Edmonton Elks dominate second half in 42-12 win over Toronto Argonauts (& seven other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Tim Matwey/CFL.ca

A statement game was needed, and the Edmonton Elks decided to put an exclamation mark on said statement. Fans leaving Commonwealth Stadium were smiling again after a 42-12 drubbing of the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday afternoon.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Defensive domination

I have written a lot this year on this J.C. Sherritt-led defence, but this was a masterful performance in front of the home crowd. The unit held the team in the game early on when the offence was not quite connecting, and then found ways to get the ball back in their hands when they were. A two-point lead at half would have been enough, as they only allowed three points in the second half and added a pick-six themselves.

The defensive front four have had good games this season, but this was the best push I have seen from that corps. It was hands down the best game in green and gold for free-agent acquisition Malik Carney. Two sacks for the veteran in his sixth year, doubling his total in 2026. Noah Taylor added one to match the team lead with Carney. That combination is only made better with the work of Jared Brinkman and Gavin Meyer in the middle. Those two do not show up much on the stats sheet, but their presence was felt. Two turnovers created on third-and-one plays show how much this line can control a game.

In past years, it was the linebackers that led the charge in tackles each game. Now, due to the strength of that front four (and sometimes three), the linebackers can fly to other spots, and know the pressure will still be there. Toronto is not much for running the ball in most games, but being held to 43 yards when they did try is a testament to this front seven.

Cornerback J.J. Ross had a battle on his hands lining up across from Damonte Coxie this week. The first half saw lots of hand fighting between the two and bumping near the line. An early defensive pass interference call showed how these two were going after each other. The third-year defensive back was not having it in the second half, though. Two interceptions, one off a tip from Coxie, had the Cincinnati, Ohio, native winning the war. His first pick-six in the CFL was the nail in the coffin for the Double Blue.

Turn back the clock

There were only a few highlights offensively in the first half, but the one that stands out was a career-long 44-yard dash by Cody Fajardo. Running the ball isn’t unheard of for the veteran quarterback, but it’s been a smaller part of his game in the last five years. Whatever he had for breakfast that morning should try and get the sponsorship deal now. Not only did the Brea, Cal., native take off on the run, but he also broke a few tackles on the way.

“After everything that happened on that field. it seems like the only thing people remember is that run,” Fajardo said. “Not sure if that tells me I’m old or slow, but they were pretty fired up.”

The leadership factor of that run is more what stands out to me. It shows the depth of where Fajardo wants to bring the team to. That gave the 34-year-old something to bring up at halftime, when the offence had lagged in the second quarter, to bring them back to life.

“First down efficiency killed us,” said the Nevada product. “Our run game got off to a little bit of a slow start. Too many times we handed the ball off, and we were in second-and-long. If you look at the statistics, second-and-four to -six, we are the second best team in the league in converting. That’s our bread and butter. Too many times we were seven, eight, nine yards and just couldn’t stay on the field. I just kept telling the guys to weather the storm; it’s going to come out positive. Credit to our sideline, as nobody hit the panic button.”

For only having a 48 percent efficiency on second down, Fajardo made them count in the second half. Another stellar completion percentage at 80.6 and no interceptions. Cody got seven different receivers involved and put up 24 points in the second half to lead the rout. Maybe early afternoon games are a kind of fountain of youth.

Depth standout

With last week’s injury to Kenny Logan Jr, there needed to be a shuffle in the secondary. Kordell Jackson moved from his halfback spot to the SAM linebacker position. Terez Reid found himself playing his first CFL game at the boundary halfback spot.

The rookie did not disappoint in his debut. The Florida Atlantic product led the team with five tackles and two very impressive knockdowns. Throughout training camp, Reid had mostly held the field-side spot but was not out of place on the pass-heavy boundary. On the J.J. Ross pick-six, he also provided some blocking downfield without getting the dreaded illegal block call.

This is another excellent find by Ed Hervey, who has built not only good depth but has put the right leaders in place to have these guys succeed. The 23-year-old was quick to praise Kordell Jackson for his leadership.

“I learned so much from K.J.,” Reid said. “He’s a great leader. He comes in and leads with his voice. He leads with his actions. I catch him in the mornings just watching film on games and getting extra work in after practice. He definitely prepared me for this moment. He may not know it, but I watch a lot of things that he does. He is one guy I look up to.”

More Rankin

After a couple of quiet weeks from the star running back, Jordan Maksymic found a way to get Justin Rankin back involved in the offence. Four catches for 61 yards were the biggest factor, as he did not get a single target last week. Two of those catches weren’t even the usual checkdowns, but deep throws down the field. I love to see this shake up with a guy as fast as Rankin and his proven hands. The 29-year-old came within a yard of having both a receiving and rushing touchdown.

Elks fans have to be happy to see that they handed the ball to the star back 16 times. Give the ball to the playmakers and let things happen. He was only able to gain 47 yards on the ground, so I will give credit to the Argo front seven for making sure the speedy back couldn’t break free.

One thing that seems to be a common theme as of late is continuing to try and run Rankin between the tackles. Although I see some benefit in keeping defences honest, Rankin needs to have some spots with more open space for him to dazzle. It can work, like when he plowed up the middle, pinballing off tackles, for his eight-yard rushing touchdown. With his speed and ability to juke, going off-tackle or receiving a pitch may give him more of that space to improvise. I’m just happy he touched the ball more than seven times. When the third-year back does get the touches, he is a difference-maker.

It’s been a while

Edmonton is now only two wins away from a winning season, and they have eight games left to find them. The schedule isn’t an easy one, but it is not the gauntlet they just went through. Two bye weeks in that stretch could help get guys rested up as well. Fans are starting to roll back in with the winning ways, as 22,583 came to the Saturday afternoon tilt. That is a 40 percent year-over-year increase from when the Argos were last in town — thanks to my colleague, John Hodge, for that tidbit.

Having the Family Day theme helped, as I saw plenty of full families coming, both at the tailgate and in the game. I talked to a father of two that brough his family to the game for the first time. He said that he used to be a season-ticket holder, but life changed, and he hasn’t been able to get back. Now with all the activations, he felt it was a good time to bring his family back to the game. He had never experienced an Elks tailgate. The whole family was interacting with fans and characters.

I applaud Chris Morris and his team for doing the right things to bring people back. Not just the product on the field, but the promos, the themes and the gameday experience have increased the electricity in the stands and the city for the Double E.

To top that off, the team delivered a 30-point margin of victory. The last time that happened for the Green and Gold was November 1, 2014, against the B.C. Lions. That’s a score that will have people wanting to see the excitement next time around.

Et voila!

Vincent Blanchard continued his success this year with another perfect game on field goals. Now at 94 percent on the year, it is a drastic improvement from where he started the 2025 season.

The Laval product is striking the ball with such confidence that I have forgotten what it’s like to worry about getting the three points. Not only has he improved that part of his game, but his kickoffs have launched into a new stratosphere. The 28-year-old had a 96-yard kickoff on Saturday. You read that right; almost the length of the field.

Kickoffs can be overlooked but really set the stage for field position. Blanchard leads the league in kickoff average at almost 72 yards. The Quebec native had a 68-yard average this week and continues to set up good starts for the Elks defence.

Red zone up

Edmonton had struggled with red-zone production coming into the game with a 51 percent success rate. Going 75 percent in this game was a big factor in the win.

Both attempts to go for it on third-and-one, inside and outside the red zone, paid off with Cole Snyder getting the yards needed. The eight-yard run by Rankin got the arrow up. That was a point of focus this last week, and some dividends are being seen.

Next up

Edmonton gets to stay at home for the short week and will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night. A big divisional game should bring a decent crowd to support the Green and Gold.

The Elks’ fast start has landed them in first place in the West just past the halfway mark of the 2026 season. They will need this same three-phase effort to keep that spot.