The CFL playoff race is beginning to solidify. In the East, Montreal has a 3-game lead for first while Hamilton is on the outside looking in at 4th place. The west has become a congested race over the last few weeks as neither BC nor Saskatchewan have won a game in their last 5 which has now resulted in the gap from 5th place to 1st place being only by 2 wins.
Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 13 Picks
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – The Montreal Alouettes defended the title of Crown Holder as they defeated Edmonton 21-17. Montreal will be on the bye this weekend.
Court Jester 🃏 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders were unable to pass the title of Court Jester off as they lost to Toronto 19-20. Saskatchewan will have an opportunity to force the title onto the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when they host them Sunday night in front of a sold-out crowd.
If a team defeats the Crown Holder they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder.
If a team loses to the Court Jester they become the new Court Jester thus freeing the previous team from being the Court Jester.
#1 Montreal Alouettes (10-1)👑
Previous Rank: 1
Week 12: Defeated Edmonton 21-17 at home.
Week 13: Bye week.
Montreal had another come-from-behind win in week 12. The Alouettes entered halftime trailing 17-6 and locked the Elks out in the second half to finish the game with a 21-17 win over Edmonton. Fajardo completed 22 of his 34 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception in his first game starting since he sustained an injury in week 6. Cole Spieker led the team in receiving as he caught 5 passes for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Charleston Rambo caught 3 passes for 95 yards.
#2 Ottawa RedBlacks (7-2-1)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 12: Defeated BC 34-27 at home.
Week 13: Visiting BC on Saturday.
Ottawa was another Eastern team that welcomed back their starting quarterback following an injury and proceeded to win over a Western team. Ottawa defeated BC 34-27 in week 12. Dru Brown returned to the lineup to start for Ottawa at quarterback in week 12 after an injury had him leave the game in week 10 and miss week 11. Brown completed 28 of his 37 passes for 390 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. Ottawa had 3 receivers break 90 yards led by Justin Hardy who caught 11 of his 12 targets for 114 yards. 1st round draft pick Nick Mardner had a breakout game as he caught all 3 of his targets for 95 yards and caught his first 2 touchdown passes. Bralon Addison had 5 catches for 92 yards.
#3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-6)
Previous Rank: 4
Week 12: Defeated Hamilton 26-23 on the at home.
Week 13: Visiting Saskatchewan on Sunday.
Winnipeg is coming off a close win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats which they won 26-23 at home. Despite starting the season 0-4, Winnipeg now finds themselves 5-6 and just half a game behind Saskatchewan for first in the west who they will play this weekend. Winnipeg had a strong lead going into halftime leading 16-3 but Hamilton battled back to ensure the game came down to the final minute. Zach Collaros completed 18 of his 36 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown with 3 interceptions. Over the 2021, 2022, and 2023 regular seasons, Collaros had 90 touchdowns with 34 interceptions. This season he has had a drop in his touchdown to interception ratio thus far with 6 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Winnipeg ran the ball very well in the win as Brady Oliveira rushed 18 times for 120 yards, 6.7 yards per carry.
#4 Toronto Argonauts (6-4)
Previous Rank: 5
Week 12: Defeated Saskatchewan 20-19 at home.
Week 13: Visiting Hamilton on Monday.
Toronto won a close game at home over Saskatchewan 20-19. Chad Kelly completed 24 of his 39 passes for 322 yards with 1 interception in his first game of the season after missing the first 9 to a suspension. Toronto weathered the first 9 games without the reigning MOP maintaining above a .500 record. Damonte Coxie broke 100 yards receiving as he caught 5 for 112 yards. David Ungerer had his biggest game of the season as he caught 5 passes for 72 yards.
#5 Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-5-1) 🃏
Previous Rank: 3
Week 12: Lost to Montreal 24-27 at home.
Week 13: Visiting Winnipeg on Sunday.
Saskatchewan lost a close game on the road to the Argonauts 19-20. The game came down to the wire and ended on a game-winning missed field goal as Lirim Hajrullahu’s missed field goal sailed out of the back of the end zone for the game-winning single. It was an ending to a game that sparked a conversation about possibly adjusting the rules surrounding the rouge. The Riders had a win in their last 5 games with the last win being in week 7 when they defeated Winnipeg 19-9. Trevor Harris completed 18 of his 29 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions. Samuel Emilus led the team in receiving with 8 catches for 66 yards. On the ground, Frankie Hickson rushed 16 times for 79 yards, 4.9 yards per carry.
#6 Calgary Stampeders (4-6)
Previous Rank: 6
Week 12: Bye Week.
Week 13: Hosting Edmonton on Monday.
Calgary was on the bye week last weekend. Calgary has lost their last 2 games and needs to start putting some wins together as they now suddenly find themselves in 4th place in the West.
#7 B.C. Lions (5-6)
Previous Rank: 7
Week 12: Lost to Ottawa 27-34 on the road.
Week 13: Hosting Ottawa on Saturday for Touchdown Pacific in Victoria.
The BC Lions lost to Toronto in week 1 then won their next 5 games led by Vernon Adams Jr. Now BC is on a 5-game losing streak and has dropped below .500. BC recently welcomed back Nathan Rourke who started in the last 2 games. Last week Rourke looked to still be adjusting after his NFL pursuit but made several good plays on his way to completing 22 of his 31 passes for 234 yards with 1 interception. Justin McInnis caught 5 passes for 79 yards. William Stanback rushed 15 times for 99 yards, 6.6 yards per carry last week. Stanback has been highly productive as of late.
BC now welcomes back defensive end Mathieu Betts who signed with the team on Wednesday after spending the preseason and training camp with the Detroit Lions. BC’s prospects of turning the ship back in the right direction look promising.
#8 Edmonton Elks (3-8)
Previous Rank: 8
Week 12: Lost to Montreal 17-21.
Week 13: Visiting Calgary on Monday.
The Edmonton Elks lost a close game on the road in Montreal last weekend 17-21. They led the reigning Grey Cup Champions 17-6 at the half but the lead slipped away in the 2nd half. McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 21 of his 33 passes for 200 yards with 2 touchdowns in the loss. Tevin Jones, who was with Montreal in training camp, led the Elks in receiving as he caught 5 passes for 67 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had a strong day on the ground in his return to the lineup after missing time to injury and rushed 16 times for 105 yards, 6.6 average.
#9 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-9)
Previous Rank: 9
Week 12: Lost to Winnipeg 23-26 on the road.
Week 13: Hosting Toronto on Monday.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats seemed to be on their way to a crushing defeat as they trailed Winnipeg last week at the half 3-16. The TiCats battled back to make it a close one but were still unable to get the W as they lost 23-26 in the W. Bo Levi Mitchell completed 14 of his 28 passes for 220 yards. Tim White led the team in receiving as he caught 7 passes for 134 yards. Greg Bell rushed 12 times for 41 yards with 2 touchdowns, 3.4 yards per carry. Hamilton has struggled to slow opponents’ offenses as they have allowed the most points against averaging 32.7 allowed per game. They have also struggled to establish and embrace the run game as they have the fewest rushing yards in the league.
Past Power Rankings:
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