4 storylines to watch in Week 11

Can we take a moment to talk about Week 10?

I’ve been covering the CFL for a decade and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a week of football like we just witnessed.

Huge comebacks. Return touchdowns. Overtime. Week 10 had everything.

Here’s to hoping that Week 11 keeps the chaos and excitement coming.

CAN DRU DO IT AGAIN?

Ottawa at Winnipeg | Thursday, August 14 | 8:30 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+

Dru Brown is heading back to where it all began for him, Winnipeg, riding on the heels of one of his best performances of the season.

Against the Toronto Argonauts last week, Brown threw five touchdowns to go along with 373 yards and he completed 83.8 per cent of his passes. That was his third outing of the season throwing for over 300 yards, helping the REDBLACKS come back from down 21 points in the first quarter to win at BMO Field.

The 28-year-old signal caller now heads to a place he once called home, facing a tough Bombers defence. Defensive end Willie Jefferson has been a force over the last few weeks, especially with breaking up passes along the line of scrimmage. Brown will need to be aware of the long arms of Jefferson, who swatted down six passes in the last two weeks, every time he looks down field to a receiver.

Can Brown put together another big performance and help his REDBLACKS to a third-straight win? It could all come down to the REDBLACKS’ pivot when Week 11 kicks off at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday night.

ARE THINGS TURNING FOR EDMONTON?

Toronto at Edmonton | Friday, August 15 | 9:00 p.m. ET |TSN/CFL+

With Cody Fajardo at the helm, the Edmonton Elks are playing like a new team as we head into the second half of the 2025 season.

Sure, they’re 1-2 with the veteran pivot behind centre, and we all know there are no moral victories, but the two losses against the top two teams in the CFL showed promise.

They kept things close with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 8, bringing things within three inside the three minute warning. The comeback was stalled by the Rider defence, but it was still a hard fought battle.

A week later against the East-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats, it was close throughout the back-and-forth affair before Bo Levi Mitchell did Bo Levi Mitchell things in the final minutes to score the game-winning touchdown.

Finally the breakthrough came in Week 10, when the Elks edged out Montreal 23-22 for their second win of 2025.

Can they take the momentum from their last three games into this week’s game against Toronto and start a winning streak? Find out on Friday night.

BATTLE OF THE TOP TWO TEAMS

Hamilton at Saskatchewan | Saturday, August 16 | 3:00 p.m. ET | TSN/CTV/CBSSN/CFL+

The top two teams in the CFL, and in their respective divisions, go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon setting up for some must-watch CFL football.

Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris lead the way for their respective clubs, each earning their place in the conversation for Most Outstanding Player. Mitchell leads the CFL in passing yards (2,856) while Harris sits fifth with 2,183, albeit with two fewer games played. Mitchell also leads the way in passing touchdowns (21) and has thrown just three interceptions on the season. Harris’ 119.7 passer rating is the best among all quarterbacks. What a duel we are in for this weekend.

As impressive as the quarterbacks have been, it may be the defences that end up deciding this contest.

Hamilton’s D has been disruptive all year. They lead the CFL in knockdowns (39), tackles for loss (21) and interceptions (13). Saskatchewan, on the other hand, has stuffed the run game of their opponents this season, holding teams to just 65.9 yards per game on the ground, the least in the CFL.

The Riders are also the second-best team at holding teams off the scoreboard, allowing just 21.8 points per game. And Hamilton? They’re just the highest scoring one in the CFL at 32.3 points per game. (Saskatchewan is right behind in points per game with 29.1, by the way.)

The Ticats are +9 on the season, best turnover ratio in the league, while Saskatchewan is right behind at +6.

It’s really a coin flip who will win this one. Get your popcorn ready.

CHESS MATCH IN VANCOUVER

Montreal at BC | Saturday, August 16 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+

Whether it’s Nathan Rourke throwing the ball or James Butler running it, the BC Lions have been putting up numbers offensively.

The team leads the CFL in net offence (420.0 yards per game) and passing yards per game (319.0). They also top the league in average gain per rush (5.8) and have been able to set themselves up on second-and-short situations more often than not with their average gain on first down a league-leading 7.4 yards.

BC’s offensive line has allowed just nine sacks this season, tied for least with Hamilton. That’s, of course, a testament to their ability to block but let’s not forget just how good Rourke is at scrambling out of the pocket to get himself out of trouble.

This week Rourke and the Lions go head-to-head with a Montreal defence that doesn’t allow a lot of offence, a league-low 324.9 yards per game to be exact. Even on the ground they’re stingy, giving up just 75.6 yards per game.

It’s a strength-on-strength battle and something’s gotta give for one of these teams. Can BC continue to move the ball or will the Alouettes shut them down? Find out in the final game of the weekend at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place.

4 storylines to watch in Week 11

Tags: