Another week of CFL football is done, and I gotta say, we saw some crazy games. Montreal lost just their second game of the year, Toronto blew a massive lead, and Calgary found a way to win with backup QB Josh Love without needing to score a ton of points. Then there’s Hamilton, who once again showed they just can’t seem to put wins together consistently.
With all that said, let’s get into my CFL Week 13 Power Rankings.
Tier 1 — Montreal & Edmonton
1. Montreal Alouettes
Montreal stays number one for me, but that loss to Winnipeg definitely wasn’t pretty. The defence had easily one of its worst games of the season, but I’m not going to drop them after one bad performance. They’ve still been the most consistent team in the CFL this season.
There was also a bit of a scare with Davis Alexander, who got injured during the game. He was able to finish, but didn’t speak to the media afterwards. That’s definitely something to keep an eye on because the last thing Montreal needs right now is another question mark around Alexander’s health.
2. Edmonton Elks
Edmonton didn’t play this week, so I can’t really move them up or down. They stay at number two and in that top tier with Montreal for now. But with Labour Day coming up, this could look a lot different next week.
BC Is Just… Somewhere in the Middle
3. BC Lions
BC is in a weird spot for me because I don’t really think they belong in Tier 1, but I also think they’re better than everyone in Tier 2. Ottawa actually hung around for most of this game before BC finally pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The Lions keep winning, and right now they basically have a tier all to themselves.
Tier 2 — Saskatchewan, Calgary & Winnipeg
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Riders finally got back in the win column, and I really liked what I saw from them in the second half against Toronto. After the Argos controlled most of the first half, Saskatchewan took over and looked a lot more like the team we saw earlier in the season.
This win also gives them a chance to maybe catch Edmonton for first in the West. Now can they build off it?
5. Calgary Stampeders
This wasn’t about Calgary putting up a ton of points or dominating offensively. What stood out to me was that they showed they can win a completely different type of football game.
The defence stepped up when they needed it and helped Calgary grind out a win over Hamilton. Being able to win when the offence isn’t putting up a ton of points is a really good sign for this team.
6. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
So… are the Bombers back?
Winnipeg’s 44-28 win over Montreal certainly looked like the Bombers team we’ve been used to seeing over the years. But before we hop in the DeLorean and go Back to the Future and pretend it’s the dominant Bombers of a few years ago again, I need to see more.
It was a huge win and showed they still have it. Now I want to see them do it again before I say the Bombers are officially back.
Tier 3 — Toronto & Hamilton
7. Toronto Argonauts
Toronto needs to stop beating themselves.
The turnovers are bad enough, but then you add missed field goals and bad penalties at the worst possible times, and it becomes really hard to win football games.
There’s enough talent on this team to be better than this. But every time it looks like the Argos might be turning things around, they make mistakes that cost them. At some point, they have to clean this stuff up and actually start winning games back-to-back.
8. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton is starting to fall into the same category as Toronto for me. They can look good one week and then can’t follow it up the next.
Until the Ticats show me they can actually string some wins together, I can’t put them any higher.
And Then There’s Poor Ottawa…
9. Ottawa Redblacks
Poor Ottawa. 0-11. What else can you really say?
They actually played a pretty good first half against BC and gave themselves a chance, but once again it completely got away from them. BC pulled away in the fourth quarter and Ottawa was left looking for answers again.
At this point, forget moving up the power rankings.
Can they just win one game?
