“Momentum is a hell of a thing.” Those were the exact words from James Butler following the 3-3 Lions’ dominating performance in Edmonton last week. Saturday marks an opportunity to cash in on even more of that as they entertain the 4-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders, as a win would further jam up the Western Division seven weeks into the campaign.
There was indeed plenty to like from the Lions’ first complete effort of 2025. Now that’s in the rear view mirror as we tee up a big clash at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place with our 5 Things To Know Preview.
Kickoff: 4:00 pm
TV: TSN/CBS Sports Network
Stream: CFL+ (US, International)
Radio: 730 CKNW/Sher-E Punjab Radio Am 600/Sirius XM Canada Talks 167
1. QB Battle Of The Titans
It was Jeremiah Masoli and Jake Maier duking it out when the teams last met in week four, a convincing 37-18 win by the Roughriders. This time, Nathan Rourke and Trevor Harris, two of the league’s better signal-callers when they’re on their game, go head to head.
Rourke enjoyed perhaps his busiest and productive practice week since suffering the oblique injury and is poised to build on his 12th career 300-yard passing outing and latest domination of the Edmonton Elks. When Rourke is on, he’s tough to contain. Harris and the Riders struggled to finish drives in their loss to Calgary. Despite all that, he still threw for 425 yards and was previously undefeated in three starts before going down.
2. The Evolution Of The O-Line
Over the past several years, you could drive through any Okanagan fruit stand in the summer and not find anything as low-hanging as picking apart this team’s offensive line. So far in 2025, the unit led by Paul Charbonneau deserves its flowers. Coming off a week where Pro Football Focus graded them as the highest in the CFL, they will be counted on to once again create holes for Butler and allow Rourke time to operate.
This offence prides itself on ball control and eating up time of possession. Another 43 minutes with the ball and 519 net yards might be a tall ask, but this offensive line has proven capable week in and week out.
The challenge on Saturday is also neutralizing the Saskatchewan front featuring veterans Micah Johnson, Malik Carney and Jonathan Rose. Remember the old rivalry when the Lions boasted Rob Murphy and Jason Jimenez up against John Chick and company? This battle will also be fun to watch.
The Week 7 Lions Depth Chart is in! 🏈
Here’s how we stack up against Saskatchewan this Saturday.
#BCLions | @PlayNowSports pic.twitter.com/52y7X3NJmX— BC LIONS (@BCLions) July 18, 2025
3. Skill On Display
Both of these rosters boast some impressive players at all of the skill positions. One area we’d like to key on is how Garry Peters and the secondary matchup against a solid contingent of Saskatchewan receivers. While they have battled injuries to Samuel Emilus and Shawn Bane Jr., KeeSean Johnson has been their most productive at the position. Emilus is back this week after missing three games, so look for the chess match between Peters and the Lion ballhawks, up against Trevor Harris and company, to be a major factor.
And for the Lion playmakers on offence, it’s the weekly question: who will step up as the leader? Last week, it was Keon Hatcher Sr. In Montreal, they had Stanley Berryhill III doing his thing. We have a hunch Justin McInnis is due for a 2024-like performance.
4. Lucky Number Seven?
Even without the illegal block penalty that wiped it out, it seemed like Seven McGee would still have returned that punt 92 yards to the house before halftime in Edmonton. Having a gamebreaker in the return game is something that has been lacking with this squad, but McGee appears poised to change that. Even a couple of long returns to set Nathan Rourke and the offence up with a short field will be a welcome sight, as field position and time of possession are major factors. Can Seven be lucky? We shall see.
5. What They’re Saying
“I think they’re extremely well coached, extremely well disciplined. They’re always going to fly to the ball. Everything starts with them up front. I think they do a good job complementing their front seven with their back end. You see very little busts, miscommunications, things like that. I think they’re cohesive, they’re on the same page and you’ve got to execute as an offence. And you have to do that up and down the field consistently. There’s not going to be anything free from them.”- Buck Pierce on what the Roughriders bring defensively.
“Our season opener (on June 7) was my last time playing there. So, it’s always good to be back home. We know Saskatchewan always travels well, so it should be a fun environment to play in. We’re just hoping to put together some good football and consistent drives. Not turning the ball over would be a good goal for us. We had trouble with that in the first game against them. We’ll do our best to play our best football out there and hopefully come out with a well-earned victory.”- Rourke on being back home and the keys to handing the Riders a second consecutive loss.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com