The CFL season is chugging along as Week 12 kicks off Thursday.
The pregame narrative: The Ottawa Redblacks and BC Lions field two of the league's worst offences. Therefore, the under on the total in that game is my best bet. Also, back the streaking Edmonton Elks to keep it close against the Montreal Alouettes.
Check out the best CFL Week 12 picks for August 22-25.
CFL Week 12 picks
Best Bet: Lions/Redblacks under 50.5 points (-110)
BC puts up the third-fewest points per game in the league and is coming off a disastrous offensive performance in Week 11.
The Lions lost 20-11 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at home in Nathan Rourke's return to the team. He threw 8-for-25 with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Starting a quarterback coming fresh off an offseason midway through a campaign is never a good idea ... but does BC have a better option? The offence scored 16 points in the previous two weeks combined.
As for Ottawa, it scores the second-fewest points per game (227). The side is 6-2-1, however, due to some solid defensive play and strong home results.
At home this season, the Redblacks are 4-0-1 and their average game total is 41.0 points.
Key stat: All five games played in Ottawa this season have gone under this number.
Quick pick
Elks +6.5 (-110)
The Elks sit in last place in the Western Conference (3-7), but there's reason to believe they are better than their record indicates.
Edmonton has lost six times by a single-digit margin and has covered this spread in five of seven losses. That's not usually the case for a 3-7 team.
One of those close defeats came at the hands of this week's opponent, the 9-1 Montreal Alouettes (a 23-20 loss in Week 2).
In addition, the Elks' three wins have come consecutively over the past three weeks. They beat the Roughriders by 12, the Lions by 17 and the Ti-Cats by 15.
Two of those three wins came on the road and I expect them to ride that momentum into Montreal to keep the game close. Who knows, a win may also be in the cards.
Picks made at 1:58 p.m. ET on 08/20/24.
