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Edgar Chaput
Elks vs. Blue Bombers Prediction: CFL Week 7 Point Spread, Odds
One would think that with each successive week, the odds that the Elks will finally win a game increase. No can go 0-18 in the CFL, can they? That said, Week 7 comes with bad timing, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to shake off the memories of an embarrassing collapse in Ottawa which dropped them to 4-2 on the season.
That might explain why the CFL odds have the host Blue Bombers as significant -14.5 favourites. As for the total, it’s been tabulated at 46.5.
CFL Odds and Betting
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have mastered the art of contending with the Elks for some time. Mike O’Shea’s group is on a seven-game winning streak over the Alberta-based outfit. The last time the Elks tasted victory against their Manitoban rivals was in November 2018.
The only saving grace for Edmonton this season is that they have covered at least once, putting them at 1-5 ATS rather than 0-6. Then again, it was a game they lost in rather embarrassing fashion. The under is 4-2 this season.
Given how lofty the expectations are, any time the Blue Bombers lose a game, chances are they will not have covered the spread. Unsurprisingly Week 6’s shock result dropped them to 4-2 ATS, just like their record in the West Division standings. Through six games, the over and under have shared the spoils in Bombers games.
Edmonton Elks
Every week brings with it new signs of how bad things are at Commonwealth. Speaking of the Elks’ home stadium, the 37-29 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 6 broke a record for home field futility – 20 consecutive defeats in front of their fans. That’s just how things are these days with this franchise.
More specifically, a cavalcade of errors spelled doom and gloom. Once again, there were stretches during which one side of the ball or the other performed well. In the first half, right up until minutes before the halftime break, the defence was posting a shutout. The problem? Wide receivers were dropping passes from Taylor Cornelius that landed squarely between the numbers on their chests. That, in turn, spelled the end of whatever decent quarterbacking the team got. From that point onward the passes were wayward, or mind-blowingly bizarre decisions, like the gift to Hamilton’s Stavros Katsantonis in the third quarter, returned for a 33-yard TD. Edmonton’s defence even got burned for a score on rookie QB Taylor Powell’s first pass after Matt Shiltz left the game due to injury. Frankly, the 37-29 final score was kind to the Elks.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
In the opposite corner is a beast of a team that knows full well that Week 6’s result could prove costly in the long run should the BC Lions end up seriously challenging for top spot in the West.
It wasn’t merely that the Redblacks surprised the Blue Bombers 31-28 in overtime, much to the delight of the Ottawa crowd. It was that Winnipeg dominated the first three and a half quarters and led 25-9 with less than four minutes to go. Zach Collaros had played well (369 yards, two TDs), the defence had pummelled Dustin Crum for six sacks and gave up only 219 yards through the air. Unfortunately, a lot of those came in the dying minutes, as did most of Crum’s 103 yards on the ground, to say nothing of his two rushing touchdowns. It was as though the football gods took a look at what was happening late in the game, didn’t like what they saw, and ordained that Ottawa should win.
We’ve written before that 2023 could be more challenging for Winnipeg. Teams can’t remain great forever. Maybe the early signs of the decline are showing.
EDM
WPG