There are plenty of reasons to watch Week 7 in the CFL, with an abundance of storylines in each matchup to follow.
Edmonton and BC are meeting once again, as the Lions are still the only team to beat the Elks this season.
Vernon Adams Jr. and Davis Alexander are playing clean football, throwing no interceptions so far this year, as the Stamps and Als meet for the second time in two weeks.
And will Dru Brown be starting against the team that traded him away in June?
Here’s what to watch this weekend in the CFL.
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CAN BC SHUT DOWN THE RUN GAME AGAIN?
BC at Edmonton | Friday, July 17 | 9:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS2/CFL+
In the first meeting of these two teams just a few weeks ago, the BC Lions handed the Edmonton Elks their only loss of the 2026 campaign. While the defensive effort across the board was a big reason why the Lions were successful against Edmonton, they were able to shut down Justin Rankin and the run game in that contest as well. Rankin only ran the ball seven times for 19 yards in Week 5, his lowest totals of the season by a long shot. It was the only game that Rankin did not pass 100 yards rushing this year.
Making the Elks one-dimensional, having to rely on passing the ball (and Cody Fajardo did find Rankin 10 times on 13 targets for 100 yards through the air), was key to the Lions’ win.
Rankin is on a historic pace this season and taking him out of the run game could be the way that the Lions defeat Edmonton once again. Will BC be able to replicate their success in defending the run and get their second-straight win against the Elks? Or will Rankin prove to be too much for BC?
THEY’RE TAKING CARE OF THE FOOTBALL
Montreal at Calgary | Saturday, July 18 | 4:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+
Saturday’s opening game of a CFL doubleheader features the only two quarterbacks that have yet to throw an interception this season: Vernon Adams Jr. and Davis Alexander.
Vernon Adams Jr. has not tossed an interception and has thrown 14 touchdown passes so far this season. The best TD to INT ratio in CFL history was by Ricky Ray in 2013 (21 touchdowns, two interceptions). That year Ray threw 17 touchdown passes before his first interception, which is also a CFL record.
Alexander hasn’t thrown an interception in the regular season since Week 7 of last year. Now in Week 7 of this season, it’s been an entire year since his last pick. Of course, he missed a portion of the middle of last season dealing with his hamstring injury, but since July of 2025, he has attempted 304 passes without an interception, which is the second-longest streak in CFL history. Darian Durant holds the record with 323 attempts without a pick.
With Adams Jr. and Alexander meeting this week, it’s the longest combined interception-free pass attempt streak by two opposing quarterbacks ever. Adams Jr. has not thrown an interception in 206 regular season pass attempts.
They say if you win the turnover battle, you win the game, and both of these quarterbacks have been putting their teams in position to do that by taking care of the football.
CAN THE TICATS SLOW DOWN THE ARGOS OFFENCE?
Toronto at Hamilton | Saturday, July 18 | 7:30 p.m. ET | TSN/CFL+
Without their starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell leading the offence, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will need to be at their best against a high-scoring Argonauts offence.
In the first meeting between these two rivals of the season, the Ticats are welcoming Chad Kelly and Toronto to Hamilton Stadium. Kelly is tied for the league lead in touchdown passes (14), unafraid to air the ball out downfield to his receivers. But he also leads the CFL in interceptions and if Hamilton wants to slow the Argos QB down, they’ll need to force him into making mistakes.
The Argos have only scored less than 30 points in a game once this season and that was last week against the Bombers, where they put up 21. Can Hamilton, who has allowed 27.2 points per game, slow them down? Or will Kelly, Tyler Kahmann, Makai Polk and Damonte Coxie prove to be too much for them to handle?
WILL DRU BROWN PLAY AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM?
Winnipeg at Ottawa | Sunday, July 19 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS2/CBSSN/CFL+
According to a post on X from BlueBombers.com’s Ed Tait, Dru Brown was taking first team reps on Tuesday. Tait also noted that Zach Collaros was in full gear at Winnipeg’s first practice of the week.
It remains to be seen who will start at pivot for the Bombers when they head to the nation’s capital, but if it’s Brown, what a story that would be.
Brown was traded by the REDBLACKS on June 23 and made his first start for Winnipeg last week against the Argonauts. The quarterback’s effort in that contest earned him a Player of the Week nod after he completed 25 of his 31 pass attempts (80.6 per cent) for 339 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
He now potentially could play against the team that sent him packing just a few weeks ago, adding another layer of intrigue to the final game of Week 7. We’ll find out later on in the week if it is Brown or if Collaros is able to return as the Bombers hope to win their third straight game.
