The start of every season is a land of promise and possibility for every single fanbase in the Canadian Football League.<\/p>\n
But by the time we hit Week 6, reality begins to set in \u2014 good, bad or ugly, depending on which team has your heart.<\/p>\n
Here is one emerging storyline to watch for each club:<\/p>\n
RELATED MONTREAL ALOUETTES<\/p>\n CAN TYSON PHILPOT KEEP UP HIS HISTORIC PACE?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t look now, but Tyson Philpot<\/a> opened the 2026 on a torrid pace, with an eye-popping 36 catches for 587 yards and three touchdowns in four games. At this pace, he\u2019s on track for 2,642 yards over an 18-game campaign.<\/p>\n The single-season CFL record for receiving yards is 2,036, set by Calgary\u2019s Allen Pitts in 1994. Only three players in league history have reached 2,000 receiving yards in a season.<\/p>\n Lofty numbers, to be sure. But also in Philpot\u2019s sights is the Canadian receiving record of 1,662 yards set by Terry Evanshen in 1967.<\/p>\n Now injuries could threaten all of that \u2014 Philpot has never played more than 13 games in a regular season and his quarterback, Davis Alexander<\/a>, also needs to stay healthy. Next up for both is a clash with Philpot\u2019s twin brother Jalen and the Calgary Stampeders<\/a>.<\/p>\n OTTAWA REDBLACKS<\/p>\n CAN A CHANGE AT QUARTERBACK SPARK OTTAWA\u2019S SEASON?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The look on Ryan Dinwiddie\u2019s face told the story Thursday night as time ticked down in Edmonton\u2019s 40-17 victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS.<\/p>\n Quarterback Jake Maier<\/a> completed 26-of-39 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. Decent numbers, except he also tossed four interceptions.<\/p>\n TSN analyst Milt Stegall went as far as suggesting the possibility that McLeod Bethel-Thompson<\/a> could start for Ottawa next week against Winnipeg.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be surprised, at all,\u201d Stegall said. \u201cThis team needs a spark.\u201d<\/p>\n The REDBLACKS also need to ignite the run game (Greg Bell<\/a>\u2019s seven carries for 19 yards against Edmonton are not going to cut it.) Heading into Week 6, the REDBLACKS had surrendered more big plays (17) than any other CFL club. So to blame Maier alone for Ottawa\u2019s woes is foolhardy.<\/p>\n But something clearly has to change for an Ottawa club still searching for its first win of the season. And fast.<\/p>\n HAMILTON TIGER-CATS<\/p>\n CAN HAMILTON STAY ON TRACK WITHOUT BO LEVI MITCHELL?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bo Levi Mitchell<\/a> is out indefinitely after undergoing ankle surgery<\/a>, and the Tiger-Cats are determined to show the league they can dominate even without their star quarterback in the lineup.<\/p>\n Enter Jake Dolegala, the 29-year-old former Saskatchewan Roughrider who is reportedly expected to start Sunday against his old team<\/a>. The talented Tre Ford<\/a> remains an option, but he struggled in relief last week after Mitchell went down against Winnipeg.<\/p>\n Dolegala has a big arm \u2013 much like Mitchell \u2013 so the Saskatchewan secondary will need to respect the deep ball. And he doesn\u2019t need to do it all on his own with weapons such as Kenny Lawler<\/a> and Kiondr\u00e9 Smith. Dolegala simply needs to get the ball in the hands of his receivers and let them do the work to keep Hamilton in the mix.<\/p>\n TORONTO ARGONAUTS<\/p>\n CAN CHAD KELLY SUSTAIN HIS RECORD-SETTING PACE?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Through four games, the Argos are 2-2 \u2013 good for second place in the East Division behind only Montreal.<\/p>\n Not bad at all for a team playing for a new head coach in Mike Miller<\/a>, with their starting quarterback returning to football after missing all of last year with an injury sustained in the 2024 Eastern Final.<\/p>\n Key to the Boatmen staying above water is exactly the play of returning pivot Chad Kelly<\/a>, with 1,484 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in just four games. But Kelly also leads the league with nine interceptions\u00a0 \u2013 a stat he needs to clean up for the Argos to continue defying their critics.<\/p>\n WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS<\/p>\n CAN DRU BROWN MAKE THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dru Brown<\/a>\u2019s chance to prove his old boss, Ottawa head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, wrong comes on Friday against Toronto<\/a> in place of the injured Zach Collaros.<\/p>\n Brown arrived back in Winnipeg on June 23 in a trade involving draft picks<\/a>\u00a0after Dinwiddie chose Jake Maier<\/a> as the starter.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old pivot spent his first three years in the CFL in Winnipeg, and he knows the playbook. He\u2019s clearly excited at the chance to start \u2014 as opposed to coming in off the bench in relief \u2013 and hopefully show the REDBLACKS the error of their ways.<\/p>\n SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS<\/p>\n CAN THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS BLOCK OUT THE NOISE?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The task for the reigning Grey Cup champions all season long is to keep the focus on the task at hand \u2013 regardless of all the noise in a football-mad province eager for their beloved Roughriders to win back-to-back titles for the first time in franchise history.<\/p>\n Leading the charge in that regard are quarterback Trevor Harris<\/a> and head coach Corey Mace. In fact, Harris told CKOM\u2019s The Green Zone that he was ready to move on roughly 48 hours after the Riders hoisted the Grey Cup last November in Winnipeg. \u201cCoach, I don\u2019t mean to be cynical or whatever the word would be, I\u2019m kind of over it,\u201d Harris told his coach. Mace replied: \u201cSame.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, so good. The Riders (3-1) reside in second place in the West Division behind only Edmonton and can jump back into a tie for first with a win Sunday over Hamilton.<\/p>\n EDMONTON ELKS<\/p>\n CAN JUSTIN RANKIN MAINTAIN HIS INCREDIBLE START?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n No, this is not a misprint. Tailback Justin Rankin and the Edmonton Elks sit all alone in first place in the West with a glittering 4-1 record.<\/p>\n Pretty impressive for an Edmonton side that failed to advance to the playoffs for the last five seasons, with their last run coming in 2019 as the crossover team.<\/p>\n Rankin\u2019s brilliance \u2014 both on the ground and through the air \u2014 is one of the biggest reasons for Edmonton\u2019s resurgence. He leads the CFL with 67 carries for 513 yards and an eye-popping average of 7.7 yards per carry. He also sits in 11th place on the receiving leaderboard with 26 catches for 297 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n At this rate, Rankin \u2013 provided he stays healthy \u2013 is on track to reach his individual goal of more than 1,000 yards rushing and more than 1,000 yards receiving while helping lead Edmonton back to the promised land of the post-season.<\/p>\n CALGARY STAMPEDERS<\/p>\n CAN VERNON ADAMS JR. STAY HOT?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is coming off a record-breaking performance<\/a> in Calgary\u2019s 58-36 Stampede Bowl victory over the Toronto Argonauts. On the eve of the Calgary Stampede Parade, Adams Jr. completed 20-of-25 passes for 405 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions \u2013 good for a perfect passer rating of 158.3. That performance tied the Stampeders\u2019 single-game touchdown pass record with Peter Liske (1967), Doug Flutie (1994), Jeff\u00a0Garcia (1995) and current head coach\/general manager Dave Dickenson (2000).<\/p>\n So Adams Jr. is undoubtedly on a hot streak heading into Saturday\u2019s game against Montreal. The question remains whether he can buck his tendency to cool off after a torrid start to the season. Last year, he threw 15 touchdowns and just eight interceptions through his first 10 games and then went six-and-six the rest of the way. In 2024, he was the CFL\u2019s leading passer with the BC Lions before getting injured on Aug. 1. That opened the door for Nathan Rourke<\/a> to take over as the starter. And in 2023, he tweaked his MCL in Week 7.<\/p>\n The task for Adams Jr. now is to stay the course and avoid his tendency to drop off.<\/p>\n BC LIONS<\/p>\n CAN JAMES BUTLER SPARK BC\u2019S GROUND GAME?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n No one is going to question the credentials of Nathan Rourke<\/a>, the CFL\u2019s George Reed Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian in 2025. The same goes for his talented receiving corps, with the likes of Keon Hatcher Sr., Justin McInnis<\/a> and Jermaine Jackson at his disposal.<\/p>\n
\u00bb\u00a04 storylines to watch in Week 6<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Prediction Time: CFL.ca writers\u2019 Week 6 picks<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Weekly Predictor: Who wins in Week 6?<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0AMSOIL Power Rankings: A new No. 1 and a big climb for Calgary<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Buy tickets for the 2026 CFL season<\/a>
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