Photo: Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are rolling. Will they crush everything in their path?
The Bombers picked up their eighth win in a row in Week 18, earning at minimum a home playoff date, while putting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ playoff hopes on life support in the process. By now, we should all know this team and what its goal is. Mike O’Shea’s squad is fixated on winning the 111th Grey Cup, but has mastered the game-at-a-time steps required to get there.
The next step for the Bombers is to change that X next to their name to a Y and lock up the West Division for the fifth consecutive year. If they can do that, they’re a Western Final win away from their fifth straight appearance in the league’s championship game.
As we move into Thanksgiving Weekend presented by Purolator, the Bombers are of course our No. 1 team; a spot they’ve occupied now for four weeks.
Their longtime rival is making a late-season run toward the top of these rankings as well. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are this week’s biggest gainer (not to be confused with Gainer), moving up three spots to No. 3, fuelled by their three-game winning streak.
Let’s get into this week’s CFL.ca Power Rankings presented by AMSOIL.
1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-6)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: 31-10 win over Hamilton
Next game: Vs. Toronto, Fri. Oct. 11
Worth noting: The Bombers’ defence continues to roll, as it pulled in a pair of interceptions on Bo Levi Mitchell, limiting a potent offence to just one James Butler rushing touchdown. The star of the show last week in Hamilton, though, was Brady Oliveira. The league’s leading rusher has found the end zone three games in a row now, punting that goose egg that sat next to his TD total this year far off into the horizon, like he was Jamieson Sheahan. The Bombers will look to extend their win streak to nine games while trying to lock up the West Division for the fifth consecutive year.
2. Montreal Alouettes (11-3-1)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: 37-31 loss to Toronto (Week 17)
Next Game: Vs. Ottawa, Mon. Oct. 14
Worth noting: We touched on this last week, but the Als are 1-2-1 in their last four games. It’s been a wildly successful season this year, but this stretch is the most adversity the Als have faced so far. Their bye week came at an opportune time, giving them a chance to get back to the dominance they’d shown in their first 11 games. This team’s final three games should be about getting to the place head coach Jason Maas wants them to be as they get set to host the Eastern Final on Nov. 9.
3. Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-7-1)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: 28-24 win over Edmonton
Next game: Vs. BC, Sat. Oct. 12
Worth noting: The Riders’ impressive turnaround continues, with last week’s win over Edmonton lifting them back above .500 and getting them to a tremendous place as they head into a H-U-G-E game against the Lions on Saturday. We know that the Riders are playoff-bound. Imagine the atmosphere on Nov. 2 if they can hang on to the West’s second-best record and get to host their first playoff game since 2021? Trevor Harris has thrown for over 300 yards in consecutive games, a mark he hasn’t hit since his first two games of the season. Going up against a Lions’ defence that allows a league-worst 107.5 opponents’ pass efficiency, he’s in a great spot to make it three games in a row over 300.
4. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-10)
Last Week: 2
Last game: 31-10 loss to Winnipeg
Next game: Vs. Calgary, Fri. Oct. 18
Worth noting: The Ticats can throw their hands up in frustration the same way that the Elks, the Riders and the Lions before them have in the Bombers’ eight-game run to the top of the West. The Tiger-Cats have their striped backs up against the wall now, with no margin for error. They need to win their final two games — against Calgary in Week 20 and against Ottawa in Week 21 — while needing the Argos to drop their final three games to leapfrog them for that final East Division playoff spot. What a time to head into a bye week.
5. Toronto Argonauts (8-7)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: 37-31 win over Montreal (Week 17)
Next game: At Winnipeg, Fri. Oct. 11
Worth noting: We try not to move teams that are coming out of a bye week, but when three teams are inactive in one week, that gets difficult. The Argos weren’t able to beat the Ticats in any of their three meetings this season, but they have a chance to get the final laugh in the standings. A win in any of their final three games — against Winnipeg this week, Ottawa next and in Edmonton after that — will clinch them that final playoff spot in the East and will push the Ticats into the sad realities of their season ending after Week 21. Coming off of a big win over the Als in Week 17, the Argos now get a chance to build some serious late-season momentum by ending the Bombers’ win streak. The Bombers haven’t lost since July 27. Their opponent? It was the Argos.
6. Edmonton Elks (5-11)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: 28-24 loss to Saskatchewan
Next game: At Calgary, Sat. Oct. 12
Worth noting: The Elks will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season and head into an off-season that promises change. There are interim tags on general manager Geroy Simon and head coach Jarious Jackson. There’s uncertainty at quarterback, as whoever is in charge for 2025 will have to figure out if they can get either of Tre Ford or McLeod Bethel-Thompson back in uniform next year. There’s also a new owner, in Larry Thompson, who will have to continue to assess how he wants to shape the franchise he grew up cheering for. A bright spot, amidst the disappointment of this season: the Elks have already surpassed their win totals from the previous three seasons.
7. BC Lions (8-8)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: 32-15 win over Calgary
Next game: At Saskatchewan, Sat. Oct. 12
Worth noting: The Lions handled their business against the Stamps last week, picking up a win that was crucial for the team in its hopes to get a home playoff game. They rode a strong defensive performance — you’ve got wheels, Mathieu Betts — that made another week of offensive struggles not matter in the end, as they clinched a playoff spot. Saturday’s game in Saskatchewan will have a playoff atmosphere and if the Lions can’t manage a win there, it could be a very realistic taste of what awaits them in November at Mosaic Stadium. A home playoff date on the way to playing host to the 111th Grey Cup sounds a lot nicer than having to venture out on the road for a couple of weeks to get back to BC Place. The Lions have the talent to do it. They need to get it all together this week to start to make it happen.
8. Ottawa REDBLACKS (8-6-1)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: 29-16 loss to Saskatchewan (Week 17)
Next game: At Montreal, Mon. Oct. 14
Worth noting: After three weeks of trying to do it on their own, the REDBLACKS had their playoff spot clinched for them while they were on a bye week. The hope will be that this long bye week will allow Dru Brown to get back on the field in time for Thanksgiving Monday for a big game laced with opportunity against the Als. Montreal already has the Eastern Final locked in, but an Ottawa win at Molson Stadium would be a tremendous confidence boost for the REDBLACKS, who have lost twice to the Als this year by a combined 71-33.
9. Calgary Stampeders (4-10-1)
Last Week: 9
Last game: 32-15 loss to BC
Next game: Vs. Edmonton, Sat. Oct. 12
Worth noting: Dave Dickenson has said that he will not be using the Stamps’ final three games for talent evaluation for next year. Instead, the Stampeders head coach and GM said, he wants to win as much as possible before his team’s season is over. The disappointment will run deep in Calgary, where its 18-season playoff streak come to an end. The Stamps at least can put a goal in front of them for these final few games. If they can take all three, they’ll surpass their win total from the 2023 season. What better way to start that would-be run than with a win over the visiting Elks?
