Heading into the 13th week of the CFL season, the once-undefeated Edmonton Eskimos have lost four straight while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have won two in a row under new head coach June Jones after making Jeremiah Masoli their starting QB.
Here’s how the league’s nine teams stack up based on recent form.
1. Calgary (9-1-1)
Calgary has now won seven straight, matching the longest win streak in the CFL this season after Edmonton started the year by winning its first seven. Before last year, the Stampeders hadn’t won seven straight since 2001. Calgary has won 14 in a row versus West Division opponents and have already clinched their 10th straight winning season. With one more win they’ll clinch a playoff spot. They are the class of the league.
2. Winnipeg (8-3)
The Blue Bombers put themselves in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot heading in to their bye week. Winnipeg is now three games up on Saskatchewan and has the tiebreaker. With Edmonton’s loss, Winnipeg also has a good shot at hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2011.
3. Edmonton (7-4)
The Eskimos have lost four games straight. But they played the Stamps closer than most this season. With the return of Derel Walker, they’ve added to arguably the deepest receiving group in the league.
4. British Columbia (6-5)
B.C. ended a three-game losing skid with a resounding win over Montreal. They also ended their QB controversy as Travis Lulay was lost for the season with a right knee injury. Jonathon Jennings played some of his best football of the season in his absence and now will run the team for the foreseeable future.
5. Saskatchewan (5-5)
The West Division is 20-3-1 this season against the East. So even as the worst team in the West, the Roughriders are middle of the pack in the league. To stay that way, Kevin Glenn will have to return healthy after leaving the Banjo Bowl with an injured throwing hand. Glenn has produced 21 TD passes, five more than any Riders quarterback had last season, with eight games remaining.
6. Toronto (4-7)
Toronto has lost five of its last six games and are 0-5 versus the West. Still they are only one point out of first. Toronto gets some schedule consistency moving forward as its remaining seven games are on Saturdays. Toronto upgraded its secondary which is banged up by signing former Redblacks corner and CFL all-star Mitchell White, who was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles.
7. Ottawa (4-7-1)
The Redblacks lost to rival Hamilton but their biggest issue is the long-term health and short-term availability of quarterback Trevor Harris, who hurt his shoulder. Nine-year CFL veteran Drew Tate will take over in his absense.
8. Hamilton (2-8)
Hamilton has won two straight, but it feels like they are the hottest team in the league. With a win over its two provincial rivals last week, Hamilton could go from tanking worst to first by the end of the month. The Ticats have the chance to extend their winning streak this week when they host the Riders.
9. Montreal (3-8)
The Alouettes have seven games left and the next one against Ottawa might be the biggest. Both teams are struggling and are in jeopardy of falling out of the playoffs in the historically bad East. The Alouettes have lost four straight games by a combined 86 points.
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