3DownNation CFL power rankings: Saskatchewan Roughriders suffer setback

Photo: Tanner Piper/Piper Sports Photography/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Week 4 of the CFL season is officially in the books, and only one team remains unblemished.

The defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders are the latest squad to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, joining Toronto, Hamilton, and Montreal as one-loss outfits. Only the Edmonton Elks have not been tainted by the stench of defeat — though you could argue the last five years have tainted them enough for several decades.

3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having our contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. Each team’s most recent ranking is listed in brackets.

Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on social media for anything you think we got wrong.

1) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1)

The Ticats remain our top-ranked team after enjoying a bye this week, though several Week 4 victors came very close to supplanting them in the final tally. Bo Levi Mitchell hasn’t necessarily amassed the same eye-popping yardage totals as other quarterbacks, but his remarkable efficiency thus far has been unrivalled. With a potent offence and an underrated defence, the Tabbies are clear contenders.

2) Edm0nton Elks (4)

Hands up if you predicted that the Edmonton Elks would be the CFL’s last undefeated team. Okay, you can put them down now, you liars. The resurgence of the Green and Gold has been something to behold, led by dynamic running back Justin Rankin and a physical defensive unit — just ask Brady Oliveira after he was obliterated by Jordan Williams. A second-half lull sowed some doubts, but Edmonton battled back on a short week with a game-winning drive when needed, finding a way to win when previous iterations would have had only excuses for defeat.

3) Montreal Alouettes (3)

The Alouettes do not seem to be satisfied with their performance after letting the last-place Redblacks push them to the brink, but ultimately, they still returned to the win column. Davis Alexander is making a compelling case that he’s the CFL’s best quarterback, uncorking all sorts of unbelievable deep balls, while Tyson Philpot is lapping other receivers around the league with a 198-yard outing. If they come out of their upcoming bye week with increased motivation, watch out!

4) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2)

The defending Grey Cup champions are human after all, coughing up their first defeat of the year at home to the Boatmen. Despite recording four sacks, the defence struggled to contain Chad Kelly in the pocket and gave up back-breaking plays before the half. Trevor Harris threw for 409 yards in a losing effort, and local product Daniel Wiebe provided a feel-good story with his first career touchdown, but all that will be overshadowed by the result and an injury to dynamic Canadian receiver Samuel Emilus.

5) Toronto Argonauts (5)

The Boatmen made Mosaic Stadium their home port this week, both symbolically and literally, thanks to the FIFA World Cup. Janarion Grant christened the rental property with a punt return touchdown, while Chad Kelly eschewed generosity to the “visiting” Riders in favour of ruthless execution, logging another stellar performance in the victory. Tyler Kahmann caught two touchdowns to continue the stellar start to his career, while James Ceasar looked like a superb find on defence with three knockdowns.

6) Calgary Stampeders (7)

It took over a year and four games to make it happen, but Vernon Adams Jr. was finally able to exact his revenge on the B.C. Lions this week. It didn’t take much for th Stampeders’ QB to get the job done, as Calgary were dominant in all three phases against the Lions. VA threw for three touchdowns with no turnovers, including a 56-yard bomb to Tevin Jones, Tyreik McAllister had a 90-yard punt return score, and the defence recorded four sacks before surrendering a ton of garbage time yardage.

7) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6)

Mike O’Shea’s teams don’t lose at home, and they don’t lose off the bye — except when they do. The Blue Bombers couldn’t seem to get out of their own way against Edmonton, falling behind 17-0 and losing three impactful fumbles. While they were able to claw back in front late, the 16th consecutive sellout crowd at Princess Auto Stadium was sent home unhappy, with only a trade for backup quarterback Dru Brown to celebrate this week.

8) B.C. Lions (8)

The B.C. Lions put together an incredible event for a sold-out crowd at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna, but unfortunately, the team on the field haven’t been able to live up to the standards of the employees off of it. Despite out-gaining the Stampeders by nearly 200 yards offensively and a 462-yard passing performance from Nathan Rourke, repeated special teams miscues led to another resounding defeat. The axe has already fallen in an attempt to spark a turnaround, as special teams coordinator Cory McDiarmid was fired late Sunday night.

9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)

The Redblacks remain winless in the Ryan Dinwiddie era, though a second-half surge in Montreal has at least provided signs of hope. After the team traded away former starting quarterback Dru Brown for being a distraction, Jake Maier responded to the endorsement with a 336-yard, three-touchdown performance. Justin Hardy kick-started the unsuccessful comeback attempt, Keelan White made a statement with two touchdown catches, and Kalil Pimpleton nearly put them over the top with a kickoff return major to end the game.