The first week of the 2023 CFL season is in the books and we have some movement in the 3DownNation power rankings.
The very top remains unchanged but movement outside the top spot was inevitable after finally getting a chance to see eight of the nine franchises in regular-season action for the first time in 2023.
3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having eleven of our contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. The previous week’s rankings are in brackets.
Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on Twitter for anything you think we got wrong.
1) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1)
The Bombers unanimously remained in our pole position after dispatching the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 1. The club coughed up a ton of points of turnovers in the second half but a 25-point halftime lead was enough to secure the win and remain atop the rankings for at least another week. Winnipeg’s veteran-laden squad looks potent as ever, showing why they’ve been to three-straight Grey Cups.
2) B.C. Lions (3)
The Lions leapt up one spot after a dominant win over the Calgary Stampeders in which the offence didn’t miss a beat with Vernon Adams Jr. under centre. Dominique Rhymes hauled in two touchdown passes and rookie running back Taquan Mizzell looks like the real deal. The Leos were also great on defence as they stifled Calgary’s attack, holding them to a meagre 235 net yards.
3) Toronto Argonauts (4)
Did any team in the East Division have a better week than the idle Toronto Argonauts? The Alouettes find themselves leading the division but the defending Grey Cup champions moved up in the rankings despite spending the first week of the season watching from their couch. They will finally hit the field on Sunday, June 18 when they host the Ticats.
4) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2)
The Tabbies fell two spots after a double-digit loss to the No. 1-ranked Bombers. Bo Levi Mitchell had a debut to forget as he piloted Hamilton’s offence to just 239 net yards and turned the ball over three times. Things don’t get much easier for the Tabbies as their next opponent is the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.
5) Saskatchewan Roughriders (6)
Trevor Harris didn’t exactly light it up in his Saskatchewan debut, throwing for 179 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The good news is that the Riders looked great defensively as they held Edmonton to 13 first downs and 12 first downs. The highlight of the night was an impressive late-game goal line stand, without which Saskatchewan likely would have lost at Commonwealth Stadium.
6) Calgary Stampeders (5)
It wasn’t a good start to the post-Bo era in Calgary and their position in our rankings reflects that. Calgary fell one spot following an uninspired performance against the Lions in which the offence look sluggish, the defence failed to generate a pass-rush, and their normally reliable special teams were below average. Could Calgary’s long tenure as one of the league’s best teams finally be coming to an end?
7) Montreal Alouettes (9)
Style points don’t matter in the standings but they do matter in our power rankings and, despite the win, our voters were not impressed with the Als. Cody Fajardo must have been having flashbacks back to 2022 as he was planted into the Percival Molson Stadium turf six times. The team has vowed to get better at protecting Fajardo but haven’t shown enough improvement to see a reward for our voters.
8) Edmonton Elks (8)
Edmonton stood pat following a home loss that saw the club’s new-look offence fail to make an impact outside of a sensational 102-yard touchdown catch by Eugene Lewis. Taylor Cornelius struggled with accuracy and wasn’t effective along the ground, rushing once for 14 yards. This biggest positive for the Elks came off the field on Sunday as there was an announced crowd of 32,233 on-hand, the largest for a home-opener since 2013.
9) Ottawa Redblacks (7)
Bob Dyce’s tenure as the club’s permanent head coach started off as badly as one could have possibly imagined. Ottawa failed to find the end zone, relying on the right foot of Lewis Ward to keep them in the game, while calls for Nick Arbuckle to be replaced by Tyrie Adams seem to be growing louder by the day. How long will it be before Ottawa gets out of the basement?
