Week 13 CFL Picks: Can The Eskies Stop The Bleeding?

Hopefully you’ve been along for the hot run for our weekly free CFL betting picks, which continued in Week 12 as we went 2-1. We’re now 8-2 on our last 10 CFL betting picks against the spread and 15-10 (60%) on the campaign.

The first winner last week came on a 6.5-point teaser of the Lions -1 and the Blue Bombers/Roughriders Over 53.5. That bet only counts for one win, but we wish we’d played them as separate point spread and Over/Under bets, since each would have won easily.

The loss in Week 12 was a bit of a stunner as the RedBlacks laid an egg at home against the Tiger-Cats, who held Ottawa under its team total. We bounced back in the final game of Week 12, however, as the Stampeders and Eskimos played a defensive struggle that went well under the high 56.5 total.

Let’s take a look at this week’s matchups and come up with some Week 13 CFL betting picks.

Week 13 CFL Betting Lines

For whatever reason, it took oddsmakers a lot longer than usual to post CFL betting lines this week. We didn’t see odds for Week 13 CFL games until Thursday morning, a day before the Roughriders and Tiger-Cats kick off in Hamilton.

Saskatchewan is a 5-point road favourite in that contest despite the fact Hamilton appears to have figured things out since June Jones took over as head coach, winning two straight. The Roughies look to bounce back from a 20-point loss last week in Winnipeg that dropped their record to 5-5.

Saturday, the Eskimos are 2.5-point favourites at Toronto as Edmonton looks to put an end to its four-game slide. It’s hard to believe that the Eskimos were the only undefeated team in the CFL just one month ago.

In the second game on Saturday’s slate, the sizzling Stampeders are laying 9 points at home to British Columbia. It’ll be interesting to see if the Lions were able to generate any momentum from a dominant win over Montreal in Week 12.

Speaking of Montreal, that loss in B.C. prompted the Alouettes to can coach Jacques Chapdelaine. Teams often do pretty well in their first game under a new coach (including the Tiger-Cats two weeks ago on Labour Day), which may explain why the Als are just 1.5-point home dogs against Ottawa.

Week 13 CFL Betting Picks

1. Roughriders at Tiger-Cats Betting Pick


So Hamilton’s got some new life under June Jones, does it? Funny thing about that is Jones is known for his run-and-shoot offence, not for winning with defence. Yet, defence has keyed the Tiger-Cats’ modest recent turnaround, holding the Argonauts and RedBlacks to 22 points in its last two outings.

That’s masking the fact that Hamilton’s offence still isn’t firing, having been held to 28 points or less in 10 straight games. So while we get to work with a slightly smaller point spread than we would have two weeks ago when the Cats were in the toilet, the oddsmakers have also had to slightly increase the Hamilton team total when it’s not really warranted.

This Saskatchewan defence is hardly a fortress, giving up 27+ in five of its last seven games. But the Roughriders should be looking to getting back to actually stopping someone after giving up 48 last week in Winnipeg. In Hamilton, they’ve got the perfect candidate to shut down.

Pick: Tiger-Cats Team Total Under 25 -110

2. Eskimos at Argonauts Betting Pick


This ordinarily would be a dangerous spot to back Edmonton, with the Eskimos going cross country after playing back-to-back emotionally-charged games against the rival Stampeders to face a mediocre Argonauts squad.

But Edmonton can’t afford to let down at all here. They’ve got massive issues on both sides of the ball, illustrated by their 4-game losing streak that came on the heels of a 7-0 start.

Toronto has lost 5 of 6, yet is currently tied with Ottawa atop the East, so you know the Argos are bringing it here as well. And when the Argos bring their best, it’s usually on defense. Toronto hasn’t allowed more than 24 points in four straight and generally limits opponents to the mid-20s.

Edmonton doesn’t have a lot of confidence right now, so we’ll look for a conservative game plan in an important game for both teams. The Under 52 was a consideration here, but with the Eskies giving up 25+ in 7 of their last 8 outings, we like the Eskimos Team Total Under even more.

Pick: Eskimos Team Total Under 27 -110

3. Lions at Stampeders Betting Pick


The Lions stopped a 3-game losing slide last week in emphatic fashion, whipping the Alouettes 41-18. Unfortunately, the win came at the expense of Travis Lulay, who was hurt on B.C.’s first play from scrimmage.

Forced back into action after losing the starting QB job, Jonathon Jennings went 22-of-29 for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns. Maybe that will be the spark Jennings needed to regain his confidence.

The Stampeders are obviously not lacking in the confidence department, coming into this game with a 9-1-1 record and having held seven straight opponents under 24 points. That includes a 21-17 win a month ago in Vancouver, when the Lions were focused to bounce back from a 33-point loss the previous week in Saskatchewan.

9 is a lot of points for Calgary to lay in this situation, but we can’t ignore how dominant they’ve been on defence as well as the fact they’ve won their last four home games by 16+ points. Let’s tease the Stampeders down under the key number of 3 by using them in the first leg of a 6.5-point teaser.

Pick: Stampeders -2.5 (first leg of 6.5-point teaser)

4. RedBlacks at Alouettes Betting Pick


Can anyone figure out the RedBlacks? Even after a 1-6-1 start to the year, we knew better than to count out the defending Grey Cup champions because they play in the awful East. And sure enough, Ottawa strung together three straight wins to get back into contention for the division, only to lose outright at home to Hamilton last week as an 11.5-point favourite.

That was the latest in what’s been a season full of close games for the RedBlacks. All of their losses have come by seven points or less, and even two of their four victories were one-score games.

Look for another close one here against a Montreal squad that will be fired up in its first game under interim coach Kavis Reed, the team’s GM. It may seem dangerous backing the Alouettes after they lost their last two games by a combined 52 points, but that was the sign of a club that had stopped playing for its coach. Now that they’ve made the change, the Als should bring a focus here, especially as they seek revenge for an embarrassing 32-4 loss at home to Ottawa two weeks ago.

Still, we’re not picking the Alouettes to win the game outright, and the +1.5 points offered on the spread aren’t that tempting either. But by using Montreal in a teaser, we can get them up over a touchdown – a margin that Ottawa has struggled to win by in 2017.

Pick: Alouettes +8 (second leg of 6.5-point teaser at -110 odds)