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Edgar Chaput
Alouettes vs. Blue Bombers Prediction: CFL Week 12 Point Spread, Odds
Montreal and Winnipeg conclude their season series when the clubs meet on Thursday. Back on a wet Canada Day in la Belle Province, the Blue Bombers controlled a sluggish affair, defeating the Alouettes 17-3.
As per the CFL odds, the Blue Bombers are heavily favoured at -8.5.
CFL Odds and Betting
Week 12 will be the final time the Alouettes and Blue Bombers cross swords in 2023, notwithstanding any postseason crossover clash or even a Grey Cup final. Their battle on July 1 was one of attrition. Torrential rain poured down on Percival Molson Stadium, greatly limiting what each offence could do. It would be Winnipeg who conquered the night, besting Montreal 17-3.
Montreal heads to Winnipeg with a decent 5-4 record against the spread. Incidentally, despite winning last week against the Ottawa Redblacks, the contest was too close for the Als to cover, thus hurting their previous 5-3 tally. As of Tuesday, it’s been reported that Cody Fajardo should be back under centre for Montreal for this game.
Winnipeg finds itself in the sort of situation afflicting many squads that are regularly favoured in their matches. The Blue Bombers have won most of them, hence the 8-2 record in the standings, but they’ve only covered half their spreads, translating to a 5-5 record in that regard.
Montreal Alouettes
Week 11 provided a twist that played in Montreal’s favour. They did to the Ottawa Redblacks what the latter had inflicted upon several previous opponents this season. Despite not playing especially well for most of the night, when the going got tough, the Als got going and pulled off a narrow 25-24 win.
For all intents and purposes, Jason Maas’ defensive unit got the Dustin Crum experience. He was perhaps a bit more limited than usual, but still scampered for 42 yards on four runs and found the endzone once. Caleb Evans, filling in for Fajardo for the second consecutive week, struggled early, throwing two interceptions. But it’s what one does when it matters most that counts, and his 333 yards through the air, two touchdown passes and one TD run were the difference makers. Most of that damage was inflicted in the fourth quarter.
Wide receivers Austin Mack and Tyler Snead benefited the most from Evans’ superior play late. Mack tallied 116 yards on nine catches and Snead caught for 98 yards and two scores. With that, a 24-10 fourth-quarter deficit was flipped into a victory.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
It wasn’t always easy for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the Stampeders in Calgary. As they’ve done multiple this year already, Calgary played tough, but Winnipeg was a bit better, even with backup QB Dru Brown playing for Zach Collaros.
In fact, it’s ironic that we just discussed the Montreal Alouettes because Calgary’s Week 11 clash with Winnipeg oddly resembled an earlier game versus the Als. The Stamps can move the ball no problem and have a great field goal kicker in Rene Paredes, but they can’t score touchdowns. Moreover, like in the Montreal match, the only major score was courtesy of a pick-six of which Demerio Houston was the Bomber benefactor in the third quarter. Brady Oliveira was the biggest offensive spark for Winnipeg, rumbling for a team-leading 80 yards and a healthy 5.7 average per touch.
The road to a great season is not exclusively paved with amazing games. This wasn’t one, but it was still a crucial 19-18 road win for the Blue Bombers.
MTL
WPG