It has been 10 years since Edmonton Elks fans left Commonwealth Stadium happy after a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Saturday’s 25-20 win was a great step for the team, but left their playoff hopes slimmer than ever.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
Won the battle, but not the war
Edmonton’s early-season struggles have been well documented, including a 36-23 loss to Winnipeg. Even with that, the Bombers are a team that is still within reach of passing for a playoff spot. A win by 13 points or more would have won the season series and helped to break ties in the standings in the Elks’ favour.
A gamble on third-and-two on their own 46-yard line early in the third quarter had me thinking Edmonton was really going after the season series. That became a Justin Rankin touchdown. Not even 10 minutes later, another touchdown put the 13-point differential in play.
The Bombers, of course, did not go quietly and narrowed the lead to five. Yet with ten seconds left and on the Winnipeg 42-yard line, the same third-and-two gamble wasn’t taken. Why not take the shot there and see if you can help your playoff chances? Cody Fajardo was animated on the bench and seemed to feel the same way.
“We thought about it,” said head coach Mark Kilam. “It was always, ‘We have to win.'”
With Calgary’s win earlier in the day and the season series gone to the Bombers, Edmonton’s playoff hopes are on life support. Finally beating Winnipeg was great to see, but I would have liked to see aggression throughout the whole 60 minutes.
Hot potato play
The turning point of the game was one of the most bizarre ball bounces I have ever seen. A Jamieson Sheahan punt was caught by Javon Leake at midfield, but after a nine-yard run, the ball was popped out by Nick Hallett, and the scramble for the oiled piglet began.
A very rough count had five different players with a chance to secure the ball. As the ball squirted away from the main group, Kordell Jackson was finally able to wrangle it. A 47-yard dash became a touchdown and a 24-10 lead.
“It’s one of those, ‘Oh no, oh no, oh yes, oh yes’ plays,” Kilam said, “Shoutout to KJ. Guy is a defensive starter and puts his body on the line. Now he’s playing special teams. Sometimes you have to be doing the right things to be around the ball to get the breaks like that.”
Another Rankin show
The CFL leader in big plays added another to his record on Saturday night. On the back of a new two-year extension, Justin Rankin collected his 16th big play on a 64-yard touchdown. We are running out of superlatives to talk about the sophomore back. His third 100+ yard game of 2025 leaves just 24 yards needed to attain his first 1K rushing season.
“It’s a team run,” Rankin said. “You have receivers blocking down the field 15 to 20 yards. Good things happen. The O-line have been playing their butts off all year. People have been really up and down on them, but they have stayed level all year. You can’t make up what they are doing out there. They continue to believe in me, to see what I am seeing, and that’s just the result of that.”
In his player introduction, Rankin says he’s from “You ain’t seen nothing like it University.” He’s not only a great player, but a fun character and a team-first guy. Much like his counterpart in this game, Brady Oliveira, he’s a smaller package that can rush and catch, and talks of 1K/1K will surround the Ohio native next year. He needs to average 185 yards receiving over the last two games to get it this year — even I am not THAT big of an optimist.
Defence continues to grow
Winnipeg was coming off a blowout win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and had a full bye week to prepare for the Elks. Edmonton had four rookies in its starting defensive lineup. All signs would say that would be a mismatch. It was not at all.
Brock Mogenson led the way with six tackles from the middle linebacker position. Both J.J. Ross and Kenny Logan Jr. contributed interceptions. Chelen Garnes found a crucial knockdown on a bomb to Oliveira. The kids are coming to play, and J.C. Sherritt has really turned a group that struggled early into a strong defensive unit.
“It’s big time,” Kordell Jackson said of the young players. “They have just really been prepared like a starter from day one. You also got Kenny Logan and all those guys just hungry, ready to play and eager to learn. That was the biggest challenge for them: being eager to learn and patient. Now it’s showing up on the field.”
The front four helped with a lot of pressure on Zach Collaros. Jared Brinkman’s return generated a big push from the middle and resulted in a sack from the big man. For all the heat I threw at Sherritt early on, I can now see how he was building this unit. Holding Winnipeg to 20 points, despite the catch of the century, is quite the feat.
Incredible catch
Speaking of that catch, it may be the only play that could overtake B.C.’s Robert Carter Jr. interception as play of the year.
Ontaria “Pokey” Wilson waited in the end zone for a terribly underthrown ball from Collaros. The ball went through the open arms of Chelen Garnes and was popped up by Tyrell Ford. Wilson dove and was able to tip the ball twice to keep it off the turf and then wrap it up while Kordell Jackson delivered a hit. It was incredible.
Other than not getting the interception, there was really very little the DBs did wrong here. Just an incredible effort from Pokey for a catch that won’t be forgotten. It basically sealed the season series for the Bombers, too, closing the gap to five points.
Punitive penalties
Penalties were a big contributor to keeping the score as close as it was, though that wasn’t apparent early on. Winnipeg was flagged once for holding in the first quarter, and Edmonton had done a good job of limiting calls to two in the first half — one of those being a very close no-yards call that took a fumble recovery for the EE off the board. Kilam did ask for a review of that one, but it was upheld by the replay center. Losing that challenge was unfortunate for how the final quarter played out.
With hockey returning, the phrase “even-up call” has re-entered general chats. This officiating crew will never be accused of that. There was so much cloth hitting the field in the fourth, you’d think it was a tailor’s shop. The Double E were charged with 60 yards of faults. Winnipeg stayed with one call for the entire game.
An unnecessary roughness call on a big interception return does not even have a player attached to it on the stats sheet, despite negating a 37-yard return and placing Edmonton back on their own side of the field. I heard after the game that a DB threw down a receiver at some point, but I have still not been able to find it on the replay. At the very least, it was on the opposite side of the field. I am not arguing there was a penalty, but when a couple of series later, Javon Leake gets hit well after being out of bounds on a return, call that too.
Some were legit calls that could be seen — the procedure by Mark Evans II, the second no-yards penalty, and the unnecessary low hit by Tyrell Ford. Hitting a vulnerable receiver below the knee was an added rule from this year, and could have been avoided by wrapping up and not throwing his body low. The non-calls on the late hit and what looked like a face mask on Rankin in the last series were frustrating to watch, but discipline is an area for the Elks to work on, especially late in games.
Fajardo down, but up
It was a rare game that Cody Fajardo was under 70 percent passing, and he finished the night 13-of-24 passing for only 142 yards. The cold did not help much, but he was a bit high on several passes, which is unusual. The California native did make up for it with a couple of great runs, including an amazing fake to Rankin where he ran in the touchdown himself.
Fajardo continues to try and build a rapport with O.J. Hiliare, targeting him ten times. Only five of those came down as catches, but I see him looking the rookie’s way more often than not. For the Green and Gold to find some wins in the next two weeks, Cody is going to have to get back to his higher completion percentage and spread the ball around more.
Slim playoff hopes
As expected, the West is as wild as ever for a playoff berth. Edmonton could end up with a 9-9 record and still miss. The first part is the Elks winning both games — not an easy feat with the Lions up next in B.C., with them coming off a bye week. If that is to come to pass, then the Green and Gold have home-field advantage against the Stamps in the final game.
Where it gets even harder is the things that need to happen that Edmonton has no control over. They need Winnipeg to lose out against Saskatchewan, who have already locked up first in the West, and Montreal, who may or may not be fighting for first in the East. Just for fun, if Calgary loses out AND Winnipeg either wins both or loses both, they could sneak in. That requires Toronto, who are in next year mode, to beat the horses next week.
All of these are big asks. I’m happy to see the further growth of the team this year. If there is a playoff of some kind, it’s icing on the cake for year one of a much larger plan.
Edmonton is back in action Friday night in Vancouver. They may already know their fate from the early game, but it’s another chance to get a win and take a step forward.
Andrew Hoskins is a lifelong Edmonton resident and the host of the Turf District Podcast.
