Week 12 wrapped up last Sunday with exciting games to close out the week. Montreal showed no mercy, thumping Ottawa 46-16. Edmonton edged Winnipeg 22-19 in a defensive slugfest. Toronto opened the floodgates in the 2nd half, pounding Hamilton 39-20. BC extended its winning streak with a 30-16 win over Saskatchewan.
Hello CFL Fans! Here are your CFL News Hub Power Rankings after Week 12.
Record: 9 – 1
Previous ranking: 1
On paper, this game was already over before it began.
Montreal was flying all over the field and continued their strong performance, pouring in 466 yards of total offence.
The Alouettes' ground attack exploited a weak Ottawa defence. Travis Theis averaged 8 yards per carry with 88 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Shomari Lawrence also put a dent in the Ottawa defence with 71 yards on the ground.
Tyson Philpot added to his impressive statistics this season with 75 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the defence, Geoffrey Cantin-Arku was electric with 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass deflection.
Montreal was successful on 5 out of 7 attempts in the red zone.
Next game: Friday, August 28th, 2026, in Winnipeg.
2 – Edmonton Elks
Record: 8 – 3
Previous ranking: 2
At 8-3, it feels good to be an Elks fan.
The Elks displayed a great all-around game against a difficult defence.
Cody Fajardo did a great job spreading the ball to TJ Luther for 85 yards, Austin Mack for 68 yards and 1 touchdown, Justin Rankin for 48 yards, followed by Brendan O’Leary-Orange for 41 yards.
Justin Rankin found his groove, contributing with 93 rushing yards.
The most impressive statistics did not involve points scored or how good the defence was. As a team, Edmonton had 0 penalties throughout the game.
Edmonton had 23 first downs and allowed 3 points in the 4th quarter for the only points allowed in the 2nd half. It was a great overall team effort. More importantly, a 2-game cushion over Saskatchewan.
Next game: Edmonton will be on a bye in Week 13. They will have a much-needed rest, as they will focus on their Provincial Rivals, Calgary, in Week 14 for the 2026 edition of the Labour Day Classic.
Record: 6 – 4
Previous ranking: 3
The Saskatchewan offence has struggled in their last two weeks. In both games, they have not exceeded 19 points.
Saskatchewan struggled to get to the red zone often. When they got to the red zone on only two attempts, they came out empty-handed.
Trevor Harris had a rough outing, as the BC pressure was prevalent.
Ball security was another issue, mainly during the 2nd half for Saskatchewan.
Next game: Saturday, August 29th, 2026, vs. Toronto.
4 – BC Lions
Record: 5 – 5
Previous ranking: 5
After a 1-4 start, the BC Lions literally clawed their way back into the conversation of some of the best teams in the CFL.
Jevon Cottoy was a perfect 6-for-6 on targets to receptions for 110 yards and 1 touchdown.
Nathan Rourke was his usual self, throwing 22 completions from 28 pass attempts for 355 yards, 2 touchdown passes, and 1 interception.
Zander Horvath only rushed for 43 yards and 1 touchdown. However, he had some important runs to keep drives alive for the BC offence.
The BC defence kept Trevor Harris in check. By the 4th quarter, the Lions appeared to have full control with a healthy 27-6 lead and never looked back.
Next game: Sunday, August 30th, 2026, in Ottawa.
Record: 5 – 5
Previous ranking: 8
Toronto was looking to get a win before Labour Day as they faced their natural rivals, Hamilton.
Add that both teams have been inconsistent for various reasons; it had all the signs of a considerable amount of high intensity for this game.
The weather was a factor in Toronto after an estimated one-hour thunderstorm and heavy rain delay.
Once kickoff arrived, it was business as usual.
Isaiah Smith got his first start as an Argo and played well with 99 rushing yards on 15 carries.
For the first time in a while, Chad Kelly limited his interceptions and helped out with 289 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes and a lone interception. He found a good rhythm, spreading the ball to Damonte Coxie for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns. Followed by Tyler Kahmann for 74 yards, and Kevin Mital for 53 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Argos owned the clock with 34:37 of time of possession and accumulated 26 first downs.
More importantly, the defence stole the show, creating 3 turnovers and not allowing the Hamilton offence to generate any real threat, with only a field goal in the 2nd half.
Next game: Saturday, August 29th, 2026, in Saskatchewan.
Record: 5 – 5
Previous ranking: 4
Winnipeg showed a strong performance against Edmonton in Week 12. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, it was only in the first half. Many fans on both sides of the spectrum predicted a close-knit game. And a close game it was.
Winnipeg were relying too much on Brady Oliveira. He played a great game, as you would want in your running back, with 118 rushing yards. However, no additional depth was present to complement the overall running game.
The Winnipeg offence sputtered in the 2nd half due to a well-executed Edmonton defence. Make no mistake, the Winnipeg defence did what it could to fend off the Edmonton offence. Edmonton were able to grind out the hard-earned yards, making plays to continue drives.
In the end, a struggling offence was the X factor, punting the ball 5 times in the game.
Next game: Friday, August 28th, 2026, vs. Montreal.
Record: 4 – 6
Previous ranking: 7
Calgary was on a bye in Week 12. The Stamps face a tough defensive opponent when they meet Hamilton in Week 13. It will be a must-win for both teams, as both share similar records.
Next game: Saturday, August 29th, 2026, vs. Hamilton.
Record: 4 – 7
Previous ranking: 6
Tre Ford came into Week 12 as the starter for a pre-Labour Day Classic tune-up. It took a little time to get his timing right midway through the 1 st quarter. He kept the game close with some big plays and put the Hamilton offence in good situations. Unfortunately for Tre Ford, he experienced a lot of pressure from the Double Blue defence.
With the score 25-20 Toronto at the beginning of the 4th quarter, Hamilton was still in reach of a victory.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, they were undisciplined with too many penalties in the 4th quarter. The running game was a non-factor, as Toronto shut down the Gold and Yellow.
Toronto pounced on their opportunities and never looked back, scoring 24 points in the 4th quarter.
Next game: Saturday, August 29th, 2026, in Calgary.
9 - Ottawa Redblacks
Record: 0 – 10
Previous ranking: 9
It seems that this will be a repeat every week, as it has been all season.
Ottawa had five turnovers and 277 total yards. The only positive in this game was the 22 first downs against a great defence, but they created no positive scoring.
Ottawa fans hope they will experience a victory this season and try to avoid a 0-18 record. As it stands now, Ottawa has to do everything in their power to do so.
Help is officially on the way as former General Manager Jim Popp is coming back to the CFL and has joined Ottawa for the remainder of the season. The 5-time Grey Cup Champion with Baltimore, Montreal, and Toronto will have a lot of work to do and slowly retool an Ottawa team back to being relevant again.
However, the bleeding will not stop anytime soon, at least for this season. Ottawa is set to play a hungry BC team that is playing some amazing football.
Next game: Sunday, August 30th, 2026, vs. BC.