Week 5 of the CFL season is officially in the books and it drastically changed the landscape of the East Division as the Ottawa Redblacks suffered another major injury at the quarterback position.
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. Toronto Argonauts (1)
The Argos were idle for their second bye week of the season, guaranteeing them at least one week to enjoy being the CFL’s only undefeated team. The club will visit the Montreal Alouettes this upcoming week, giving them a chance to hand their second-place East Division rival their third loss of the season.
2. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2)
It took a minute for the veteran Bombers to get their legs underneath them against the Stampeders, but they seized control after swiss-army knife Greg McCrae broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown catch. It was all Winnipeg in the second half and McCrae again found the magic with a spectacular missed field goal return to set up another score. Willie Jefferson continued to be a wrecking ball off the edge and Brady Oliveira drove home the dagger in the fourth quarter, earning the tough yards on a 96-yard drive that ate up over ten minutes of clock.
3. B.C. Lions (3)
Vernon Adams Jr. bounced back from his six-pick monstrosity with a turnover-free performance against Montreal, but the Lions were buoyed by a big field goal block by Woody Baron which Jalon Edwards-Cooper. Now fully healthy in the receiving corps, the team looks to have uncovered another dynamic offensive weapon in running back Shaun Shivers, who amassed 136 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in his first career start.
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (4)
We tend to focus on how many games each team wins and not how they won them, which is convenient for the Riders given how ugly their victory over Edmonton was on Thursday. It took a late drive from Trevor Harris and a flurry of rouges — including on their final kickoff — for Saskatchewan to earn a measly one-point win. Battling a bevy of injuries, it was homegrown receiver Mitch Picton who stepped up, catching four passes for a game-high 76 yards and the team’s only major.
5. Calgary Stampeders (5)
The Stampeders squandered a strong first-quarter performance at IG Field as they allowed 23 unanswered points, failing to match Winnipeg’s adjustments. James Vaughters had his best game since returning from the NFL and Dedrick Mills continues to shine with Ka’Deem Carey out of the lineup, but the play of Jake Maier has to be a growing concern in Cowtown. The third-year quarterback was miserable against the Blue Bombers and has now thrown six interceptions to only two touchdowns on the season.
6. Montreal Alouettes (6)
The Alouettes are back to .500 on the year following a second-straight loss to a West Division opponent. Head coach Jason Maas keeps saying all the right things about improving the club’s protection of franchise quarterback Cody Fajardo, though they allowed another seven sack this past week against the B.C. Lions. William Stanback’s production is also becoming a concern as he’s averaging just 4.4 yards per carry on the year.
7. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8)
Hamilton secured their first victory on Saturday night, but their rise from the ranks of the winless seems less impressive given what their opponents were facing. Tyreik McAllister generated the offence’s only touchdown of the night on a 64-yard screen, while Matthew Shiltz forced Orlondo Steinauer to settle for field goals five times. In the end, they finished two yards away from letting a rookie backup lead a last-minute comeback, despite forcing four turnovers off him.
8. Ottawa Redblacks (7)
Jeremiah Masoli’s return from a year-long leg injury was short-lived as he left Saturday’s game with a non-contact injury and later returned to the sideline in a walking boot. Ottawa has already lost Tyrie Adams with a torn ACL and now it appears Masoli will be out long-term again. Rookie quarterback Dustin Crum played decently in relief given the circumstances but right now the Redblacks are in a tough place at the game’s most important position.
9. Edmonton Elks (9)
Things went from bad to worse for the Elks as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory late in Thursday’s game against Saskatchewan. Rookie return specialist C.J. Sims clearly didn’t know the CFL’s kickoff rules, which reflects terribly on his coaches. Now the league’s only remaining winless team, Edmonton will host the struggling Ticats this week in what has to be considered a must-win game.
