We are a third of the way through the Canadian Football League season and, with eight of the nine competing teams having won the Grey Cup in the last ten years, this term looks like being as competitive as ever.
So, with six playoff places up for grabs, let’s take a look at who could be celebrating glory in November.
Winnipeg Setting the Pace
There is an old adage in the NFL that defence wins championships, and Winnipeg, who have won six of their seven games to date, look to be following that recipe for success over the border in Canada.
The Blue Bombers have conceded an average of just 14 points in their games to date. Still, their defence is also making a scoring impact too, which was perfectly demonstrated in Saturday’s 37-22 victory over the Edmonton Elks.
Defensive back DeAundre Alford returned an interception for a touchdown, and linebacker Adam Bighill went over after recovering a fumble.
Their scoring average of 21.1 points per game may not look that impressive, but their strength on the other side of the ball suggests they could soon be celebrating glory, as they did in 2019 when they beat Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the last final before the Covid-19 pandemic stopped play last year.
The Blue Bombers are definitely in a good place, so let’s look at who might be in a strong position to challenge the Grey Cup holders.
Still Plenty to Play For
The Canadian Football League is organised with five teams in the West Division and four in the East, and while the winners gain home advantage for their playoff, there are still plenty of opportunities for others.
The teams that finish second and third face each other in the first round, unless the fourth-placed team in the other division has a better record, and they qualify via the ‘crossover’.
Ottawa look to be struggling, having lost four matches since an opening-week win over Edmonton, but everyone else should be confident of making a big impression.
While Winnipeg have taken control of the West Division, the East is even, and while Montreal’s scoring average is the best in the league, they have won just two of their five matches, but there is no need to panic as Hamilton and Toronto Argonauts are both 3-3.
So that division looks pretty difficult to call at this stage, and it looks wise to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks as no clear pattern has emerged in the first third of the season.
Saskatchewan Roughriders look to be Winnipeg’s chief rivals in the West, but the leaders have already posted a Week Six 33-9 success over them, so it looks sensible to expect the Blue Bombers to stay the course.