CFL Power Rankings: Week 14

Here's how I rank the Canadian Football League teams through Week 14:

1. Calgary Stampeders (Unchanged)

Record: 10-3

Streak: Won 2

Next: At Hamilton

You can't say there are no winners in that mess of a finish at Winnipeg this week, because the Stamps rode out of town with two points. Not their fault the official made such an egregious mistake. You can say Calgary almost gave this one away, piling up over 400 offensive yards but not earning enough scoreboard points for the effort. Bo Levi Mitchell went 27-of-35 for 333 yards and only made one real mistake, a pick on the opening drive. Most significantly, Jon Cornish carried 16 times for 94 yards as he gets back up to speed after missing most of the season. Stamps weren't super sharp, but these are the dog days of September.

2. Edmonton Eskimos (Unchanged)

Record: 9-4

Streak: Won 3

Next: At Winnipeg

The Eskies spent the first half goofing around, drawing penalties and keeping the Lions in the game. When B.C. went up 23-7 halfway through the third, the light bulb went off and everyone realized they were embarrassing themselves. Defensively, they allowed just three first downs the rest of the way, and had four two-and-outs and one three-and-outs as the Lions bogged down. Edmonton QB Mike Reilly woke up the attack, creating two TDs and two-point converts, and a pair of field goals from Sean Whyte. No one took a penalty in the last 26-plus minutes. The Eskimos have three games left against lousy teams. Take 'em seriously.

3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Unchanged - Bye)

Record: 8-4

Streak: Lost 1

Next: vs. Calgary

Zach Collaros held a presser this week to discuss his season-ending injury. The QB is staying in town and will help any way he can. That was nice. Then the rumour mill spit out the name of Kevin Glenn, relief pitcher extraordinaire, killing time with the hopeless Riders. It would be a good pickup, depending on the price. Right now, Jeff Mathews is the starter, and everyone is saying the right things about how the great defence can carry the load to Grey Cup victory. Cup games are usually shootouts, and you have to have someone who can shoot, so the young gunslinger had better learn how to fire those pieces quickly.

4. Ottawa Redblacks (Unchanged)

Record: 7-5

Streak: Lost 1

Next: vs. Montreal

Somebody looked as though they were reading their own press clippings this week. The RBs fell behind 24-10 in the first half thanks to a sluggish offence (126 yards), a porous defence (222 yards), poor special teams and a major brain cramp (12 penalties). Even the sellout crowd fell asleep. Much better in the second 30 minutes but not enough to close the gap in a mistake filled outing. Gave it a run, though. Shame of it was losing the season series, so if Ottawa and Toronto are tied after 18 games, it goes to the Argos. This was the first of three contests in 10 days (yes, it's crazy, but everyone has to do it), a stretch made easier by a surprise home game with the Double Blue.

5. Toronto Argonauts (Up from 6)

Record: 7-5

Streak: Won 1

Next: Bye

Some idiot (me) suggested in the third quarter against Ottawa that QB Trevor Harris should sit down in favour of Ricky Ray so the old veteran could settle down the Double Blue. Harris, off his game the last few outings, came out sharper this week, tossing for 168 yards and two TDs in the first half. He slowed in the third quarter but picked it up again by going with shorts and dumps and brought the victory home. Nice to see Chad Owens contributing 135 yards on six punt returns, one for his first run back score in 29 games. Michael and Justin Palardy (who may be related a couple of hundred years ago) handled the kicking game and did well.

6. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Up from 7)

Record: 4-9

Streak: Lost 2

Next: vs. Edmonton

One of the worst officials' calls in years may have cost the desperate Bombers a shot at victory in the closing seconds and could eventually keep them from the playoffs. It's like the famous Joe Btfsplk is hanging around the sidelines. The Blue played their guts out against a team with much more talent, and had a chance to at least force overtime. Not that it was pretty all night, as the offence struggled at times and relied on 161 yards in returns by Troy Stoudermire for much of the good field position. The defence allowed a ton of yards but hung on by its fingernails when called for. And they were right there.

7. Montreal Alouettes (Down from 5)

Record: 5-7

Streak: Lost 1

Next: At Ottawa

Gosh, that was awful. The Larks flew into Saskatchewan to face a normally lousy Riders' defence and did everything needed to make the home side look like the 2013 Grey Cup winners. The Als were unprepared in every facet of the game, an accusation used against Tom Higgins when he was fired four contests ago. Montreal's two QBs, Jonathan Crompton and Rakeem Cato threw four interceptions and the offence only started to move at all in garbage time. Anthony Calvillo is discovering early it's easier to be a quarterback than to coach them. One of the league's best defences allowed 375 total yards and the whole team basically threw their helmets on the field and hoped for the best.

8. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Up from 9)

Record: 2-11

Streak: Won 1

Next: At B.C.

This is why it's called Rider Pride. Nothing to play for but reputation and the Green and White rolled out to hammer a Montreal club still in the hunt for the playoffs. QB Kevin Glenn started poorly (6-for-19, 125 yards) and improved to not bad. He also had excellent help all around, including 111 tough ground yards by Jerome Messam. The defence has had a rough year but this week looked a little like the killers of old, led by Victor Harris Jr. — Macho Harris had three interceptions and ran one of them back for a score. More than 30,000 fans had a fun time, went home happy and beamed optimistic thoughts at each other as they drove back up Highway 11.

9. B.C. Lions (Down from 8)

Record: 4-8

Streak: Lost 3

Next: vs. Saskatchewan

Rookie Jon Jennings tossed a neat TD pass to Marco Ianuzzi at 10 minutes of the third quarter in Edmonton, putting the Leos up 23-7 in a game they had to win. The rest was "hystery." B.C. gave up 22 consecutive points and lost for the third time in a row. Much was made of "how exciting" the end was. No, it wasn't. All the visitors had left was an intercepted Hail Mary with time gone. Jennings went 18-of-30, for 281 yards, a pick and two TDs. O.K. RB Andrew Harris had a strong start until he was injured again at the end of the first quarter. Chris Rainey had 104 yards in returns, giving the club some field position. The Lions took 13 penalties for 139 yards and when you average more than 10 yards per flag, that's awful.