The Edmonton Eskimos will have their sights set on a sixth straight victory on Sunday when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers in the Western semifinal as 3-point favourites on the CFL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Edmonton capped off its regular-season schedule with a win, topping Saskatchewan 28-13 as a 3.5-point road underdog to record its fourth upset victory of the season going into Sunday afternoon’s Eskimos vs. Blue Bombers betting matchup at Investors Group Field.
The Eskimos have produced mixed results this season while set as favourites, going 7-3 straight up but just 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 such outings.
The Blue Bombers will host their first playoff game since 2011 after wrapping up their regular season schedule with a 23-5 victory in Calgary as 7.5-point underdogs, putting the brakes on a 1-3 SU slide. However, Winnipeg’s win came against a Stampeders squad with little to play for after clinching the top spot in the West Division on the strength of the Blue Bombers’ 36-27 loss to the BC Lions as 6.5-point home chalk on Oct. 28.
Late-season struggles haven’t dampened the Blue Bombers’ position on the Grey Cup odds, where they trail only Calgary at +500. Conversely, the Eskimos sit at +900 on those futures.
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Earlier Sunday, the Eastern semifinal kicks off in Ottawa, where the defending Grey Cup-champion Redblacks take on the Roughriders as narrow 1.5-point favourites. After opening the season with just one win in their first eight outings, the Redblacks finally caught fire, going 7-3 SU down the stretch, and have averaged 34.7 points per game in three straight victories.
However, Ottawa has also surrendered a lot of points of late – giving up 31 points per game over its last three outings – and has been a disappointment while pegged as home chalk, going winless against the spread in its past four and 1-5 ATS on the season.
The Riders have impressed in recent road matchups, going 5-1 SU in their past six, including a trio of outright victories as betting favourites, and they have topped the Redblacks in their past two visits to Ottawa.
Both these teams trail on the Grey Cup odds heading into the playoffs. Saskatchewan is behind the +700 Toronto Argonauts at +800 on the CFL futures, while the Redblacks sit alongside the Eskimos at +900 odds.
