Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions

Week 18 of the 2025 CFL season is officially in the books, and the playoff race is down to a trio.

With the Montreal Alouettes and B.C. Lions booking their tickets this week, and the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts officially eliminated, there are now three teams vying for the final two spots: the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Edmonton Elks. However, there is still plenty of room for re-shuffling up and down the bracket.

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 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.

Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions

1) B.C. Lions (2)

The most dangerous team in the CFL right now wears orange, and the most dangerous man wears No. 12. Despite two bad fourth-quarter interceptions, Nathan Rourke was sensational yet again against Calgary, throwing for 414 yards and four touchdowns. Add in a pair of clutch interceptions from Robert Carter Jr., and another stifling outing from the Lions’ fresh-faced defensive line, and inevitable late-game collapses are now a thing of the past in Vancouver.

Photo: Pascal Ratthe/Montreal Alouettes

2) Montreal Alouettes (1)

The Alouettes did absolutely nothing wrong this week, getting healthy at home while other people clinched them a playoff spot. However, they fall victim to the inherent recency bias of power ranking voting and fall one spot. Their quest to finish first in the East definitely didn’t get easier with Hamilton bouncing back, but it’s safe to assume nobody is craving a matchup with Montreal in the postseason with Davis Alexander at the helm.

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

3) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5)

The Tabbies got their mojo back in convincing fashion, as Bo Levi Mitchell torched their QEW rivals for 320 yards and four touchdowns during a 47-explosion. Brendan O’Leary-Orange suddenly became an elite deep threat with two deep majors, Kenny Lawler added a pair of scores to his impressive season, and Greg Bell averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Meanwhile, the defence feasted as Julian Howsae collected four sacks, Philip Ossai had three, and Stavros Katsantonis snagged a trio of interceptions.

Photo courtesy: Chris Tanouye/CFL.ca.

4) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are back to their winning ways — at least technically. Very little about their victory over Ottawa this week felt like a good omen, with Trevor Harris throwing for 341 yards but still struggling to keep the offence moving for long stretches. Brett Lauther’s replacement, Campbell Fair, shanked two PATs so badly that they resembled corner kicks, and they needed three interceptions from the defence just to hold off the worst team in the league. With Marcus Sayles and Rolan Milligan Jr. potentially nicked up in the secondary, a boost in confidence did not accompany this win.

Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

5) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4)

Another unfortunate victim of the bye week slide, the Bombers still have momentum on their side after blowing the doors off of Hamilton in Zach Collaros’ best performance of the season. The five-time defending West Division champs are riding a two-game winning streak, but still sit in the crossover and are the only projected playoff team with a losing record within their own division.

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks

6) Edmonton Elks (7)

The Elks were the only team in the CFL to enjoy a week off and a bump in the power rankings, mostly due to the failures of their provincial counterpart. Mark Kilam’s team still has a long and difficult task to make the postseason, but they have proven over the second half of the season that no team is safe from them playing spoiler.

Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions

7) Calgary Stampeders (6)

Make that four losses in a row for the once-darling Stampeders, who seem to be doing the opposite of peaking at the right time. Vernon Adams Jr. did finally seem to find his form again, but he was picked off three times by his former team and sacked six times. With teams now figuring out their once-vaunted defence, you have to wonder if Calgary could fall out of the playoffs altogether.

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

8) Toronto Argonauts (8)

After word broke that Chad Kelly is unlikely to play at all this season, the Argonauts kissed their playoff hopes goodbye in a fashion that fit this year. Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and the largest crowd of the year at BMO Field were forced to witness nine sacks surrendered, the first of which ended Nick Arbuckle’s feel-good season. Jarret Doege tossed 323 yards and two touchdowns in relief, but was also picked off four times in the final CFL game in Toronto for at least 10 months.

Photo courtesy: Ottawa Redblacks

9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)

Officially eliminating the Redblacks from playoff contention almost seems like humane euthanasia at this point, as nothing seems to go right for this franchise. Whether it was their star quarterback Dru Brown tossing three interceptions, including a pivotal pick-six, before getting himself benched in the biggest game of the year, or a block in the back taking away a potentially game-changing return touchdown from Kalil Pimpleton, hope has left the nation’s capital. It is only a matter of time before heads start to roll.