The next third is here.
With most of the CFL’s nine teams getting to the six-game mark (Saskatchewan and BC do that this week), we can take stock of what we’ve seen.
Act I of the season has given us plenty to mull over, it is true.
With six more games coming up to get us to the two-thirds mark of the regular season, here are five things to keep an eye on in Act II.
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DEFENCE? DEFENCE? DEFENCE?
It’s been a rough start for the CFL’s defences, generally speaking, with the offences taking charge the way they did right out of the gate in Week 1.
In this next third of the schedule, it’ll be interesting to see if the defences can clamp down on the fireworks.
After Week 4, the league-wide net yards per game average sat at 819. After Week 7, it was down one whole yard, to 818.
Passing yards? 655 per game after Week 4, down slightly to 648 after Week 7.
Rushing yards per game came in at 193 after Week 4, and rose to 200 at the conclusion of this past week.
Other comparisons from Week 4 to Week 7 show that sacks are up from 3.3 to 3.6 per game, turnovers have gone from 3.1 to 3.6/game and that touchdown drive percentage has fallen from 25 to 23 per cent.
There have been 21 Players of the Week named so far in 2026 and 19 of them have been offensive players. Not surprising, considering the number of truly remarkable performances we’ve seen so far this season. The only two defensive players to be named came in Week 1, believe it or not.
Can defences assert themselves in the next third?
PROVING THEY TRULY BELONG UP THERE
I’ve already argued in a column last week that I do believe that the Edmonton Elks have shown they are Grey Cup contenders.
But that’s one man’s opinion. Lots of skepticism is out there, I’m sure. The Elks have a chance to remove all doubt, here in the next third.
At 5-1 and leading the West, and with a defence that is really grooving along (climbing to the number one ranking in the CFL after Week 7), the 2026 Elks have the flames of optimism burning bright after five seasons of barely a flicker being seen.
In these next two weeks, Edmonton takes on the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders away and then at home, in what is, obviously, a crucial pair of measuring-stick games.
The week after? The Elks pay a visit to Montreal.
Big challenges await the Edmonton Elks in this middle chunk, capped by the annual OK Tire Labour Day Weekend clash in Calgary.
They have a chance to turn optimism into real belief.
TRE FORD: THE MILANOVICH EFFECT
We all know the history of Hamilton’s ultra-athletic quarterback.
A rise to starter while in Edmonton, then a fall from that perch last season, prior to signing in Hamilton as a free agent this past off-season.
All along, tantalizing breakthroughs followed by steps back.
Now, with another chance to cement himself as a starting quarterback with the Ticats, can Tre Ford do it?
In the team’s Week 7 win over Toronto, the 28-year-old reminded us just how jaw-droppingly gifted he is, as he dodged Argo tacklers in racking up 109 rushing yards, many of them coming after incredible escapes.
But what about the rest of it?
Ford’s previous stalls have not been about his ability as a scrambler, they’ve been about consistent air attack; reading and reacting.
It will be interesting to see what he becomes under the tutelage of Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich, a noted quarterback guru who had most recently gotten veteran Bo Levi Mitchell to a place where he was arguably playing the best football of his career.
Milanovich has a glittering QB coaching track record.
Can he add a polished Ford to that resume?
THE TIME HAS COME TO MAKE SOME HAY
The Grey Cup, to my knowledge, has never been won in the middle of the season but you can lose it in this stretch if you’re not careful.
There are four teams that need to turn corners in this next half-dozen games and make moves to ensure they can stay in touch with the playoff picture, and ideally begin to ramp up by the end of this third of the season.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS (0-6) are the team most in need of finding a forward gear. They’ve been either tantalizingly close to accelerating and merging, or maddeningly stuck on the shoulder, depending on your view of the situation.
After the BC Lions (1-4) and Toronto Argonauts (2-4) started their seasons on the road, they finally get some home cooking, with the Lions hosting the Argos this Saturday at BC Place, and Toronto returning to BMO Field in Week 10.
Of particular note in this grouping: It bears watching to see what quarterback Chase Brice can become for the Lions, as he steps in for the injured Nathan Rourke, who is out for an undetermined length of time with a shoulder injury.
The Calgary Stampeders (2-4) just barely fell into this group, but here they are, looking up at Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Winnipeg after losing a couple of close ones to the high-flying Montreal Alouettes.
Who gets rolling in this crucial middle stretch?
JUST HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON?
It’s crazy that not just one but two starting quarterbacks have gotten this far without throwing a single interception.
Together, Montreal’s Davis Alexander (216) and Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr. (182) have thrown a total of 398 passes this season, without a single interception as of yet.
Not a single bad decision (well, none that have been punished, anyway), not a single weirdo bounce out of a receiver’s hands and into the waiting arms of a defensive back cruising nearby, nothing.
Alexander has thrown 45 passes of more than 20 yards, VA has thrown 28 of them.
A drought of interceptions can really help a guy’s efficiency rating, with Adams leading active QBs at 125.9 and Alexander’s 120.5 ranking him second.
Odds are, one or both of these guys finally gets picked in the next six games. I think.
Until that actually happens, these incredible streaks will be closely watched.
Can these two keep the slate clean through the middle third?
