The Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to halt a three-game losing streak that began with their stunning 28-24 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes in last season’s Grey Cup game when they host the BC Lions on Friday night in CFL Week 3 action at IG Field. The Bombers’ early-season woes continued with last weekend’s 23-19 loss in Ottawa, which also marked their fourth outright defeat in their past eight when favoured by at least a touchdown. The Lions travel to Winnipeg after knocking off Calgary 26-17 last week to earn their first victory of the season, but face the daunting task of flipping the script coming away as losers in seven of their past eight visits to Winnipeg.

Chastened by their slow start, the Blue Bombers look to Friday’s matchup as slim 2.5-point favourites on the CFL Week 3 odds. The Lions are pegged as +110 underdogs on the CFL moneyline and the total is listed 51.5.

CFL Odds and Betting

A visit from the Lions may be just what the Blue Bombers need to snap out of their early-season funk. Winnipeg has claimed victory by an average margin of 18.3 points while taking three straight from the Lions, and have limited BC to just 15.1 points per game during their 7-1 head-to-head run on home turf. However, points have come at a premium during their 0-2 start to the season, with Bombers mustering just 15.5 points per game after scoring at least 23 points in each of their final 10 games last season. The Lions extended their recent home dominance over Calgary with last week’s win, but have struggled to produce consistent results on the road, going just 8-9 SU and 7-9-1 ATS in their past 17 away dates. BC has also lost SU and ATS in five of their past seven as road underdogs, with four of those defeats coming at the hands of the Bombers.

BC Lions

The Lions overcame a slow start in last weekend’s visit from the Stamps, twice overcoming Calgary leads with a dominant second-half performance on their way to a 26-17 win. Vernon Adams Jr. overcame a rocky start in the team’s season-opening 35-27 loss in Toronto by tossing for 277 yards and two touchdowns while avoiding the turnovers that proved so costly against the Argos. Adams continued to lead heavily on receivers Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins, who each made scoring catches while piling up a combined 188 receiving yards. However, Adams will have one less downfield option on Friday after seeing Jevon Cottoy ruled out of Friday’s contest due to a hamstring injury. While the passing game is clicking, the Lions have been one-dimensional in the backfield, with William Stanback accounting for 104 of the team’s 135 total rushing yards to date.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Bombers fell behind early and never recovered in last weekend’s 23-19 loss in Ottawa. Winnipeg spotted the RedBlacks an early 13-0 lead and while they briefly seized a one-point lead in the third quarter, they quickly wilted, with their lone legitimate scoring opportunity falling short with a turnover on downs in the final minute of the contest. It was another tough night for quarterback Zach Collaros, who completed just 15 of 31 pass attempts for 285 yards, no scores and two picks. Collaros was also sacked three times including twice during their failed comeback attempt. Overall, the two-time CFL passing touchdowns leader has yet to find the end zone so far this season while tossing a league-high three interceptions and faces a massive challenge to overcome a Lions defence that showed dramatic improvement last weekend.

CFL Prediction: Who Will Win Lions vs. Blue Bombers?