After closing out the regular season with a league-best 15-2-1 record, the Calgary Stampeders enter the CFL playoffs as heavy -149 favourites on the odds to win the Grey Cup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Stampeders were nearly unbeatable throughout the 2016 campaign, smashing the CFL record for longest winning streak in a single season with 14 straight victories en route to a third West Division crown in four years.
However, Calgary closed out the season on a losing note, dropping a 17-8 decision to the Montreal Alouettes as eight-point favourites, and has failed to cover in three of its past six games.
Calgary now enjoys a week off as it awaits the winner of Sunday afternoon’s Blue Bombers vs. Lions West Division semifinal betting matchup at B.C. Place Stadium, with the Lions pegged as five-point home favourites for the contest on the CFL betting lines.
B.C. earned home field in the semifinal with a 12-6-0 record, and represents the Stampeders’ closest competition on the Grey Cup odds, pegged at +600.
Winnipeg is an uneven 2-3-0 straight up (SU) since a mid-season seven-game win streak. However, the Blue Bombers posted a pair of SU and against the spread (ATS) wins over the Lions in a home-and-home series last month, extending their undefeated record against B.C. to four games.
While the Bombers have owned B.C., they have been dominated by Calgary in recent years, winning just one of their past 15 meetings SU, going 5-7-3 ATS. That has contributed to Winnipeg’s soft position on the Grey Cup odds, where they trail at +900.
The Ottawa RedBlacks enjoy a bye this weekend after finishing atop the East Division with an 8-9-1 record, and are pegged as a +700 bet to claim their first-ever Grey Cup title.
The RedBlacks took home the division crown despite failing to post consecutive SU wins since Week 2 of the campaign and claiming just two outright wins on home turf, including three straight losses down the stretch.
Ottawa will have a chance to reverse that trend when they face the winner of Sunday afternoon’s Eskimos vs. Tiger-Cats East Division semifinal betting matchup at Tim Hortons Field. Edmonton sits as a 2.5-point road favourite for the game.
Edmonton earned a crossover into the East semifinal on the strength of a 10-8-0 record, including a 5-1 SU and ATS stretch run, which featured a pair of outright wins as a road underdog. The Eskimos’ late surge has bolstered their odds of repeating as Grey Cup champions, which now sit at +800.
Conversely, Hamilton snuck into the CFL playoffs despite a brutal 1-5 SU and 1-7 ATS finish including four straight home losses, and trails as a +1600 longshot on the Grey Cup odds.
