CFL Week 1 Recap: New Rules, Who Dis?

The Canadian Football League is back in action, but it's not the league we know anymore.

Yes, we do have nine teams across Canada competing for the holy grail known as the Grey Cup. I'm still waiting for the CFL to place a team in Halifax, but still, nine teams in this thing battling it out. But some rules were changed during the latter half of last season, and will officially take place starting this year. Among other things, the rouge rule was changed. A single point will no longer be awarded if the ball is kicked past the dead line or through the side of the end zone. The point can only be scored if a punt, field goal, or kickoff settles in the end zone, and the returner fails to take it out or takes a knee in the end zone.

I also read that they changed overtime as well! Formerly, OT featured (at most) two mini-games, with the higher score winning, but if the game was still tied, so be it. Now, if the score's still tied after the mini-games, we will see dueling two-point conversions from the opposing three-yard line. As a result, the CFL has no more ties. But the NFL still has them. Very interesting. I also just now learned that the CFL changed the playoff format, and the new format will debut next season. Honestly, after reading the facts about this new format, I want to save that for another story for another time.

Even with these changes, there's one thing that stays the same: the CFL is a great part of a sport that is now year round. Pro football doesn't instantly end with the Super Bowl. We have had near-consistent spring football since 2020, first with the USFL and XFL co-existing until they merged and became the United Football League. The UFL and CFL have made the wait for the NFL so much easier, with the UFL being a spring league that crowns a champion in early summer, and the CFL is a summer league that fills in the rest of that NFL wait, and awards the Grey Cup in the fall.

As for opening week, a few oddities. One, it was abbreviated. Only three games took place. Two, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the defending Grey Cup Champions? Didn't play. The Riders, BC Lions, and Toronto Argonauts were all off during Week 1, which started with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Montréal Alouettes in a rematch of last year's Eastern Final. Though the TiCats scored first, the game was pretty back and forth, with Hamilton leading the whole time. The game actually ended up tied at 27 after regulation, so the first of 81 regular season games ended up going to OT! It was a short OT, though. Hamilton's possession ended in a fumble lost, and the Alouettes took over, got some first downs, and kicked the field goal to win it. The Alouettes won on the road, 30-27.

Next up, the first Friday Night Football matchup of the season, a Western battle between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. The Blue Bombers are coming off a 2025 season that saw them struggle their way to reaching the playoffs via crossover, but their streak of Grey Cup game appearances came to an end that year. They looked to get back on track on Opening Week, but they found themselves in an uphill battle after Calgary put up 21 points in the second quarter. Neverthless, Winnipeg fought back, and this was another game that was decided by clutch a field goal, with the Bombers making the kick to win 30-28.

Week 1's finale saw the Ottawa Redblacks begin their 12th season of play by hosting the team they faced in the Grey Cup in their second season of play, the Edmonton Elks. The Elks are looking to finally break their current playoff drought, while the Redblacks are coming off finishing with the worst record in the league. While this one was close, it would not end with game-winning field goal. Ottawa played catch-up all game, but they fell one possession short; the Elks won 29-21.

One week down, 20 to go. The Blue Bombers and Elks are one up, the Stampeders are one down, and the Roughriders and Lions have yet to play. That's in the West. In the East, the Alouettes are one up, the Tiger-Cats and Redblacks are one down, and the Argonaugts have yet to play. Very simple start to the season.

Week 2 is another three-game week, and it will start on Thursday, June 11 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. On Friday, June 12, the Toronto Argonauts will face the Montréal Alouettes, and on Saturday, June 13, the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the BC Lions. For the fourth straight year, the CFL will air select games on CBS Sports Network here in the States. All three Week 1 games aired on CBS Sports Network. For Week 2, Thursday and Saturday's games will air on the channel.

* * *

If you like this story and review, click the heart and subscribe button, and feel free to comment below! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!