Week 1 of the 2025 CFL season is officially in the books and it was as unpredictable as expected.
The two bottom-ranked teams from a week ago came out with dominant opening performances, while the defending champs fell flat and a couple of offseason darlings underwhelmed. That has made for a dramatic shift in our rankings, as voters try to get their bearings in 2025.
3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having 10 contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. The previous week’s rankings — or in this case the post-free agency 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 social media for anything you think we got wrong.
1) Montreal Alouettes (1)
The Alouettes stay stable on the top after proving 3DownNation right in their opener, steamrolling the defending champions in all three phases. Davis Alexander didn’t have to do much through the air in his debut as the francnchise pivot but moved the chains with 50 yards on the ground, while Canadian veteran Sean Thomas-Erlington added 86 after winning the running back job in camp. Tyrice Beverette had an exceptional interception and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund took a fumble to the house in a dominant defensive outing, but it was Alexandre Gagne who stole the show with a record-tying seven tackles on special teams.
2) Saskatchewan Roughriders (3)
The Riders disruptive defence carried over from last season, as Jameer Thurman notched 10 tackles and Malik Carney recorded a pair of sacks in a narrow victory over Ottawa. However, the team struggled to play a complete 60 minutes as injuries mounted and barely held on without the likes of running back A.J. Ouellette, defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker, and left tackle Payton Collins. A couple of Canadians kept the offence moving, with Samuel Emilus catching eight passes for 133 yards and backup running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon pounding in a pair of touchdowns. The latter may have to carry the load next week, though Saskatchewan has already brought in Ka’Deem Carey to plug the hole in their backfield.
3) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2)
Winnipeg remains both unproven and unblemished thanks to a Week 1 bye, with their season opener set for Thursday. That game will come with Chris Streveler at the helm of the offence, as Zach Collaros serves a one-game suspension for failing to respond within 24 hours to a request for mandatory drug testing. That is only a temporary obstacle for a veteran team returning much of their core, including Brady Oliveira, Willie Jefferson, and the newly healthy Dalton Schoen.
4) B.C. Lions (8)
If there were any doubts about the version of Nathan Rourke that we’ll see this year, they disappeared in a puff of Snoop Dogg’s weed smoke on Saturday night. In front of a crowd of over 50,000, the Canadian phenom blasted off last year’s stink with 324 yards and three touchdowns through the air plus another 54 on the ground. The Lions beat the brakes of the Elks as a result and the score could have been even more lopsided if not for a dropped TD pass and two short-yardage stuffs in the first half. Rookie head coach Buck Pierce kept his team together through the adversity and got a Gatorade shower as a reward.
5) Calgary Stampeders (9)
Vernon Adams Jr. was held without a touchdown in his Stampeders debut and tossed two interception, but seemed to provide the spark needed to usher in a new era in Cowtown. Running back Dedrick Mills did the heavy lifting with 124 yards from scrimmage to go along with a hat trick of majors, while new middle linebacker Marquel Lee looked like a future star with 10 tackles. Two huge special teams plays turned the tide by stealing Calgary a possession on either side of the intermission, though coordinator Craig Dickenson won’t be happy with the return touchdown allowed later on.
6) Ottawa Redblacks (5)
Dru Brown opened his second season as the starter by throwing for 413 yards and two touchdowns, but it all came too late to upset the Roughriders on the road. Protection issues plagued the team in the absence of starters Zach Pelehos and Peter Godber, the running game struggled to get going, and explosive deep threat Kalil Pimpleton was held to a just one catch for six yards. The Redblacks also failed to fully dismiss concerns around their secondary in Week 1, though Adarius Pickett sparkled in his return from injury and Adrian Frye notched two forced fumbles.
7) Edmonton Elks (6)
After winning the offseason championship belt, the Elks didn’t look anything like the team they were supposed to be on paper in their opener. Tre Ford continues to be a human highlight reel but the Canadian QB struggled in between viral moments and had no semblance of a run game to support him. J.C. Sherritt’s defence had no answer for Nathan Rourke despite the immense talent at his disposal and there are major concerns in the kicking game as well, where Vincent Blanchard shanked two field goals and an extra point.
8) Toronto Argonauts (4)
The Grey Cup pixie dust has clearly fallen off of Nick Arbuckle, as the veteran backup threw two interceptions and committed one of the ugliest fumbles imaginable in his much anticipated championship follow-up. The offensive line struggled to stand up to Montreal’s front and were worse generating holes for the team’s two young backs, who combined for just 17 yards. The Argos could insert Chad Kelly back in the lineup as soon as next week in the hopes of generating a spark but a flat start has solidified fears about offseason attrition.
9) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7)
Just like clockwork, the Tiger-Cats stumbled out of the gate of yet another season and saw their vaunted passing offence look completely inept for most of the night. Bo Levi Mitchell did eventually surpass 300 yards but it took him 50 attempts to get there and resulted in a single garbage-time touchdown. Rookie Isaiah Wooden added another in the return game to provide something for fans to get excited about, but no amount of big plays could have dissipated the dark cloud looming over the organization this week after first-year general manager Ted Goveia revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
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