BEST LINES: Pinnacle -3 -110 Bet365 -3½ -105 SportsInteraction -3 -115 5DIMES -3 -110

Posted at 11:40 AM EST. 

The Blue Bombers have yet to put together four full quarters and it cost them again last week in Vancouver. The Bombers had a 15-point lead in the fourth but watched it vanished in a matter of minutes. The Lions went up by three after Ty Long kicked a 34-yard field goal with less than a minute left. It might be easy to forget but Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols did have the ball in his hands with time on the clock. A rare miss (even if it was from 50+ yards) from Blue kicker Justin Medlock sealed the deal for the Lions. There have been flashes of brilliance by the Bombers offense including going 5-for-5 in the red zone against the Lions last week. The Blue Bombers are second in the league averaging 32 points-per-game. Winnipeg is now 2-2 in the ultra-competitive West Division, which is good for 4th place. Out East that would be good enough for second place and a home playoff date. Obviously, there is a long way to go but the imbalance between East and West goes far beyond just the numbers of teams playing in each division. So far this season the West is 8-2-1 against the East.

The Alouettes threw the baby out with the bath water this off season when they cleaned out their front office. The new brass made some major changes including bringing in quarterback Darian Durant but it's been their commitment to the run game that has separated the Als from the rest of the pack. It may be because of necessity, as it doesn't look like Durant has what it takes week-in and week-out. Durant is coming off his biggest game of the year by throwing for 452 yards and two touchdowns but it's his commitment to throwing the big interception that plagues the Als. Durant added two more picks to his league leading total of six. The Al's offense has sputtered with Durant at the helm, averaging a league worst 20.2 points per game including just 278 passing yards (8th). In a league with a 70/30 pass/run ratio that's not a recipe for success.

We can understand that Montreal may carry some appeal into this game. Both teams have two wins but the Als have a victory over a Calgary team that blew out these Bombers just a few weeks ago. A win over a top team like Calgary carries some weight in the market. Thing is, the Bombers offense is looking very sharp. They went into B.C. and out up major yards and points but got caught taking their foot off the pedal late. In an offense-oriented league, at home and after what we’re calling a confidence building loss that taught this host a valuable lesson, we trust we’re getting the superior team at a real bargain here and will play it accordingly.  If the line goes to -3½, don't be afraid to play it. 

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