Toronto @ Winnipeg preview
IG Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 21, 2018 ) Winnipeg 38, Toronto 20
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers hope to complete the season sweep of the Toronto Argonauts when they host the defending Grey Cup champions Friday. Andrew Harris racked up a career-high 161 rushing yards to lead Winnipeg to a comfortable 38-20 victory over the Argonauts in Week 6 and the Blue Bombers hope to move over .500 for the first time in 2018 by posting their third straight home win in the series with Toronto.
"We can't get too high or too low," Harris told reporters. "We've got to keep building off this and look forward to playing this team again in a couple of days." The Argonauts fell to 1-4 for the first time in four seasons after they were limited to 165 yards of offence against Winnipeg. Toronto hasn't scored more than 20 points in any of its five games and hopes to salvage a season that is spinning out of control by notching their first victory in Winnipeg since Aug. 14, 2015. "We're deep in it...and we have to win some games along the way," Toronto coach Marc Trestman admitted to reporters. "We know what we have to do and we have to do it better."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN Plus
ABOUT THE BLUE BOMBERS (3-3): Harris caught a touchdown and added another on the ground as he moved past Jon Cornish (6,844) for second place on the CFL's all-time rushing yards list among Canadians with 6,878. Winnipeg traded wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who struggled to fit into the offence after recording four 1,000-yard seasons in seven years with the Edmonton Eskimos, to the Montreal Alouettes for a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft. Defensive back Chris Randle was a late scratch last weekend but is expected to play Friday while Winnipeg added linebacker Frederic Plesius and wide receiver Brisly Estime to the practice squad.
ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS (1-4): Franklin was held to 151 yards passing with an interception while S.J. Green was limited to three receptions for nine yards after finishing with 10 catches for 131 yards in his previous game against Edmonton. Toronto traded defensive end Shawn Lemon, who registered 23 sacks in 33 games with the Argonauts, to the BC Lions for a player to be named later. Dynamic kick returner/running back Dexter McCluster, who earned Pro Bowl honours with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, could make his CFL debut Friday while linebacker Bear Woods and running back Anthony Coombs are inching closer to a return.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Winnipeg has won four of the last five meetings with Toronto.
2. Harris has recorded three straight 100-yard games.
3. Toronto has surrendered a league-worst 412.8 yards per game.
PREDICTION: Blue Bombers 33, Argonauts 18