It’s official: the Edmonton Elks are returning to the playoffs.
It marks the first time since 2019 the organization did so, snapping the longest playoff drought in franchise history. Edmonton will hope for a deeper run than they had in 2019, when they were the crossover team, beating the Montreal Alouettes in the semi-final, before falling to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-16 in the East final.
The Elks punched their ticket Saturday night in the Labour Day rematch, a game they won handily 53-16
Edmonton’s win was led by another three-facet performance. The offence was potent, with quarterback Cody Fajardo throwing for 232 yards, of with 119 when to Joshua Cephus, and three touchdowns, two of which going to Joe Robustelli, all the while ShunDerrick Powell scooted for 97 yards on the ground.
The defence was suffocating, as Noah Anderson and Tyrell Ford each picked off Stamps quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., Kordell Jackson forcing a fumble, and Noah Taylor notching a pair of sacks.
The special teams were just that, with kicker Vincent Blanchard driving home four field goals, and the punt return team blocking one recovered for a touchdown by Silas Hubert. All in all, the Elks would score 20 points off turnovers.
Edmonton didn’t come out of the gate blazing in this matchup, but rather build their game up all night. Anderson picked off Adams on Calgary’s second drive, setting up a six-play Elks drive that ended in a field goal. The Stampeders would score a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead on their next drive, but that would be their lone lead of the night.
Early in the second quarter, another Blanchard field goal made it 7-6, before the Elks would finally get on the board with Cole Snyder punching in a one-yard touchdown run, making it 13-6. The Elks would add another touchdown by the end of the first half, taking advantage of a short-field before Fajardo found Robustelli for a 22 yard score.
From there, Edmonton started to put the pedal down. After receiving the opening kickoff, they would march 70 yards down the field, capping the drive off with a 35-yard receiving touchdown for Cephus, making it 29-10. Their second drive saw them add Blanchard’s third field goal, before Calgary capped a six-play drive with a field goal of their own.
The Stampeders’ next drive would end in disaster. Failing to secure a first down, they punted from their own 23-yard line, only for it to be blocked and recovered in the endzone for a touchdown by Hubert, extending Edmonton’s lead to 36-13. The calamity wouldn’t end there for the Stamps, as receiver Jalen Philpot would fumble a ball on their first play, setting Edmonton up on Calgary’s 46 yard line.
Three plays later, it was Robustelli scoring his second, making it 43-13. The Elks would add another touchdown, as backup quarterback Taylor Powell entered the game, marching 77 yards in 10 plays before finding receiver Zach Mathis for a five-yard touchdown, making it 50-13. Both teams would add a field goal before games end.
There’s still lots of time before the Elks actually play a playoff game, though. The team will battle for positioning in a West Division they currently hold a two-win advantage in over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who fell 19-6 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday.
Positioning will be crucial for the Elks, as under the new playoff format, the first and second placed team in each division will square off in the first round of the playoffs. While the losers of said showdown will face off with the winners from the two play-in games between league seeds five through eight, the winners get a bye into the Grey Cup semi-finals.
Surely the team will be in the mix for the division lead, something the team hasn’t done since 2015, when they won the Grey Cup. In fact, each of the last three times the team won the division, they won the Grey Cup (2015, 2005, and 2003).
What’s the path through the rest of the season? The Elks have one bye week remaining in Week 18, but travel to Toronto to face the Argonauts in Week 16, before hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 17. Week 19 sees them visit Hamilton, before welcoming the Blue Bombers in Week 20. Finally, the 21 week regular season concludes with a visit to Mosaic Stadium against the Roughriders.
