Whether it’s Davis Alexander’s 13-game regular-season win streak, or the Edmonton Elks failing to go 2-0 to start a year since 2019, consider the streaks snapped.
It would take late-game heroics in extra time, with the Elks’ defence limiting the Montreal Alouettes to a field goal before quarterback Cody Fajardo held onto the ball on an option, sprinting into the endzone to secure a 32-29 win.
The game had it all, from a stagnant Elks first half saw them trail 13-7, before the sky — and the score — opened up in the second half. While Fajardo would score the winning touchdown, it was another tremendous performance from running back Justin Rankin that would be key to Edmonton’s victory.
While some may have thought his 196-yard performance in Week 1 would be hard to top, he found a way to do so against an Alouettes defence that had been stingy against the run in its first two games. Rankin would run for 179 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 18 carries, adding 51 yards through the air on five receptions.
Let’s break down Edmonton’s bend-but-don’t-break win.
Edmonton Elks Week 3 recap
The Edmonton Elks’ game plan was clear from their first offensive snap of the game: get the ball to Austin Mack.
It makes sense, given Saturday’s 32-29 marked his first game against his former team with whom he and Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo won the 2023 Grey Cup with. It wasn’t a completion, but it was a sideline target to the 6-foot-1 wide receiver.
The Elks would struggle to get much going in the first quarter of the game, bending but not breaking defensively, allowing a field goal and only gaining their first first down on the final play: a 25-yard strike downfield to Mack.
The second quarter felt much of the same, at least to start. Edmonton’s first drive of the half ran seven plays before punting, and the Als got the ball on their own 32, and got to work. Seven plays later, running back Travis Theis punched in a five-yard run to give Montreal a 10-0 lead.
With five minutes left in the first-half, Cody Fajardo would get picked off by Als defensive back Nate Beauchemin, giving them the ball on the Elks’ 45. Three plays later, kicked Jose Maltos Diaz extended the Montreal lead to 13-0 on a field goal.
Edmonton was evidently saving the best for last, as despite starting on their own 40, they put the ball in Justin Rankin’s hands four straight plays gaining 46 yards, helping set up a nine-yard touchdown strike to Austin Mack.
The second half
The Elks would receive the ball to start the second half, and they picked up right where they left off, as Rankin would help give Edmonton their first lead of the night with a 36-yard touchdown run to take a 14-13 lead.
After holding the Als to a punt on their following drive, the Elks kept going with what worked: giving Rankin the ball. They would do so twice on their five-play drive, and another long touchdown run — this time 47 yards — extended Edmonton’s lead to 20-13, before capping off the third quarter with a Vincent Blanchard field goal to build a 10-point lead.
And then the game got interesting. The Alouettes would score a field goal on their opening drive to make it 23-16, before a five-yard reception by Tyler Snead would be fumbled and recovered by Chelen Garnes. While the Elks would punt the ball away after gaining a first down, Alouettes return man Mario Alford, and Elks defensive back Kordell Jackson would recover, leading to an Elks field goal that made it 26-16.
Alexander wouldn’t let the Alouettes go down quietly, however, taking them 54-yards downfield before connecting with Snead for a 34-yard touchdown to make it 26-23.
Montreal’s defence stood tall, forcing an Elks 2-and-out who punted to force Alexander to start on his own 29-yard line. No sweat for the 27-year-old star, who pushed them 58 yards downfield and into field goal range where Maltos Diaz tied the game with a 31-yard field goal at the end of regulation.
Overtime
Elks fans got their first taste of the new overtime rules, but not without dripping a few beads of sweat.
Montreal would start with the ball, and Alexander would hit Kaseem Ferdinand for a six-yard gain, before two rushes to Travis Theis went nowhere. An incompletion later, and Maltos Diaz would kick a field goal from 33 yards to take the lead.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Elks offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic stuck the ball in Rankin’s gut with their first play from the 35, only for the running back to fumble. Edmonton would recover at the seven-yard line, however.
A pass to Mack would gain a yard, before the Elks would run a QB option, and as the Alouettes defence bit hard on the run, a lane opened up for Fajardo to scamper into the endzone, securing a 32-29 Elks victory.
Next up
The Elks will play on the short week this week, visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Thursday night. Kick off is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.
