Unbeaten Elks wary of next opponent: ‘formidable’ yet winless Lions

Edmonton Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo (7) throws against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during second half CFL football action in Winnipeg on Thursday, June 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

They’re undefeated three games into a Canadian Football League season for the first time in nine years.

And next up for the Edmonton Elks is a championship favourite that’s still searching for its first win of 2026.

Never mind their 0-3 record, the B.C. Lions are still a team to fear, Elks personnel said Monday after practice at Clarke Stadium.

“This team was a couple of plays away from playing in the Grey Cup last year,” Elks head coach Mark Kilam told media.

Indeed, Nathan Rourke and company were. The star quarterback, who was named the CFL’s most outstanding player last season, were on the verge of advancing to the league final while leading the Saskatchewan Roughriders by four points when it happened: quarterback Trevor Harris tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tommy Nield with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter for the winning points in the Riders’ 24-21 West victory.

Saskatchewan went on to beat the Montreal Alouettes a week later to capture the Grey Cup.

Many of the Lions’ principal players returned for 2026 – Rourke, running back James Butler, receivers Keon Hatcher and Justin McInnis, defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, veteran kicker Sean Whyte, and defensive backs Deontai Williams, Robert Carter, TJ Lee and Garry Peters – but it hasn’t yet translated into victories on the young season, although injuries have played a role keeping talent out of the lineup.

The likes of Hatcher, Lee and Peters have already been hampered by ailments, while plenty of others have been listed as either out or questionable ever since the season began in early June.

Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo recognizes that and is preparing for “a formidable opponent” on Saturday at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl, the Lions’ temporary home as their usual stadium hosts FIFA World Cup action.

“We are going to have our hands full with a really good team,” Fajardo said. “I remember last year we went 0-3 against them and got outscored. Our offence didn’t score very much, and their offence scored a lot. The (veteran) guys know that ... and the new guys who don’t know that, it’s almost a good thing.”

And although Fajardo sits further back stats-wise than Saturday’s opponent through Week 4 CFL action – Fajardo sits seventh among signal-callers with 764 yards passing and three touchdowns to the fourth-ranked Rourke’s 1,083 yards through the air and four major scores – he says he’s simply working off what the opposing defences are showing him.

“Whatever the defence gives me, that’s what I throw, and that’s what I’ve told the guys since Day 1 of training camp, I said, ‘Look, wherever the defence tells me to throw it, I’m going to throw it, so you have to be ready every given play. You don’t know when the ball is going to come your way,’” the 34-year-old said, referencing the Elks’ last-minute TD drive to beat the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-18 on Thursday. “And credit to them on a final drive, where pressure is all-time high, the crowd noise was all-time high.”

Thursday’s win came five days after another late, come-from-behind win in which they had led early in a dramatic, rainy 32-29 overtime win over the visiting Montreal Alouettes.

So far, it’s been working. Edmonton is the only unbeaten team in the CFL, and it certainly helps to have double-threat Justin Rankin coming out of the backfield. The ball-carrier leads the CFL with 387 rushing yards and four TDs on 46 carries to go with 151 receiving yards on 13 receptions.

“It is about finding ways to win, and that looks different every game,” Kilam said. “Every game is its own entity. Different things happen – weather, injury, all these things – and you’ve got to find ways to overcome it.”