With Week 8 in the books, all nine CFL teams have played at least six games.<\/p>\n
That means each squad has now hit their individual one-third mark and some interesting trends have started to emerge.<\/p>\n
There are unsurprising developments, for sure. For instance, Saskatchewan looks in good shape to take a run at a Grey Cup repeat even after their tight loss to Edmonton on Thursday. And 6-1 Montreal, last year\u2019s 112th Grey Cup runner-up, looks like a powerhouse as they stretched their win streak to four games after Sunday\u2019s 31-18 win over Hamilton.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s MMQB is looking at three other notable developments in 2026 in archetype form.<\/p>\n
RELATED THE NEW CHALLENGER<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Us millennials will likely remember joining in on an arcade game when someone else was playing and getting the \u201chere comes a new challenger\u201d message on screen. Well, in 2026, that new contender disturbing the status quo is the Edmonton Elks. And they look far from a paper tiger.<\/p>\n Edmonton really staked their claim on Thursday, though. Not only did their 36-34 walk-off win move the Elks to 6-1, it also came against the defending champion Roughriders in a fashion very few would have seen coming.<\/p>\n Entering Thursday, Saskatchewan had allowed just four passing touchdowns in their first five games and were holding opposing teams to 266.6 passing yards per game. So, what did Cody Fajardo and the Elks offence do? They torched the league\u2019s number one passing defence for 510 yards and four touchdowns in one of the most stunning displays of the season.<\/p>\n Edmonton is proving they can win in all kinds of different ways. Earlier, George Reed Most Outstanding Player frontrunner Justin Rankin was flattening opposing defences. But he\u2019s been slowed the last two games, which has forced the Elks\u2019 defence (Week 7 vs. BC) and, most recently, aerial attack to emerge as decisive factors.<\/p>\n En route to their 6-1 record, Edmonton has picked up impressive wins against the Alouettes, Blue Bombers, and now the Riders. I can\u2019t wait for this rematch against Saskatchewan to close out Week 9 at Commonwealth Stadium.<\/p>\n THE SLEEPING GIANTS<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A quick glance at the standings might not have you feeling overly bullish on the Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps sit 3-4 and fourth in the West Division, which doesn\u2019t scream quiet powerhouse on the verge of hitting stride. A closer look, however, reveals a Calgary team worth keeping an eye on as we move towards the midway mark.<\/p>\n
\u00bb\u00a0Alouettes fend off Tiger-Cats, extend winning streak to four games<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Polk scores twice as Argos down Lions<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Historic evening for Stamps, defeating Bombers<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Elks, Blanchard walk it off at Mosaic Stadium<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally<\/a><\/p>\n