Winnipeg @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 12, 2019 ) Toronto 21, Winnipeg 48

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they visit the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday. The Blue Bombers raced out to their first 5-0 start since 1960, but turned the ball over five times in the 23-15 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 7 and hope to fend off the chasing pack in the West Division by sweeping the season series with the Argonauts following a 48-21 victory July 12.

"You're not going to win every game and I've been around long enough to understand that," Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols told reporters. "It doesn't make losing easy but it makes me hungry and want to go back to work." Toronto remains the only winless team in the CFL after being blanked 26-0 by the Edmonton Eskimos in Week 7. The Argonauts, who are averaging a league-low 12.5 points per game, were shut out for the first time since 2009 and could roll out a new starting quarterback after Dakota Prukop relieved an ineffective McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who threw his league-leading ninth interception, in an attempt to turn their fortunes around. "We know who we are and we know we're close but we didn't break through in the first six games," Toronto coach Corey Chamblin told reporters. "The renewed sense of hope will come once we put points on the board and start keeping them off."

TV: 7:00 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN2

ABOUT THE BLUE BOMBERS (5-1): Nichols passed for 261 yards and a touchdown, but finished with three interceptions in the loss to Hamilton after throwing one pick in his previous five games. Defensive back Anthony Gaitor (upper body) and wide receiver Darvin Adams (lower body) left the game early against the Tiger-Cats and are questionable for Thursday. Wide receiver Chris Matthews, who has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, flew to Guelph, Ontario, to join up with the rest of the team at their temporary practice facility and looks likely to step back into the lineup.

ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS (0-6): Bethel-Thompson was held to 90 yards on 6-of-18 passing with an interception before he was pulled in favour of Prukop, who didn't fare much better as he finished with 68 yards through the air with a pair of picks against Edmonton. Running back James Wilder Jr., who leads the team with 421 yards from scrimmage, could return after missing the game against the Eskimos with a rib injury. Toronto made a move to bolster its defence as it added linebacker Bear Woods, who made 119 tackles in 21 games with the Argonauts from 2017-18 while helping the club lift a Grey Cup two years ago.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Winnipeg has given up fewer than 24 points in every game this season.

2. Chamblin has lost 15 consecutive games as a head coach, which is two shy of matching the CFL record.

3. Nichols leads the league in touchdown passes (13).

PREDICTION: Blue Bombers 30, Argonauts 20