Four historic 0-5 CFL playoff teams provide glimmer of hope for Ottawa Redblacks

According to the CFL’s Hall of Fame statistician Steve Daniel, there have been four teams in CFL history that have reached the playoffs after starting a season with five consecutive defeats.

The 1955 Winnipeg Blue Bombers were the first team to accomplish the feat, doing so in the first year that the Grey Cup was limited to professional teams but before the CFL was officially formed. Led by the two-headed monster of Gerry James and Leo Lewis in the backfield, with future head coach Bud Grant serving as their leading receiver, the team battled back to a 7-9 finish and won the two-game Western Semi-Final on aggregate points, before being swept by Edmonton in the Western Final.

Four years later, the 1959 Ottawa Rough Riders copied that approach in the second official season of the CFL. Most Outstanding Canadian Russ Jackson, in just his second year out of McMaster University, quarterbacked the team to victory in eight of their last nine games, including six straight, to post an 8-6 record. They won their first playoff game as the second seed in the East, but succumbed to Hamilton on aggregate points in the two-game Eastern Final.

A decade later, the 1969 B.C. Lions became the only team to start 0-6 and still scrape their way into the postseason. With Jim Evenson as the feature back, Jim Young leading the aerial attack, and future Super Bowl MVP Jake Scott also catching passes, they limped to a 1-10 record that resulted in head coach Jim Champion being fired. Interim replacement Jackie Parker managed to produce a four-game winning streak, which included two critical victories over his former club, Edmonton, to secure the season series. That allowed them to clinch third place in the West at 5-11, though they fell to Calgary in the Western Semi-Final.

It would be 42 years before another team dared to do the unthinkable, though it would be a group from the same franchise. The 2011 B.C. Lions are unquestionably the most famous team on this list, as they won 11 of their final 13 games, including a run of eight in a row, to claim first place in the West Division at 11-7. Quarterback Travis Lulay was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player, and nine players earned All-CFL honours, but the biggest celebration came in their final game at BC Place. After defeating Winnipeg 34-23, Wally Buono’s team lifted the Grey Cup on home soil.

Every early-season basement-dweller since has used that championship squad as a source of inspiration, though none have replicated their success. The 2026 Redblacks hope they can beat the odds and add their name to the short list of historical exceptions, before next season’s playoff format change makes mediocrity the norm.

With quarterback injuries already having an impact in Hamilton, Winnipeg, and B.C., the window of opportunity may have opened just a sliver. First, Ottawa will need to take advantage and notch their first victory when they face the Bombers (3-2) at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 19.