The 2023 CFL season came to a dramatic end eight days ago when the Montreal Alouettes pulled off a shocking upset over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton. It was an outcome that very few saw coming and caused a significant shift in our power rankings heading into the offseason.
3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having eleven contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. The previous week’s rankings are in brackets.
Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on Twitter (yes, we still call it “Twitter”) for anything you think we got wrong.
Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
1) Montreal Alouettes (3)
Yes, it’s true, we were one of the many outlets that had the Als in the basement of our power rankings at the start of the year. But after an eventful, profanity-laced, improbable Grey Cup victory over the heavily favoured Blue Bombers, the Alouettes earned their way to the top spot and dished out a more than generous helping of crow to all of us who doubted them back in the spring. Montreal has a number of key pending free agents, though a number of starters including Cody Fajardo, Austin Mack, and Marc-Antoine Dequoy are under contract for 2024.
Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
2) Toronto Argonauts (1)
One disastrous playoff loss didn’t undo all the good we saw out of the Toronto Argonauts in 2023. The club won a record-tying number of games, their M.O.P quarterback signed a long-term contract extension, and their coaching staff appears to be remaining intact, which means the Argos are on solid footing. They have an extensive list of free agents with some big names on it but we’ve seen enough out of the Double Blue these past three seasons to know they will likely begin next season as the favourites to win it all.
3) B.C. Lions (4)
Despite being ousted by the team below them, our voters seem more buoyed by what they saw out of the Lions than the team that beat them in the West Final. B.C. was expected by many to take a step back in 2023 after losing Nathan Rourke to the NFL but the Leos picked up where they left off last year, finishing the season with 12 wins and once again making the division finals. There is some work to do as a number of key contributors are slated to hit free agency in February, including 2023 Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts.
Photo: Bob Butrym/3DownNation. All rights reserved
4) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2)
Another excellent regular season ended in disappointment as the Bombers lost their second straight Grey Cup in excruciating fashion, perhaps ending once and for all the talk that this iteration of the Blue and Gold is a potential dynasty. With a veteran-heavy team that many thought was already on its last legs, a list of potential free agents that includes this year’s best Canadian player, and the future of Kyle Walters still very much up in the air, it seems possible Sunday’s game was a last hurrah of sorts for this group. The next few months should be very interesting in Bomberland.
Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography
5) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5)
There are a lot of questions to be answered in Hamilton this offseason after the team failed to live up to lofty preseason expectations once again. Who will be the team’s quarterback? Will they have a new offensive coordinator? Could some long-time veterans find themselves in new uniforms next season? While the uncertainty of what is to come in Tigertown might cause some sleepless nights amongst the Steeltown faithful, it should make for one very eventful winter in the Hammer.
Photo: Larry MacDougal/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
6) Edmonton Elks (7)
When you think of potential breakout teams for 2024, the list probably begins with the Elks. They seem to have finally found their starting quarterback in Tre Ford, who cooled some as the season wore on but still feels like the new face of the franchise in Edmonton. Even with a long list of free agents, they still have a plethora of skill players under contract, led by receiver Eugene Lewis and running back Kevin Brown. For all his faults, Chris Jones is still a very adept defensive tactician. The Elks finally ended their long home losing streak in 2023 and now seem on the precipice of ending their four-year playoff drought next.
Photo: Larry MacDougal/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
7) Calgary Stampeders (6)
Despite sneaking into the playoffs with a horrendous 6-12 record, the Stampeders are at a bit of a crossroads. Do they continue to ride with quarterback Jake Maier despite his clear shortcomings? Will they go outside of their tried-and-true method of re-upping with their own players to help add talent to a roster that desperately needs it? Can they continue to rely on the ageing legs of running back Ka’Deem Carey after he missed nine games in 2023? While the 18-season playoff streak remained intact thanks to a collapse by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it seems fair to say that if the Stamps don’t make major improvements, that streak won’t reach 19.
Photo courtesy: Electric Umbrella/Derek Elvin/Saskatchewan Roughriders
8) Saskatchewan Roughriders (9)
Our voters must have had no faith in Craig Dickenson as the Riders moved up one spot in our rankings after he wasn’t offered an extension to remain the team’s head coach. A new voice in Saskatchewan was needed after the team failed to win a game after Labour Day for the second straight season, ceding the third-seed in the West Division to the Stamps. Regardless of how well the team does this offseason, it still had to sting seeing the two people scapegoated for last year’s failures win the Grey Cup, with the quarterback they ran out of town playing one of the best games of his life and being named MVP.
Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com
9) Ottawa Redblacks (8)
With just 14 wins in their last 68 games and four straight fourth-place finishes, 2024 is shaping up as a make-or-break season for the Redblacks’ brain trust of general manager Shawn Burke and head coach Bob Dyce. Ottawa gambled on Jeremiah Masoli and it didn’t pay off, and while the veteran pivot wants to return, he hasn’t played a full season since 2018 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. If the Redblacks are in the quarterback market, there are a number of potential options available. They just have to make sure they get it right this time because another last-place finish would likely bring about another regime change in the nation’s capital.
