The Edmonton Elks enter their bye week following a historic and streak-breaking performance.
Kicker Vincent Blanchard set a new CFL record by converting nine field goals, ultimately securing a 37-35 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in triple overtime following a three-yard two-point convert catch by Joshua Cephus from Cody Fajardo. On the ground, running back Justin Rankin surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season, while newcomer Montrell Washington contributed an impressive 246 all-purpose yards on 14 touches. This win extends the Elks’ lead in the West Division to three games over the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, eliminates the Tiger-Cats from 2026 playoff contention, and snaps the Ti-Cats six-game winning streak at Commonwealth Stadium.
MOST FIELD GOALS GAME
9 Blanchard Ham at Edm Sep. 26, 2026
7 Whyte Edm at Wpg Jun 27, 2019
7 Whyte Wpg at Edm Aug 23, 2019
6 Cutler Sask at Edm Oct. 22, 1972
6 Kauric BC at Edm July 13, 1989
6 Fleming Edm at BC Oct. 29, 1993
6 Fleming Edm at BC Oct. 12, 1996
6 Fleming Mtl at Edm July 17, 1997
6 Whyte BC at Edm Oct 17, 2015
MOST FIELD GOALS SEASON
50 Cutler 1977
50 Blanchard 2026
47 Fleming 1994
47 Whyte 2019
45 Kauric 1989
45 Fleming 2001
45 Whyte 2016
44 Fleming 1995
41 Fleming 1997
40 Cutler 1975
39 Kauric 1988
LONGEST FIELD GOAL
59 Cutler Edm at Sask Oct. 28, 1970
58 Mitchell Edm at Cgy Aug. 17, 1964
58 Cutler Edm at Ham Sept. 24, 1973
58 Fleming Edm at Sac July 31, 1993
57 Prefontaine Cgy at Edm Sept. 10, 2010
57 Blanchard Edm at Sask Jul. 23, 2026
56 Cutler Cgy at Edm Oct. 31, 1976
56 Cutler Wpg at Edm Oct. 10, 1977
56 Cutler Edm at Cgy Sept. 3, 1979
56 Cutler Edm at Wpg Oct. 20, 1974
56 Fleming BC at Edm Sept. 30, 1994
55 Whyte Mtl at Edm June 30, 2017
MOST POINTS GAME
30 Blount Wpg at Edm Sept. 15, 1995
28 Blanchard Ham at Edm Sep. 26, 2026
24 Germany Ham at Edm Aug. 1, 1981
24 Kelly Ott at Edm June 30, 1984
24 Fleming Edm at BC Oct. 29, 1993
24 McCorvey Wpg at Edm July 21, 2000
22 Jack Parker BC at Edm Sept. 21, 1959
22 Whyte Wpg at Edm Aug 23, 2019
21 Kauric Edm at Sask Aug. 30, 1989
21 Whyte Edm at Wpg Jun 27, 2019
The Passing of Norm Kimball
We were saddened to learn this weekend of the passing of Norm Kimball, who served as the legendary General Manager of the Edmonton Eskimos from 1966 to 1985. After joining the organization in 1961 as a Minor Football Program Coordinator and Assistant GM, Norm took the reins as the team’s youngest-ever General Manager on July 5, 1966. Throughout his tenure, which lasted until 1986, he became the franchise’s winningest GM, boasting an impressive 190-118-12 regular-season record and a remarkable 6-3 record in Grey Cup appearances. Beyond the accolades, Norm was a colorful figure known for his wit with the media and his hands-on approach to leadership. He remains a foundational pillar of the team’s history. Once an Eskimo, always an Eskimo.
REGULAR SEASON GAMES AS GM
320 Norm Kimball
216 Hugh Campbell
126 Tom Higgins
122 Al Anderson
104 Ed Hervey
REGULAR SEASON WINS AS GM
190 Norm Kimball
144 Hugh Campbell
76 Al Anderson
69 Tom Higgins
57 Ed Hervey
REGULAR SEASON LOSSES AS GM
118 Norm Kimball
71 Hugh Campbell
57 Tom Higgins
47 Ed Hervey
45 Al Anderson
44 Joe Ryan
The Passing of Bob Davies
At the time of this posting, I was notified of the passing of the CFL’s first statistician in Edmonton. The Edmonton Football Club was established in 1949 but stats were recorded as of the 1950 season.
In a few conversations with Mr. Davies, he told me about how he came around to doing the job and the challenges they had with the old press box at Clarke Stadium, hauling of the type writer, doing stats from the sidelines, some crazy snow games and then tabulating and sending the game stats in the following day. The majority of our conversations though were of basketball. He was a coach and referee. In the category of small world, Mr Davies coached not one, but two managers I have worked for. In our last meeting, Mr Davies passed on the stats he tabulated of my managers basketball seasons as kids. He was stats stats-man.
Our condolences from the current stats crew in Edmonton go out to the Davies Family.
Week 18 of the CFL match-ups:
- Game 1: Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ottawa RedBlacks Friday, October 2: This match-up features two teams already eliminated from playoff contention, with the RedBlacks still searching for their first win of the season.
- Game 2: Calgary Stampeders at Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday October 2: The playoff implications for this matchup are significant. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to avoid a third consecutive loss to maintain their standing ahead of the Stampeders and Blue Bombers in the West Division. Conversely, the Stampeders must secure a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. With the Lions, Roughriders, and Bombers currently locked in a tight race and holding a game in hand, the margin for error is razor-thin for the Stamps, as one of these four teams will ultimately miss the playoffs.
- Game 3: BC Lions at Toronto Argonauts Saturday October 3: The Toronto Argonauts have won 4 straight and are looking to take down their 3rd western opponent in a row. The Lions on the other hand are battling to make the playoffs and are currently 2 points up on the Bomber and Stamps while being tied with Riders. This game could sharpen up the playoff picture.
- Game 4: Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Montreal Alouettes Saturday October 3: The Alouettes are coming off the bye week to face a battling Bomber team. The East Division leader cannot take this Winnipeg team lightly as they have all flaps up and ready to make a playoff run
The Lead:The Edmonton Elks have earned themselves a rest as they won 3 games in September for the first time since the 2015 season. It hasn’t come without a few casualties as David Beard, Joe Robustelli, Javon Leake et al are on the IR list. It has come to the point in the season where teams are looking to get healthy and the bye week is welcomed as the Elks push for a home playoff game.
CFL Leaders Takeaways: Elks category leaders through Week 17 in the CFL:
- Field goals (50)
- Offensive plays (58.5 plays/game)
- Rushing yards (121.7 yds/game)
- Rushing attempts (326)
- First down rushing (118)
- Red zone opportunities (61)
- Points allowed (25.5/game)
- Opponent yds/play (6.45)
- Opponent pass completion (64.7%)
- Opponent pass efficiency (87.3)
- Pass knockdowns (68)
- Interceptions (23)
- Turnovers forced (44)
- Points off turnovers (143)
- Turnover ratio (+18)
- Kickoff average (70.3 yds)
- #1 ranked defence
- #T4 Ranked Special Teams
ElksNation Bye Week Notes:
