The playoff chase is well underway in the CFL’s West division, and this head-to-head matchup is just another example of what to except going in to the final month of the regular season.

Odds makers have the Eskimos listed as -6.5 favourites in this game.

Betting Analysis

These two teams met back in week one of the CFL season, with the Eskimos edging the Bombers 33-30. The visitors scored 10 points in the final 1:22 of the game to seal the victory. Last season the Blue Bombers won both regular season games against the Eskimos (33-26 at Winnipeg, 28-19 at Edmonton), but fell to the Eskimos in the West semi-final. The Eskimos have played well against the West division, it their last 11 games against them, they are 9-2 ATS. The over could be a good play between these two teams. The Bombers are 16 and 5 to the over in their last 21 road games, while the Eskimos are 5-2-1 to the over in the last eight games against Western opponents. Of note, the Blue Bombers have won their last two games at Commonwealth Stadium.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

It was a good news, bad news kind of game for the Blue Bombers this past Friday night. First, the good news; the Blue Bombers won. Yes they won, snapping a four game losing streak against the lowly Montreal Alouettes (31-14). Quarterback Matt Nichols had a bounce back game throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Now the bad news – running back Andrew Harris. Harris left the game with what the Bombers are calling a lower-body injury in the 2^nd quarter, and was seen on the sidelines without his uniform. The 31 year-old became the first player this season to reach the 1,000 yard rushing mark earlier in the game and also scored a touchdown. Harris finished with 44 yards on seven carries.

Edmonton Eskimos

The Eskimos enter this game after a 28-15 setback to the Ottawa RedBlacks in the Nation’s capital. There road record is now a dismal 2-5, which is almost the opposite of how good this team is on home turf. The Eskimos’ 5-1 home record is second only to the Calgary Stampeders (6-0) in the CFL. They are simply a much better team when enjoying home cooking. Quarterback Mike Reilly leads the CFL is passing yardage with 4219, second in touchdown passes with 27, and has the best receiver in the league as his main target, D’haquille Williams (1300 receiving yards – 10 touchdowns).

The main motivation for this game will be chasing down second place (home field advantage) going into the month of October. The Eskimos currently find themselves two points back of the Roughriders, and virtually out of reach of the first place Stampeders (6 points back).

Blue Bombers vs. Eskimos Prediction