CFL Week 3 Recap: Thrown to the Lions

So the third week of the 2022 CFL season was an interesting week for this sports fan. Of course, the week clashed with Game Five of this year's Stanley Cup Final, but I was able to catch a good bit of the action from Week 3. The week kicked off in Montréal, Quebec, as their Alouettes hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who were looking to improve to 3-0. That would not be the case for the Riders, as they were blasted, 37-13, by the Als, marking the Riders' first dent in their plans to play the Grey Cup in their home city of Regina.

Speaking of the Grey Cup, we were treated to a rematch of the last two championship games, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday Night Football. Of course, the Bombers defeated the TiCats in both Grey Cup meetings, and they liked doing it so much that they decided to do it during Week 3. A relatively close game ended with the Bombers on top, 26-12, and this game aired on ESPN2 and clashed with Game Five on ABC. The following day gave us the Battle of Alberta, with the Calgary Stampeders playing host to the Edmonton Elks. The Elks played a good first half and were actually ahead, and I had thoughts of Edmonton winning this game. Turns out they were delusions; reality set in and the Stamps took the first meeting of the provincial rivals by a score of 30-23.

And then there's the week's finale: the BC Lions hosting the Toronto Argonauts. This game aired on ESPN2, and I was looking forward to watching the Boatmen on TV--until halftime. What I saw was a sinking ship; the Argos were decimated, throttled, and flat out blown out and away by the Lions. 44-3 was the final score. I have no idea how Toronto could get blasted like this, but it was absolutely abysmal. There isn't a lot of fire in this Argos team, and it definitely shows. Even their win in Week 2 (their season opener) was lethargic, but thankfully, it's very early.

So here are the standings after three weeks. In the West Division, the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are both 3-0, and the BC Lions improve to 2-0. The Saskatchewan Roughriders drop to 2-1, while the Edmonton Elks are 0-3. The Stamps are off to a better start than last year, while the Bombers are definitely playing like the back-to-back Grey Cup Champions. BC's blowout win did wonders for their point total (103 points in two games) as well as their point differential (+85).

In the East Division, despite having the second lowest point differential in the league (-40, only Edmonton's is lower at -61), the Toronto Argonauts are alone in first place at 1-1. The Montréal Alouettes are close behind at 1-2, the Ottawa Redblacks are 0-2, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (back-to-back Grey Cup finalists) are now 0-3. Again, the East Division is awful. A team who has scored only 23 points in two games is in first place, and the division has two winless teams. Yikes. The Argos are on pace to go 9-9, but that could win the division.

Week 4 begins on Thursday, June 30 with the Ottawa Redblacks hosting the BC Lions. The Edmonton Elks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the hono(u)r of playing on Canada Day (Friday, July 1), with both teams looking for their first win of the season. The Montréal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will face each other again on Saturday, July 2, and Monday, July 4, the Toronto Argonauts will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers; a golden chance to make up for losing by 41 points in Vancouver.

If you like this story, click the heart, and click the subscribe button for more of my stories. Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!