The 1-1 BC Lions are feeling a sense of urgency as they welcome in the 1-0 Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a Saturday afternoon rematch at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place (4:00 pm/TSN/CBS Sports Network/730 CKNW/Sher-E Punjab Radio AM 600). Last Thursday’s 34-20 setback against these same Bombers has lingered in more ways than one, and the squad is anxious to bounce back and prove they belong in the upper echelon of Western Division contenders. Nothing wrong with an early-season setback to reset the need to execute.
Ultimately, Buck Pierce’s squad will be judged on how they handle adversity, whether it be on the scoreboard or in the Injury Reports. We now tee up this massive matchup in our 5 Things To Know game preview:
1. Masoli The Man
Pierce declared Jeremiah Masoli will play following Friday’s walkthrough in Surrey, not surprisingly, considering Nathan Rourke only took part in a limited portion of Tuesday’s practice. With another long week before a trip to Saskatchewan, giving number 12 the chance to rest his oblique injury and not risk further damage at this early stage of the season is the smart play. Rourke will dress as the number three quarterback on BC’s depth chart.
A 2018 CFL All-Star during his memorable tenure with Hamilton, Masoli will be itching to prove he has plenty left in the tank. There’s a reason the veteran Oregon Duck product was a high priority once the free agent market opened back in February. After a pair of serious injuries derailed his two seasons with Ottawa, Masoli is ready to prove he can still carry a team when called upon.
“For the fans, we just want to win,” Masoli said.
“We want to put on a show for them, bring the energy and it makes the whole place electric. We’re just trying to feed the crowd. That’s why Chase and I are here: we’re the depth to the QB room right now and we want to show that if Nathan needs to take a week off and get some rest, we can still hold it down for him and be able to execute our offence.”
2. Huge Implications
This home-and-home series has come with a couple of scheduling quirks. First, there was a short week for the Lions with the Bombers coming off their week one bye. No excuses. However, another notable point is that this marks the final regular-season meeting between these two Western rivals. That should tell you right there how big it is, as the Lions can ill afford to drop a season sweep at this early stage. With rivals Calgary and Saskatchewan off to 2-0 starts, getting back above .500 with a split against Winnipeg goes a very long way in ensuring the tightest race possible. As crazy as they may sound at this early juncture of the 2025 campaign.
3. Stopping The Run
Even with their consistent gamebreaker, Brady Oliveira, sidelined in the first quarter, the Bombers managed to write their familiar script of pounding the rock and eating up clock. Rookie draft pick Matthew Peterson ran for 138 yards- including a 38-yard touchdown run- while Winnipeg as a unit racked up over 200 yards on the ground. Simply put, it’s an area where the Lions must improve drastically this weekend, or it could be another long night. They do get some good news with the return of Sione Teuhema at defensive end after he served his two-game suspension for a banned substance. Getting to Zach Collaros, who debuts in 2025 after serving his own suspension, and forcing the Bombers into second-and-long situations has no doubt been a big talking point. The onus is also on the interior stoppers, including Jonah Tavai, Dewayne Hendrix, and their team, to plug those running holes. Mathieu Betts enters this week with nine tackles while still waiting for his first sack of the campaign. This would be the perfect game to unleash the beast. The Bomber depth chart lists Peterson as their backfield starter with Oliveira on the 1-Game Injured List (Shoulder).
4. Protection Is Key
Should it be Masoli behind centre, the domino effect of the ratio pushes Tyler Packer up to starting guard in place of Chris Schleuger. At any rate, the big boys up front will look to use the blueprint from week one’s win over the Edmonton Elks where they sustained a couple of long scoring drives while allowing the quarterback to extend plays with his arm and feet. Credit to Rourke in Winnipeg for escaping the pressure and flipping the field, but it’s not always a sustainable way to execute. Look for the Lions’ offence to be balanced with James Butler also playing a role in the backfield. If one thing these battles with the Bombers have shown, you can’t be one-dimensional.
Back at home for a rematch 🏠
Here’s how we will line up against the Blue Bombers tomorrow night at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place 🏈#BCLions | @PlayNowSports pic.twitter.com/foQie8tX37
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 20, 2025
5. What They’re Saying
“At the end of the day, it comes down to us going out there, executing our plan and being more physical. For me, I was telling Dbs that the game is pretty simple: win first down, you’ve got to get off the field on second down. We had them in second and long a lot of times, and then they were able to make a play to get the first down, and the next play, you know, it’s a big play touchdown. So, it’s just like, when you look at the game within the game, it’s winning first down and then getting off the field on second down. If we can do that, I think we’ll be in a lot better position this week, and that’s the plan.”- Garry Peters on the defensive mindset heading into this matchup.