It took until there were eight minutes left in the game for it to become overly exciting, but the Edmonton Elks’ backups willed their way to two late touchdowns and a 20-19 win over the Lions. The biggest takeaway from this game is that Edmonton will have some difficult personnel decisions after those last two drives.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
Quarterback battles
Tre Ford is coming in as the clear QB1 and although I am sure he was asked not to rush as much in this game, he showed more patience in the pocket than usual. The new offence will take some time to gel but the positive signs are there. The chemistry between Ford and Steven Dunbar Jr. was obvious, with three catches for 49 yards in limited action. One of those was in a very tight space between B.C. defenders. Accuracy up, decision-making up, scrambling as needed — all the things we wanted to see from Ford in a preseason showcase.
Cody Fajardo was also able to move the ball a bit in his second appearance for the team but wasn’t able to get into scoring position due to an interception early in the third quarter. His first pass to Kaion Julien-Grant was a lovely 41-yard shot and the 33-year-old still knows how to move an offence. I’m now more comfortable if Tre goes down and confident he is being taught to read the field.
The battle for third seemed to get a bit more murky in the fourth quarter. Cole Snyder came in and went four-of-five, engineering the first of the late touchdown drives. With another week of practice, he had more control and was better able to find guys downfield. His 35-yard pass to Jalon Calhoun was a bullet. William McElvain ran the two-minute drill to get the winning touchdown, going four-of-six.
For my money, I’d say that Snyder looked calmer and will end up as the third guy, with McElvain offered the PR spot. It’s nice that both could combine to send the fans home happy.
More standouts
Last week, receiver Jalon Calhoun showed a lot of speed but caught none of his four targets. In this game, the Duke product caught both of his targets, with one being the game-winning touchdown. With a 12.5-yard average on punt returns and a 33-yard kick return, he contributed as more than just a receiver. The vast improvement has to move him into the conversation to stick around.
J.J. Laap was perfect in his target-to-catch ratio yet again. Seven-for-seven over two games is hard to ignore. He has some deceptive speed and good route running. It may end up as a PR spot with the depth at the receiver position right now, but I would expect he is still in Edmonton on Sunday.
Demetries Ford — the other Ford — impressed for a second time. Two defensive tackles and one big special teams tackle has the Arizona State product in the hunt for a roster spot. We can’t have enough Fords, right?
Joel Dublanko was a highlight reel for the second straight game. The positive steps he has made since last season are huge for the team. The 2025 first-overall pick only recorded one tackle in this game but he was always near the ball and looked happy in J.C. Sherritt’s defence.
“The defence is really set up for the linebackers to have success,” he said post-game. “He’s made it so we are able to be protected and fly around and make plays.”
Starter thoughts
Edmonton began this game with almost all of the predicted starters on both sides of the ball. The only missing starter on offence was receiver Alex Hollins, who should be ready for Week 1.
As I mentioned before, the offence will take time to gel in the new Jordan Maksymic system. As the first quarter went on, the protection got better and Ford was given time to make decisions. No sacks given up is a good sign. I will be very interested to see how that changes next week when the points matter.
There was also more running than I had expected given Maksymic’s reputation. Justin Rankin looks to be picking up where he left off last year with 39 yards on four touches total. Javon Leake contributed 17 yards on four runs and 13 yards on a punt return. Running was a big part of the Elks’ success last year and the balance will need to be there again, so this will be something to keep an eye on.
It was a bit slower start for the defence. I probably had the bar set really high and I think it should be with this group. As they got to the second quarter, you could see them figuring it out. Building off last year’s Most Outstanding Rookie win, Nick Anderson led the team in tackles with 10. Kordell Jackson had five tackles from the SAM linebacker spot. The Birmingham native had one play where he was in the backfield before the ball got to the shotgun quarterback. The front seven should be scary when they get going.
It is going to take time to figure out who needs to be where in the secondary. Free agent signing Royce Metchie and second-year player Devodric Bynum both had three tackles. Bynum has been pushing for that boundary corner spot and may have earned it. Not to overshadow Nathan Rourke going eight-for-eight for 84 yards, but the secondary did start to make more plays as they got more time. Next week’s lineup will need to be ready early, as Rourke will be back in front of them.
Cut downs
Head Coach Mark Kilam was clear after the game: “It doesn’t matter if it was pretty. It’s about winning and in professional football, it’s really difficult to do. It’s about finding ways to win in the fourth quarter and that’s what these guys did. I couldn’t be more proud. We made big plays in all three phases.”
He’s absolutely right but that doesn’t make his job any easier going into this weekend. Final cuts need to be made by 10:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.
“It’s the worst part of what we do for sure,” said Kilam. “These guys in that room have become close too. You spend three weeks with them. It’s a great group of guys. We kind of knew the position battles going into this game. We will dig deep into the film and it will be some hard choices. The positive thing is they played well enough, that hopefully if it’s not for here they can latch on somewhere else.”
I really like how positive ‘Coach Killer’ is. The choices are hard but the feeling that this could be a good team with those who get to stay is hard to avoid under Kilam’s leadership.
The season opens for the Green and Gold next week as they visit the Lions on Saturday, June 7. I can’t wait to see what the team will do with a full sixty minutes.
