passes were a season high. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 279 yards. Burris has double the INTs of any other quarterback in the league, as his eight is four higher than the second most in the CFL this year. The good news is that Burris has nine TD passes, which led the CFL coming into this weekend but is now second to Montreal's Anthony Calvillo, who has 10.
The issue Calgary is still having offensively is at the wide receiver position. Though WR Romby Bryant has had a good season with 21 catches, 327 yards and a CFL high four TD receptions, no one else has really proven to be able to step up and lead the way yet. Missing both Ryan Thelwell and Ken-Yon Rambo is still hurting Burris get into his groove this year.
Should RB Joffrey Reynolds have a fantastic day on the ground, he could take over the CFL lead in rushing once again. His 6.3 yards per carry might not be one of the best marks in the league, but at 351 yards and a pair of TD, JR is well on his way towards another 1,200+ yard season.
The oddsmakers are expecting the Stampeders to roll in this game, favoring them by 6.5 points on the CFL betting lines. The 'total' has been set at 56.5.
The Bombers could be the way to go in this game. They covered four of the last five spreads in this series, including both last season. Winnipeg pulled a 42-30 upset at home last year over Calgary, while it stuck in front of the hefty 14.5 point spread in the last meeting of these clubs with a 31-23 defeat.
The home team has won eight straight games in this series and had covered seven straight CFL lines before the Blue Bombers covered the spread in the last clash.
Especially after a solid outing last week, don't be surprised if Jyles leads the Blue Bombers to another cover against the CFL betting lines in Calgary.