After Week 11: CFL Power Rankings (Blue Bombers and Argonauts Dominate)
For the eighth consecutive week, Winnipeg remains the undisputed class of the CFL, as the Toronto Argonauts are the only apparent threat to the mighty Blue Bombers
The Canadian Football League completed Week 11 of the 2021 regular season.
Nothing's changed at the top in more than two months. It's all Winnipeg. But the bottom of the standings got a serious shake up a few weeks ago. Poor Elks. They're worse than the RedBlacks. Ouch!
Right now, 2021 remains very much the year of the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg enjoys the CFL's best record, at 9-1. However, Toronto has been steadily rising as a serious threat.
Based on all the numbers, Winnipeg has pulled away from the other eight teams in the league and is making a mockery of the regular season. Not only do the Blue Bombers have the league's most victories and remain undefeated at home, they also lead the CFL in scoring (offense) and rank first in the least number of points allowed (defense). Winnipeg has been very stingy on defense, allowing just 126 points in 10 games. The next best defensive team (Hamilton) has allowed 166 points in few games.
At 6-3, Toronto is viewed as a contender. But how can a team that's given up more points than they've scored be anywhere near Winnipeg's class? Note that Argonauts have surrendered 207 points, while scoring only 201. However, Toronto is undefeated at home and has now won three straight. They come off a bye.
Here's the current standings as of Thursday morning:
This brings us to this week's CFL Power Rankings.
What follows are the complete power rankings #1 through #9 according to 3DownNation website. The big move was the Roughriders moving up from #5 to #4. Note the ranking from the previous week is also listed in parenthesis.
1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1)
Winnipeg very nearly slipped up against the Elks and their fiery backup-turned-starter, but they flipped the switch in the fourth quarter just as they have all season. Two straight wins over Edmonton with less than perfect effort in each won’t worry Bombers’ fans too much, but the potential loss of Andrew Harris will.
2. Toronto Argonauts (2)
Tough to penalize the East Division leaders while they’re on a bye and Boris Bede’s heroics against Hamilton keeps the Boatmen in the number two spot this week. Look for McLeod Bethel-Thompson to steer the ship the rest of the way, as Nick Arbuckle is reportedly on the trade block.
3. Calgary Stampeders (3)
The once-forgotten Stampeders are proving their dynasty is not over and their demolition of the B.C. Lions has them in sole possession of second in the West. If they can get it done with Nick Holley, Richie Sindani, Luther Hakunavanhu and Colton Hunchak in the receiving corps, the Stamps deserve to host a playoff game.
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (5)
A big Calgary win has the Riders two straight losses to Bo Levi and company looking slightly more respectable after the bye week, but there are still problems to address. Namely their league-leading number of penalties, which drew some scathing criticism from a well-respected former player recently.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4)
The Ticats’ heartbreaking loss to their Ontario rivals a week ago will still be stinging, but the middle of the pack squad at least got the right to host the 2023 Grey Cup as a present during their bye week. Hopefully their Grey Cup drought doesn’t last until then.
6. Montreal Alouettes (7)
The Alouettes are alone in second place in the East, but you’ll forgive our voters if they aren’t buying in after two straight wins over Ottawa. Matthew Shiltz looked comfortable replacing the injured Vernon Adams Jr., but the addition of Trevor Harris should add some spice to the stretch run in La Belle Province.
7. B.C. Lions (6)
The Lions got blown out by the Bombers, then came out of a bye week healthy to get blown out by the Stamps, casting serious doubts on their candidacy in the West. Three straight home losses to division rivals will do that and the cracks are only getting bigger in the Michael Reilly-led offence.
8. Ottawa Redblacks (8)
People were actually picking the Redblacks to win this week, a moral victory in and of itself, but it appears that a talent deprived Ottawa team is back to square one. Promising QB Caleb Evans was pulled in Week 11, while backup Taryn Christion suffered a likely season-ending injury, meaning it might soon be Duck season in the nation’s capital.
9. Edmonton Elks (9)
Head coach Jaime Elizondo’s bold choice to anoint his former XFL quarterback Taylor Cornelius as the starter for the Elks’ rematch with the Bombers seemed to provide a bit of a spark, but not enough to win. With Trevor Harris unceremoniously shipped out of town, the future of the franchise now rides on the youngster.
