The 2021 CFL season finally got underway on Thursday, August 5, after the league cancelled the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The new season was actually scheduled to begin in June, but COVID-19 continued to delay its start.

CFL Betting Sites

In a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup final, Winnipeg got the best of Hamilton again and won 19-6. On Friday night, Saskatchewan jumped out to a 31-0 first half lead then held off a furious BC comeback to win 33-29. Get our 2021 CFL Grey Cup picks.

The first weekend of CFL action culminates with a pair of Saturday games: Toronto at Calgary and Ottawa at Edmonton. Here’s a look at both.

Argonauts vs. Stampeders Week 1 Picks

Toronto continues to rebuild after winning just four games in 2019. The Argos will go with McLeod Bethel-Thompson at quarterback in Week 1. He will face Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell, arguably one of the CFL’s best signal callers. That gives the Stampeders the edge.

The other big problem for Toronto is the fact that they are playing on the road. The Argonauts have won just one road game in their last 18 tries. They are also 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games against Calgary. The Stampeders are 4-1 in their last five home games, but they have had trouble covering the spread in those games.

With Calgary coming in as a 5.5-point favorite, the question is not whether the Stampeders can win but can they cover. With Mitchell at quarterback, the answer is yes. Mitchell threw for 3,464 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2019 in just 11 games. He and the Stampeders will get started with a big win at home.

Find out why you should be betting on the Stampeders CFL win total for 2021.

BEST BET: CALGARY -5.5

Live CFL Odds

Redblacks vs. Elks Week 1 Picks

Edmonton could be the sleeper team of the 2021 CFL season. The Elks have a sneaky good offense with Trevor Harris at quarterback. He should be right in the thick of the race for most passing yards in the league this season.

Ottawa, on the other hand, well…the RedBlacks have the longest odds to win the Grey Cup at +1800 for a reason. In 2019, Ottawa finished a dismal 3-15. Playing on the road has also been troublesome for the RedBlacks.

In their last five road games, Ottawa has failed to win a single time. They also did not cover a point spread in any of those five games. In fact, the RedBlacks have failed to cover in nine of their last ten games.

On the other end, Edmonton fares well at home and has done very well against Ottawa at home recently. In the last 11 home games against the RedBlacks, Edmonton is 10-1 straight up.

The other thing to consider is the Edmonton defense which led the CFL against the pass in 2019. Ottawa will struggle to score against the Elks as they have in past games at Edmonton. The Under is 4-1 in the last five RedBlacks-Elks games played in Edmonton. Look for a low-scoring affair in Week 1.

BEST BET: UNDER 45.5

Learn how to bet on point spreads and how to bet on totals.