5 things we learned from Mobil Thanksgiving Weekend

I know what I was thankful for this past weekend: the three Fs of family, football and food!

Mobil Thanksgiving Weekend saw some dominant performances from East to West, as well as a team that put out a warning shot to the rest of the league that they cannot yet be counted out.

To break it all down, here are the five things we learned from Week 19.

ZACH IS BACK!

For those that were thinking we may have seen the last of Zach Collaros, you were a bit premature on his demise.

Collaros had a vintage performance against the Calgary Stampeders as he threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He gave life to the Bombers, who looked like a team that was about to miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Now Winnipeg controls their own destiny and with a healthy Collaros, the Bombers may be a veteran team you don’t want to see come playoff time.

ALL GAS, NO BRAKES FOR THE ALOUETTES

Montreal was not going to show mercy to the Roughriders on Thanksgiving Monday. The Alouettes were up big and continued to roll out Davis Alexander, despite the Als already having first place locked up.

I like Jason Maas’ attitude this week, knowing they have some road trips coming up before their playoff bye week. He made sure to send the message in the locker room that the standard will not be lowered because they’ve locked up first.

We don’t know what the roster will look like moving into this week or next, but the Alouettes put an exclamation mark on putting away the team that ended their Grey Cup dreams last November in Winnipeg.

MORE ADEBOBOYE, PLEASE

Do the REDBLACKS have the next great Canadian running back ready to carry the load in 2027?

Over the last two years in a complementary role, Daniel Adeboboye has averaged over 5.5 yards per carry. His 5.9 yards per carry this season only trails Brady Oliveira, Dedrick Mills and Travis Theis. That is some pretty good company and yes, that is better than Justin Rankin, A.J. Ouellette and Zander Horvath.

Adeboboye also continues to prove he can catch out of the backfield and make plays.

Ottawa paid up for Greg Bell from Hamilton, who unfortunately has been injured this season, but maybe they had the solution already in house.

MALIK CARNEY IS READY TO REPEAT

The Roughriders may struggle to go back-to-back, but it’s the man they may miss the most that showed on Thanksgiving Weekend that quarterbacks better account for him.

Malik Carney was a key member of the defensive line for the Riders last season on the way to the 112th Grey Cup and the Elks were smart to pay up to bring him a little further west.

Carney racked up four sacks against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and is now one back of Clarence Hicks for the league lead.

Sustained pressure on the quarterback is usually a good recipe for success and Carney has been one of the best at disrupting the opponent for the last few years.

After one sack in the first six games, he’s picked up 10 in the last 10. Be warned, offensive tackles.

Z-TRAIN WILL BE HARD TO STOP

Zander Horvath is now two back of Milt Stegall’s record of 23 touchdowns in a single season.

Horvath has scored two or more touchdowns in five games this season, so the record could actually be tied or broken this weekend when the Lions take on the Stampeders.

Horvath is now tied with Allen Pitts and one back of Cory Philpot for third and second in his race for CFL glory.

The only thing that could stop Horvath now is his coach saying it’s time to rest up for the playoffs because the way the BC Lions are playing, Horvath will likely have plenty of touchdown opportunities in the final two weeks of the season.