3DownNation CFL power rankings: B.C. Lions leapfrog Riders with head-to-head win

Photo courtesy: David Friederich/B.C. Lions.

Week 12 in the Canadian Football League caused quite a shake-up to our power rankings, as a surging West Division team overtook a rival, and the two teams in the Battle of Ontario traded places.

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)

When you’re good, you’re good — and right now, the Alouettes are great. The team destroyed Ottawa on Thursday night to improve to 9-1, and it seems like only a matter of time before they clinch first place in the East Division. Montreal has won seven straight games, the last four of which have come by an average of 20.5 points. Davis Alexander and Tyson Philpot connected for two touchdowns against the Redblacks, while Travis Theis and Shomari Lawrence combined for 159 yards along the ground. Defensively, the Alouettes allowed only 252 net yards in the win and set a season-high with five takeaways.

2) Edmonton Elks (2)

The Elks dominated the second half of their game against the Blue Bombers to secure a walk-off win, courtesy of a 40-yard field goal from Vincent Blanchard. At 8-3, Edmonton is in excellent position to host a playoff game for the first time since 2015, as they’ve opened a six-point lead over the bottom three teams in the West Division and captured the season series against Winnipeg. Justin Rankin recorded 141 yards from scrimmage in the win, which was his best total since Week 6, while the defence stood tall in the red zone, forcing the Blue Bombers to go zero-for-three.

3) B.C. Lions (4)

After a miserable 1-5 start to the season, B.C. has officially climbed all the way back to .500 courtesy of four straight wins. The team knocked off Saskatchewan at home on Sunday night, taking advantage of several unforced errors to get a relatively one-sided victory. Nathan Rourke threw touchdown passes to Jevon Cottoy and Keon Hatcher, though the defence ultimately stole the show, generating four takeaways and allowing only 16 points. The Lions are now only two points out of second place in the West Division, which would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

4) Saskatchewan Roughriders (3)

Trevor Harris typically does an excellent job of protecting the football, but he threw two costly interceptions in Vancouver on Sunday night. The Roughriders have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, due in part to a rash of injuries in the receiving corps and secondary. Samuel Emilus went down with what appeared to be a leg injury on one of the final plays from scrimmage against B.C., which will have Rider Nation holding its breath for the next few days. The team’s next game isn’t that far off, as they’ll host the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.

5) Toronto Argonauts (8)

Chad Kelly looked sharp despite the torrential downpour at BMO Field on Saturday night, throwing two scores to Damonte Coxie to finish the game with 289 yards, three touchdowns, and one pick. Toronto also rushed for a season-high 145 yards after second-round CFL draft pick Isaiah Smith was promoted to the starting lineup, though arguably the biggest star of the game was Shawn Lemon, who recorded two sacks and one forced fumble. The 38-year-old now has six sacks in just four games, putting him only one shy of the league lead.

6) Calgary Stampeders (7)

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Cowtown, as Vernon Adams Jr. and Dedrick Mills suffered head injuries against B.C. in Week 11. It remains unclear if either player will be ready to return to the lineup this week, but the extra time to get healthy was undoubtedly helpful. The Stampeders have dropped two games in a row, and will be looking to get right against Hamilton this week before a critical home-and-home against the rival Edmonton Elks.

7) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6)

It was the tale of two halves for Winnipeg this week, as they looked like the Montreal Alouettes in the first half and the Ottawa Redblacks in the second half. The team had 300 net yards through two quarters of action in Edmonton, then managed only 19 more the rest of the way. Brady Oliveira had just two touches during third and fourth quarters, and the defence couldn’t get stops when it needed to late in the game thanks to some seriously sloppy tackling. The collapse cost Winnipeg a chance to prove it can hang with the top team in the West Division.

8) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5)

Hamilton’s defence suffered some uncharacteristic breakdowns in Toronto this week, giving up three passing touchdowns and forcing just eight incompletions. If the Tabbies hope to win the season series against the Argonauts on Labour Day, they’ll need a better pass rush and improved eye discipline from the secondary, which busted on a touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie. The offence generated several big plays despite the challenging weather, but it was feast or famine as they went two-and-out five times. It’ll be interesting to see if Tre Ford stays in the starting role at quarterback, or if Hamilton will go back to Harrison Frost.

9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)

The Redblacks became the sixth team in modern CFL history to start a season 0-10, and the loss came in blowout fashion against the high-powered Alouettes. Jake Maier threw two interceptions, got pulled, and then McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a pick of his own in relief. Ottawa’s defence gave up 457 net yards and 30 first down, and the team also made a critical mistake on special teams when Noah Gettman bobbled a snap from Lucus Spencer and coughed it up to Kabion Ento, who returned it deep into Redblacks territory. Simply put, the Redblacks are a mess, which led to the firing of vice-president Shawn Burke.