Edmonton Elks buck tradition, start CFL season with victory (& seven other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks

At the end of last season, Edmonton Elks head coach Mark Kilam stressed the importance of starting better. All through the offseason and training camp, that became the mantra.

Now, for the first time since 2019, the Edmonton Elks are 1-0. It was a messy 29-21 win over the Ottawa Redblacks, but a positive one to build on.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Rankin’s quest begins

In one of his earliest interviews with the Elks, Cody Fajardo said that he thought Justin Rankin could get 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. Rankin has generally downplayed that when asked about it, but an upgraded offensive line in front of him this year made him acknowledge it as a goal to 3DownNation. He couldn’t help but smile, knowing that blocking could be the difference between making spectacular plays and not.

In his third year, Rankin led the league in big plays. Saturday night, he launched his fourth year in a similar fashion, making a 63-yard catch-and-run early in the third quarter and executing a beautiful spin move followed by a 61-yard dash up the sideline for a touchdown in the fourth. With a total of 196 yards from scrimmage on the night, maybe that historic goal isn’t as far-fetched as some may think. It is only Week 1, but the soon-to-be 29-year-old is proving his favourite line of “you ain’t seen nothing like it” correct yet again.

About that O-line…

General manager Ed Hervey was very active in bringing in guys for the offensive line this offseason. Centre David Beard was the only player who started the opener in 2025 to also start this game. Carter O’Donnell, who joined the team in the middle of 2025, moved over to left guard. Coulter Woodmansey, Brendan Bordner and Jordan Murray were all brought in from Hamilton to bolster protection and find ways to open space for Rankin. For their first full game together, I would give them a B.

There were moments when they gave Cody time to look downfield. O’Donnell made Ottawa defensive back Jeremy Lucien look like he stepped on a land mine with a block downfield. The star running back got over 100 yards on the ground. Some really positive steps.

For all of those positives, though, there were two illegal procedure penalties that stalled drives. At times near the end of the game, they could not move the ball to run down the clock. Six tackles for a loss and a quarterback sack surrendered showed shades of last year’s group.

Thank goodness the Elks have Mark Korte as that sixth lineman, as he was needed twice in the game. O’ Donnell went down early and had to miss a series. In the fourth quarter, Woodmansey got rolled up on and needed help to leave the field. The flexibility that the five-year veteran gives this team cannot be overstated. I look forward to how this group grows together as the year goes on.

Defensive bakery

If you like turnovers, you’ll like all the options this Elks defence can bring. A missed snap recovery, a turnover on downs, a forced and recovered fumble, and almost three interceptions. Defensive coordinator JC Sherritt has dialled up the pressure for this defence, and they have embraced it. I loved seeing the significant increase in pressure behind the line and the race to the ball once it’s out of the quarterback’s hands.

Malik Carney was a problem for the Redblacks all night. The stats sheet only shows two tackles, with one for a loss, but the pressure was coming all game and probably should have drawn a few more holding penalties than there were. If it wasn’t pressure, the North Carolina product was dropping back into coverage and running receivers down. It was an impressive first game for the big free agent signing.

This was probably the toughest game I have seen Tyrell Ford play in green and gold. He committed an unusually “panicky” pass interference call against Eugene Lewis in the endzone, allowed a long catch behind him in the fourth quarter, and dropped an interception that was delivered right to him. The rainy weather did not help, but I would expect him to catch that 99 percent of the time. In the coming games, I would expect to see the Canadian DB trending back to his shutdown ways.

Nick Anderson being healthy and back on the field is a lightning rod for this defence. The third-year linebacker had eight total tackles in this one. When the Tulane product had to go off in the second quarter to get some repairs — it looked like a nail came off — the defence missed him, and Ottawa struck for their first touchdown. I wasn’t sure about the move to middle linebacker, but he has proven me wrong, and it works so well with Joel Dublanko at weak side. The 2024 Most Outstanding Rookie is back to leading the way, both literally and figuratively.

Killer penalties

Edmonton has had a habit of racking up some penalty yards in the last few years. Mark Kilam said after the second preseason game that they had “too many penalties to win.” That carried over to the first half of this match.

The Elks had given up 107 yards on 11 penalties in just 30 minutes. A majority of those came on an Ottawa touchdown drive late in the first half. I can only imagine what might have been said at halftime.

Only two penalties were surrendered in the second half for 20 yards. Kilam will make it a focus to make the second half the norm. As it turned out, Ottawa was just as generous, giving up 100 yards themselves.

Better Blanchard

Even in the rain, Vincent Blanchard went five-for-five on his field goal attempts. It was a significantly better start for the Quebec native compared to the first game of last year.

In training camp, the second-year kicker was very inconsistent in hitting his field goals. So much so that the team has their global pick, Jesus Gomez, on the practice roster. This was an excellent start that resembled more of the Laval product’s mid-season form last year. To do that in those elements is an extra feat. A 68-yard kickoff average was an added bonus.

The Reklaws play

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Ottawa decided to go “third-and-one, from the gun” ahead of the turnover on downs that went Edmonton’s way. But I am still perplexed over running that at all.

Ryan Dinwiddie must really like the old Reklaws song. He seems to try that a lot. Get that song on your playlist, Ottawa stadium guy!

Next up: rest and prep

For the first time since the name change, Edmonton has a winning record. That’s a very nice way to go into a bye week and recover post-training camp.

It is only one game, but spirits should be high going into the break. With the home opener next on the schedule, they have time to look at some of the improvements needed and prepare to show they can do it again. It will be a tougher challenge with Montreal in town, but a way to grow from Week 1 and push for the turnaround that fans have been waiting for.