The Edmonton Elks are still a long shot to make the CFL postseason but quarterback Cody Fajardo believes they’re built for playoff success, provided they’re able to secure a berth over the final two weeks of the regular season.
“Our defence played an incredible game (against Winnipeg), special teams found a way to score a touchdown. In those cold, tough weather atmosphere games, you have to be able to protect the quarterback, protect the ball, and run the ball — and we did all three of those things,” Fajardo told the media.
“We gave up zero sacks, I don’t think we turned the ball over, and our run game was phenomenal, so that’s why this team, in my opinion, is built for the playoffs. We just gotta find a way to get in and punch our ticket. The road’s not going to be easy, but we still have a chance.”
Head coach Mark Kilam gave his team two days off after its 25-20 win over Winnipeg, which Fajardo felt was “much needed” given the physical nature of the game. The veteran passer was especially proud of the victory over the Blue Bombers as he felt the five-time defending West Division champions entered the game “peaking at the right time.”
The Elks had to win the matchup in order to remain in postseason contention and did so, improving to 7-9 on the year. They will need to win their final two regular-season games against the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders, the latter of whom has yet to punch its ticket to the postseason, to remain eligible for the playoffs.
The Lions are arguably the CFL’s hottest team having won four-straight games to sit atop the 3DownNation power rankings. The club has already clinched a postseason berth, currently sitting second in the West Division standings.
The 33-year-old passer realizes the challenge the Lions pose, though he’s proud of how far Edmonton has come since a poor start to the season.
“Going out there to their place in what’s gonna be a tough, hostile environment, we’re gonna see what kind of team we have, but I’ll say this: from going 1-6 to where we’re at now, to be playing meaningful football with two weeks left in the season speaks character to the guys in that locker room, to the coaches that coach us,” said Fajardo.
“Nobody gave up and we’ve just continued to fight and our fans have stuck by us the entire time, so we just want to continue to make them proud, make our coaches proud, make our teammates proud.”
The Edmonton Elks (7-9) will visit the B.C. Lions (9-7) at BC Place Stadium on Friday, October 17 with kickoff slated for 10:30 p.m. EDT. The Elks are coming off a win over the Blue Bombers that kept their playoff hopes alive, while the Lions were on a bye week.
The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 880 CHED in Edmonton and 730 CKNW in Vancouver.
