3DownNation CFL power rankings: Blue Bombers rise after annihilating Alouettes

Photo: Samantha Keen/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Week 13 in the Canadian Football League is officially in the books, as the West Division swept all four games over their East Division opponents.

The most surprising result of the slate resulted in a nice jump for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who hopped up two spots following an impressive win over the high-flying Montreal Alouettes.

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) Montreal Alouettes (1)

After winning seven-straight games and coming relatively close to clinching first place in the East Division, the Alouettes laid an egg in Winnipeg. The offensive and defensive lines were outmuscled in the trenches, the offence converted only three second downs, and the special teams allowed a blocked punt. Tyler Snead caught three touchdown passes from Davis Alexander, but this was still a one-sided loss. The silver lining for Montreal is that Alexander was able to finish Friday night’s game after momentarily leaving the field with a scary-looking injury. The loss also didn’t cost them any spots in our power rankings.

2) Edmonton Elks (2)

It was a restful bye week for the Green and Gold, though they didn’t get any favours in the standings as the West Division’s other four teams all won. There’s a ton to like about this team, as Cody Fajardo is on pace to set all-new career-highs, Justin Rankin still has a reasonable shot of reaching 1,000 rushing and 1,000 yards receiving, the defence ranks among the league’s best units, and fans are starting to come back to Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks haven’t finished first in the West Division since 2015 but have a solid shot at doing that this year, as they look to sweep the annual home-and-home against the Calgary Stampeders.

3) B.C. Lions (3)

Zander Horvath has officially become an offensive star in the CFL, as he rushed for 164 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s 45-24 win over the lowly Ottawa Redblacks. It was a shaky start for B.C., as Nathan Rourke was intercepted twice by Alonzo Addae in the first half, but they ultimately pulled away after dominating the second half. Defensively, the Lions continued to look sharp, allowing 329 net yards and 18 first downs, recording four takeaways, and three sacks in the nation’s capital. B.C. has now won five-straight game to go over .500 for the first time this season.

4) Saskatchewan Roughriders (4)

It wasn’t their prettiest effort of the year, but the Roughriders snapped a two-game losing skid with a comeback win over Toronto on Saturday afternoon. Saskatchewan’s secondary tightened up in the second half after getting ripped to shreds before halftime, and Caleb Sanders was a one-man wrecking crew along the interior of the defensive line to get home for two sacks. Alex Hale will face scrutiny after missing a field goal and a convert, but Saskatchewan needed a win and got it, and that counts for something.

5) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7)

Just when it seemed like everyone had counted the Blue Bombers out, they blew the doors off the best team in the CFL. Winnipeg’s offence torched Montreal for 44 points and 447 net yards on Friday night, churning out 32 first downs to dominate the time of possession. The team’s defence allowed four passing touchdowns but gave up only 284 net yards, and got a big play on special teams when Tanner Cadwallader blocked a punt deep in Alouettes territory. It was a three-phase win that proved Winnipeg can’t be counted out in a strong West Division.

6) Calgary Stampeders (6)

It’s not easy to win without your starting quarterback, but that’s exactly what the Stampeders were able to do with Josh Love at the helm on Saturday. The 29-year-old threw for 274 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in his first career CFL start to knock off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Dedrick Mills ran for 118 yards and the game-winning touchdown, and Clarence Hicks recorded his eighth sack of the year to extend his league lead. Coming off a two-game losing skid, the Stampeders desperately needed a win this week to keep pace in the West Division and they got one.

7) Toronto Argonauts (5)

The Double Blue momentarily appeared destined to get a big upset win in Regina, as Chad Kelly threw for 295 yards and three touchdown passes by halftime. Then, the second half happened. Kelly got picked off by Nelson Lokombo, there was virtually no run game, the secondary had no answer for KeeSean Johnson, Brady Lidster missed a relatively short field goal, and Tarvarus McFadden took a costly offside penalty. The loss dropped the Argonauts back under .500 ahead of their annual Labour Day Classic matchup with Hamilton.

8) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8)

The Tabbies led most of Saturday’s game in Calgary but ultimately fell when Dedrick Mills ripped off a 49-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in the game. Tre Ford was solid, as he threw for 212 yards, two touchdowns, and rushed for 80 yards, but was unable to kill the clock when given a chance to do so late in the fourth quarter. Steeltown is now 2-6 since Bo Levi Mitchell went down with injury, and they desperately need to win next week’s Labour Day Classic in order to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)

Mercifully, the Redblacks are entering a bye week after falling to 0-11. The team kept pace with the B.C. Lions through two quarters on Sunday but were outscored 28-7 in the second half to lose by three scores. Ottawa has now lost 17 consecutive games dating back to last season, with Jake Maier becoming the first quarterback in CFL history to lose 11 straight starts to begin a season. The Redblacks will obviously fall short of the playoffs this year, but the pressure is mounting to get a win before the season is out.