Roughriders vs. Lions Prediction: CFL Week 17 Point Spread, Odds
The Lions have enjoyed a surge offence during their current 3-0 run, capped by last week’s 37-29 win in Edmonton that leaves them deadlocked with Winnipeg atop the CFL West standings. Conversely, the Roughriders have struggled to contain opposing offences during their current 0-3 slide, allowing 41 points per game, capped by last week’s 36-28 loss in Ottawa.
The Lions have emerged as heavy 10-point home favourites on the CFL Week 17 odds. The Riders are pegged as +30 moneyline underdogs, while the total is listed at 48.5.
CFL Odds and Betting
Friday night’s matchup marks the third and final regular season meeting between these CFL West rivals. Home teams have emerged victorious in each of their two previous meetings this season, with the Lions eking out a 19-9 win when they hosted the Roughriders back on July 22. Overall, the Lions have taken three of the past five from Saskatchewan. However, they are winless against the spread in their past three dates, and have covered just once in six clashes with the Riders while perched as double-digit chalk. In addition, the Lions’ win over Saskatchewan earlier this season snapped five-game straight up losing streak. However, they fell short of covering as 10.5-point chalk in their sixth straight against the spread loss to the Riders on home turf.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
For the third time in four games, the Roughriders squandered an early lead in last week’s visit to Ottawa, and really deserve little credit for a pair of garbage time scores in the final two minutes to make it a 36-28 contest. After allowing at least 29 points in each of their past five contests, the Riders rank dead last in the CFL in points allowed, and sport a dismal point differential of -122 after 14 games. With the defence struggling, quarterback Jake Dolegala has done his best to spark the Riders offence, tossing for five total scores over the past two weeks after failing to find the end zone in his previous two appearances. However, he faced constant pressure last week from the RedBlacks defence, which intercepted him twice and recorded five sacks.
Dolegala did enjoy a productive day when this team last faced BC, compiling 239 yards and three scores while avoiding the pick. The Riders pivot has made use of his entire receiving corps, with four different players making scoring catches over the past two games. The ground game also received a lift last week, with Frankie Hickson running for 77 yards in his first start of the season, in place of injured rusher Jamal Morrow.
BC Lions
The Lions stormed to an early 21-7 lead in last week’s date in Edmonton, but allowed the Elks to cut that lead to just three points before sealing the win late in the contest. While BC has enjoyed steady offensive production during their current 3-0 run, they have also allowed opponents to tally some big totals, surrendering over 30 points per game during their current win streak. That has added to the pressure on quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who has been forced to rally the Lions attack after recess in each of the past three games.
Overall, Adams has averaged just under 299 passing yards per game while tossing for eight scores over the past three games. However, he has also thrown five total picks over the past two weeks, bring the team total in turnovers to seven over that stretch. After struggling against a stout RedBlacks rush defence two weeks ago, Taquan Mizzell exploding for 112 rushing yards and two scoring runs last week, and now ranks sixth in the league with 712 rushing yards to date.