What regular season matchups tell us ahead of Division Finals presented by Wegovy®

This Saturday’s Division Finals presented by Wegovy®, feature matchups of teams that have taken turns getting the best of each other.

The Montreal Alouettes got well-beaten in Winnipeg and then romped past the Blue Bombers five weeks later at home.

The BC Lions took out the Edmonton Elks in a home game at Kelowna and then the Elks turned the tables two weeks later in Edmonton.

With that water under the bridge and with trips to the 113th Grey Cup on the line, what can we take from the regular season that might mean something as these four teams battle for a championship appearance?

EASTERN FINAL | WINNIPEG AT MONTREAL

WINNIPEG’S WINNING FORMULA IS FOUND IN GAME ONE

In Week 13, Winnipeg played its best game of the season, belting the visiting Alouettes by a score of 44-28.

Two pretty important factors were at play in this one, including time of possession. The Bombers held the ball for 37 minutes and 50 seconds, playing a fine game of ‘keep away’ with sustained drives including 127 rushing yards, 106 of them on 16 Brady Oliveira runs, including one touchdown.

Quarterback Zach Collaros was on point, completing 26 of 32 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns, and all told, the Blue Bombers picked up 32 first downs during the game.

Compare that to the second game, in Montreal.

In getting trampled by the Als by a score of 37-10 in a Week 18 matchup, Winnipeg was held to 46 yards rushing and just six first downs, keeping the ball for only 19 minutes and 22 seconds.

The second big factor that helped Winnipeg to their Week 13 triumph; big turnovers.

The Bombers forced two gigantic fumbles, the first of which came on a third-quarter blocked punt, leading to a one-yard touchdown plunge and a 10-point lead.

Still in the third, the Winnipeg D recovered another fumble at the Montreal 44-yard line, turning that sudden change into three more points as they pulled away to the victory.

IF IT’S DRU, HE’LL NEED TO IMPROVE

As mentioned, Collaros had a heck of a game in Winnipeg’s Week 13 win, finishing with a 132.8 passer rating.

Collaros was not available for the game in Montreal, so backup Dru Brown was at the controls, and he was stymied by the Montreal defence.

It’s not that Brown had a mistake-prone evening in that 37-10 loss. In fact, his passer rating was 122.1, but Winnipeg’s air totals were very low, with Brown completing 11 of 16 attempts for 161 yards and no interceptions, and he fired a 52-yard touchdown strike to Ontaria Wilson that tied the game at seven in the first quarter.

If Collaros can’t go on Saturday, Brown and his receivers will need to find much more chemistry than they did in their previous appearance, a little over a month ago, in Montreal.

WESTERN FINAL | BC AT EDMONTON

PUTTING IT UP MIGHT BE THE WAY FOR EDMONTON TO GET RANKIN SOME ROOM

The BC Lions effectively neutralized Edmonton’s dynamic running back in their two meetings this season, at least when he was handed the ball in the backfield.

Justin Rankin may have finished the campaign as the league’s second-leading rusher (1,170 yards, a CFL-topping 11 rushes of 20 or more yards and 39 romps of over 10 yards) but only 28 of his total rushing yards came against the Lions, on 14 total carries.

The Lions managed to make Rankin’s rushing a non-factor in both their 36-24 win in Week 5 and in their 19-17 loss in Week 7.

However, the three-season Elks’ veteran got a few things done when they got him the ball via the pass, to the tune of 16 catches on 19 targets and 146 yards over those two games.

TAKE THE BC INTERCEPTION TOTALS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

A quick look at the interception totals for the Lions could lead you to believe that the Elks’ pass defence was all over quarterback Nathan Rourke.

But, four of Edmonton’s picks came in that 19-17 win of theirs and in that game, Rourke left before throwing a pass, injured when he was sacked on BC’s second play from scrimmage. Backup Chase Brice, now no longer with the team, threw each of those picks in that game.

In Week 5, it’s true that Rourke was intercepted twice in BC’s victory, but a look at the game highlights shows you that each of those interceptions was actually an on-the-money throw by Rourke, nabbed by Edmonton defenders after bouncing off Lions’ receivers.

In that game, Rourke finished 27 of 36 passing for 320 yards and one touchdown throw.

Elks’ quarterback Cody Fajardo threw three picks of his own in that same game, but he cleaned that up entirely in the rematch, and over the two games he threw for 677 yards and four touchdowns.