The 2024 CFL regular season is officially in the books and the playoffs are finally upon us.
Six teams remain alive in the quest to be the last franchise ever handed the Grey Cup by commissioner Randy Ambrosie and nothing before matters now. That doesn’t mean we can’t stack them up one last time before the hardware is handed out, though.
3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having twelve contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. The previous week’s rankings are in brackets. As always, please be sure to check back every Monday morning for our updated power rankings following each week of action in the CFL.
Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on Twitter — yes, we still call it “Twitter” — for anything you think we got wrong.
1) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2)
Chalk it up to the will of whatever deity you worship or the whims of Mother Nature, but our voters weren’t going to argue with whatever mystical force compelled Winnipeg to victory this week. With first place in the West on the line, an unexpected gust of wind and the resulting errant punt set up a walk-off winner for Sergio Castillo. Brady Oliveira was virtually a non-factor in securing a first-round bye but Zach Collaros had one of his better performances under centre this year, throwing for 331 yards and helping Ontaria Wilson go over 1,000 yards in his rookie year.
Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com
2) Toronto Argonauts (1)
The hottest team in the CFL entering the playoffs hit a speed bump in Week 21 but taking a team to overtime and losing by a point isn’t a bad result when you’re resting your biggest stars. 378 passing yards off the bench from Nick Arbuckle proved Toronto is a contender regardless of quarterback and Makai Polk continued his ascent by crossing the 1,000-yard receiving mark as a rookie. Don’t let the one-spot drop fool you, the Argos are still frontrunners out East.
Photo courtesy: Bailey McLean/CFL.ca
3) Montreal Alouettes (4)
Montreal appeared to finally get their mojo back after weeks of coasting but were denied a victory when Joseph Zema shanked a short punt out of bounds with 16 seconds remaining. The process was more important than the result though, with a first-round bye upcoming to work out any remaining kinks. Unlike this past week, there won’t be any starters resting when the Alouettes host the East Final in two weeks.
Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders/Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
4) Saskatchewan Roughriders (3)
Winnipeg’s victory an hour before kickoff stole any meaning from the Riders’ regular-season finale and they played like it, laying an egg against Calgary after pulling their starters on late notice. Third-string QB Jack Coan struggled and a depleted defence got beat often, but none of that should carry over into next week. Corey Mace’s first playoff game as a head coach has the chance to re-invigorate Saskatchewan’s spark or start an offseason of moaning from Rider Nation the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, every other non-Grey Cup year.
Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions
5) B.C. Lions (5)
The Lions may not have finished first but they got a bye before their first playoff game anyway, with a chance to get healthier before a much-anticipated trip to Mosaic. Last week’s quarterback switch has given B.C. renewed life under Vernon Adams Jr., who also happened to be under centre the last time they beat the Riders.
Photo courtesy: Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca
6) Ottawa Redblacks (7)
It took a wild shootout and a goal-line stand as time expired but the Redblacks finally snapped their five-game losing streak heading into the playoffs. Quarterback Dru Brown was, um, urinating at an elevated temperature after throwing for 445 yards, while Dominique Rhymes crossed the 1,000-yard mark and Kalil Pimpleton exploded for 167 receiving. Ottawa will now have some momentum on their side heading into BMO Field in Toronto for the East Semi-Final.
Photo courtesy: Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
7) Edmonton Elks (8)
It remains to be seen whether Jarious Jackson will have his interim tag removed and stay with the Elks as head coach but he will live in infamy for his decision to punt for a game-winning rouge in overtime. After some late Tre Ford magic got them there, Jake Julien delivered the 54-yard single to end his historic season — smashing Jon Ryan’s CFL single-season punting record in the process. Edmonton can now get an early jump on front-office decisions and their extensive free-agent list, having already inked impressive rookie running back Justin Rankin to an extension.
Photo courtesy: Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca
8) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7)
Bo Levi Mitchell is now the Tiger-Cats’ franchise record holder for single-season passing yards after another 400-yard outing but it wasn’t enough to end the year with a victory. In a microcosm of their 2024 campaign, Hamilton started slow and came on hot late, but was ultimately stopped short of their goal when Ante Milanovic-Litre was stuffed three times at the one-yard line. The longest Grey Cup drought in the CFL will roll into year 26 this offseason with no end in sight.
Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
9) Calgary Stampeders (9)
Quarterback Jake Maier got to ride off into the sunset with a victory in what could be his final game as a Stampeder, but it didn’t change where Calgary stands amongst their peers. The team packed up their lockers on Sunday as the worst group in the CFL, with some veterans hinting at a lack of professionalism from teammates and others acknowledging years of organizational decline. That still may not be enough to unseat Dave Dickenson from his perch at the top of football operations, though changes to his many job titles could be coming in the near future.
