CFL Power Rankings: Lions clawing their way up the ladder

B.C. Lions' Ty Long, right, and quarterback Travis Lulay celebrate after Long kicked what proved to be the winning field goal against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. (Darryl Dyck/CP)

Heading into the sixth week of the CFL season, the Edmonton Eskimos are still undefeated and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are still winless. But making a bold move up the rankings are the dual-quarterback British Columbia Lions.

Here’s how the league’s nine teams stack up based on recent form.

Rank Team Previous
1

Things haven’t been as perfect for the Eskimos as their record indicates. They routinely get off to slow starts and will miss Adarius Bowman, who is on the six-game injured list. But the best trait of a championship team is the ability to win close games and execute down the stretch. And nobody in the CFL is better in the clutch than Mike Reilly and the Eskimos.
2017 record: 4-0

 1
2

BC has won four straight since losing to the undefeated Eskimos in Week 1. A QB controversy among fans might be brewing in Vancouver, but it will be hard to make a switch after Travis Lulay has thrown for 400 yards in two straight games.
2017 record: 4-1-0

 3
3

Calgary normally would be higher. But they’ve been decimated with injuries on defence, and that drops them a spot. Luckily, Jerome Messam is on hand to give them a break. After being ejected in a surprise loss to Montreal, Messam bounced back to the tune of 28 carries for 135 yards. Those are NFL-type rushing statistics. The fact Calgary can control clock on the ground in a throwing league benefits them on both sides of the ball.
2017 record: 3-1-1

 2
4

Toronto lost Bear Woods, Victor Butler and Cleyon Laing to injury in their Week 5 matchup versus Ottawa. But they still got enough pressure on former Argo Trevor Harris to sack him three times and hold him to under 200 yards passing. The Argos are in the driver’s seat in the East now that they’ve swept the season series with Ottawa.
2017 record: 3-2

 5
5

Former Bombers special teamer Troy Westwood
was critical of the fake-punt play that likely cost the Bombers a win in one of the most entertaining games of the young season. But Mike O’Shea got his head coaching job by taking risks as a special-teams coach. Now that he made the unlikely jump from coordinator of special teams to head coach, why should he stop now? The Bombers have already won games because they dominate in the third phase of the game that many teams neglect.
2017 record: 2-2

 4
6

Nik Lewis became the fourth CFL receiver to join the 1,000-catch club and wants to make the post-season again before he retires. The Alouettes have a chance with the multiple slow starts in the East, but they’ll have to get better production from Darian Durant, who has started the season with six TD passes and six interceptions.
2017 record: 2-3

 6
7

It’s a small victory they survived the three games in 11 days without suffering catastrophic injury. Salvaging their first win of the season during that brutal stretch was key. But pass protection and the defensive secondary remain major issues. Luckily for the Grey Cup champs, the rest of the division isn’t running away from them just yet.
2017 record: 1-4-1

 8
8

This week Kevin Glenn became the seventh CFL QB to reach 50,000 yards, but was also sacked five times in the first half. The Riders have now lost nine straight in Calgary and eight straight to the Stamps over all. As well as they did in free agency this summer, the Riders are still miles away from closing the talent gap with the top teams in the West.
2017 record: 1-3

 7
9

The last time the Tiger-Cats started 0-4 was 2007. It lead to the firing of Greg Marshall and a massive roster turnover. Don’t expect the same this time around as Hamilton has a long list of key injured players and has been close to winning. Stability is the strength of the Cats’ organization so patience will be preached, but if they get through the first third of the season without a win, questions will be asked.
2017 record: 0-4

 9

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