It was yet another crazy week in the Canadian Football League. All four of the weeks games had great finishes, whether it was the Montreal Alouettes missing a last-second chip shot field goal to lose in Toronto, the Ottawa Redblacks and Winnipeg Blue Bombers playing another really close game, the Stampeders’ massive comeback in Hamilton, or the Elks narrowly missing out of their first win of the season. If you missed it, you missed a good week. Our writers had a difficult time finding consistency in their rankings, but here’s how things broke down.

9. Edmonton Elks

That was a much better effort from the Edmonton Elks. It certainly seems like some of the alarmist panic felt in week one was a bit of an overreaction. This team isn’t as bad as we thought they might be after the first week, but still, it’s pretty clear that they still aren’t that good. Nick Arbuckle went nearly an entire half of football without completing a pass, and while the Elks’ defence did manage to slow the Roughriders down at times, they couldn’t come up with the big stop when it mattered the most. It was a massive improvement, but there is still a long way to go if they want to be competitive in the playoff picture this season.

8. Montreal Alouettes

Without William Stanback, the Montreal Alouettes offence was anemic on Thursday night in Toronto. Vernon Adams Jr. was pulled early in the game in favour of Trevor Harris, a move that was nearly guaranteed to happen right from the start of training camp. The defence missed numerous key chances to take the ball away, and overall, the team performance was relatively weak. Of course, you won’t get far without talking about David Cote missing that field goal at the end of the game. From that distance, in that situation, you just can’t miss. Where the Alouettes go from here will be interesting. They host the Saskatchewan Roughriders next week, and we don’t know who their quarterback will be.

7. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were on cruise control going into halftime, leading the Calgary Stampeders 24-3 at the half. After a dominant first half of football, you would have thought they would be able to close out on their massive lead, but as they say in the CFL, no lead is ever safe. This lead should have been safe, however, but piece by piece, the Tiger-Cats allowed the Stampeders back into the game. Dane Evans aired the ball out, throwing 51 times on the night for 425 yards, but they couldn’t establish any semblance of a running attack, and their passing game ultimately backfired when Sean Thomas Erlington dropped a pass in overtime, before Jameer Thurman intercepted it, ending the game. In a division that could be as wide open as the East, you can’t lose games like this. This one will sting for some time in Hamilton.

T5. Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts managed to win their home opener on Thursday night over the Montreal Alouettes, but it wasn’t a confidence-inspiring affair. The Argos led for the vast majority of the game, but with an inability to move the ball down the field and score points in the second half, the Alouettes had a chance to win on a last-second field goal. It was incredibly missed, and the Argos stole a win, but their performance was less than impressive. The boxscore won’t show just how rough of a day it was for McLeod Bethel-Thompson, but ill-advised pass followed ill-advised pass, but the Alouettes couldn’t come up with the big plays. They may be 1-0, but if they don’t pick up their socks before their game against the BC Lions this week, they likely won’t get the same result.

T5. Ottawa Redblacks

After coming ever so close to spoiling the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ home opener where they unveiled their Grey Cup championship banner, the Ottawa Redblacks had a chance to get their revenge in week two. Once again, they were unable to find the endzone on a consistent basis, settling for nothing but field goals in their home opener. They moved the ball well, as evident by Jeremiah Masoli’s 331 passing yards, and 85 rushing yards on 12 carries from DeVonte Williams, but still, the inability to finish drives early in the season is cause for concern. We’ll have to see what things look like after their bye week when they play the BC Lions in week four, but it is critical that they find the solution.

4. BC Lions

It has probably been a pretty sweet bye week for the BC Lions. They answered a lot of questions about their roster in their week one domination of the Edmonton Elks, including Nathan Rourke and their offensive line, but we have to keep in mind that it was against the Elks. There’s still plenty to be optimistic about, no doubt. What they can do when they host the Toronto Argonauts next week will be interesting, but they will like what they have seen from their young squad so far. Now the real work starts, however.

3. Calgary Stampeders

If games ended at halftime, the Calgary Stampeders likely would have fallen pretty heavily down the rankings. The first half was ugly, and they were dominated by Hamilton. But the second half changed things, and they mounted a massive comeback before winning it with an interception in overtime. It was not smooth sailing, but without Ka’Deem Carey for the majority of the game, Bo Levi Mitchell showed everyone that he can still be that guy he has been known to be. They got good contributions from Peyton Logan in Carey’s place, and overall, this was a win that the Stamps can not only be proud of, but a win that shows their resilience and attitude every night.

2. Saskatchewan Roughriders

The good news for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is that despite playing pretty poorly against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday night, they won the game. The bad news, is that it may have cost them Dan Clark who left the game on the cart well into the fourth quarter. Just like the only team ranked higher than the Riders in this list, good teams find a way to win football games. That being said, they weren’t good enough in Edmonton, and they need to be better going forward. Cody Fajardo looked a tick off at times, but on the flip side, Jamal Morrow looked fantastic. They have the Montreal Alouettes next week, so they have a wonderful opportunity to make themselves 3-0 with a good effort.

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

You could argue that the Redblacks were the better team against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the first two games of the season, but winners win, and the Bombers are winners, that much is clear. They didn’t play entirely up to their potential in either game, but they are 2-0 and already off to a great start once again. Their usually stout offensive line has actually been a bit of a sour spot for the Bombers to start the season, but you have to expect that it will get better with the names they have there. In two games where they looked exceptionally beatable, they managed to snag wins, and that’s what counts in the standings. They certainly don’t look like the clear-cut favourite for the Grey Cup like they were in 2021, but still, they are a really good team who has a good chance to win their third consecutive Grey Cup in November.

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