CFL 'Quick Kicks' 2026: Week 3

By Chris Lawton

Welcome to week three of our weekly review of each week of the 2026 CFL season. ‘Quick Kicks’ brings you week-to-week news of how the games went, scores, surprises, and a general feel of ‘what we learned’ from the games.

What a weekend of Canadian football it was, too.  A masterclass on Friday night from future Canadian Football Hall of Fame QB Bo Levi Mitchell, followed by three games on Saturday, overtime in Alberta twice, and the end of Davis Alexander’s winning streak in the midst of it all.

Let’s dive right in. The first game of the weekend saw the battle of the big cats as the BC Lions visited the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. BC had won its previous three visits to Hamilton, with each game being a bit of a shootout. This time, however, it was the home team that came away with a 41-27 win.

The Indian Summer of Mitchell’s career is a case study in the idea that form is temporary, whilst class is permanent and that sometimes you just need the opportunity. Why do I say this? Because in 2022, the Stamps traded Mitchell to the Ticats following a drop off in productivity. Then in Hamilton, he was benched before an injury to Taylor Powell put him back in, since which he has led the league in 2024 and 2025 in attempts, completions, yardage and touchdowns.

Here, his accurate deep ball was a major factor early, including a 56-yard touchdown strike to Kiondré Smith on his second pass of the game, while rookie tight end Maximilian Mang collected a pair of touchdowns on either side of the half. Quite the debut for the youngster.

In this game, he posted his second consecutive perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 with 5 touchdowns and just three interceptions. If he maintains his early-season form, he will be in the MOP conversation yet again, and the Ticats will be competing for the East Division title.

Hamilton have looked good in all three of their games so far on the way to a 2-1 start, whilst BC have looked particularly shaky on D on their way to an 0-2 start.

The Lions, though, weren’t entirely without merit. Nathan Rourke led an offence that controlled time of possession and outgained Hamilton by 444 yards to 347. The real problem was converting their chances. The Leos could only answer early Hamilton scores with field goals and couldn’t find the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, when a potential comeback had realistically shifted out of reach.

Two BC turnovers also directly produced 14 Tiger-Cats points and helped turn a manageable deficit into a much steeper climb. It feels like winning the turnover battle comes up a lot in this column, but things like this are the reason it does.

For Hamilton, Bo Levi Mitchell finished the game 15 of 18 for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns, Larry Rountree III had 18 carries for 82 yards, and Kenny Lawler led the receivers with 4 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. On defence, Braxton Hill led the way with 10 tackles. Meanwhile, for BC, Nathan Rourke finished the game 25 of 35 for 291 yards with 1 major and 1 pick.  

The second game of the weekend was a reunion of the Argonauts and their old head Coach. Not quite the ‘Dinwiddie Bowl’, but that was the main talking point as the Ottawa REDBLACKS hosted the Toronto Argonauts. Now coaching in Ottawa, Ryan Dinwiddie was taking on his former team for the first time since joining Ottawa. He was 51-35 with Toronto, winning two Grey Cups. However, following a 44-24 win here for the Argos, it was new Head Coach Mike Miller registering his first win whilst Dinwiddie drops to 0-2, leading the RedBlacks.

Argos quarterback Chad Kelly finished with 424 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 25 of 32 passes. Kevin Mital paced the Argos’ receiving room with 178 yards on eight catches, while David Ungerer III, Damonte Coxie, Tyler Kahmann and Makai Polk each recorded touchdown receptions. That is four different touchdown catchers, indicating that Toronto clearly has real depth in the receiving corps, and that was on full display here.

The four interceptions, though, must be a concern. The REDBLACKS defence swung momentum back to the home side later in the second half, picking off Kelly three times as they chased down a multi-possession deficit. Up until then, the Argos had control of this one and Kelly and the passing game had been in complete control. Then it seemed to derail.  The REDBLACKS simply could not take advantage. Despite the turnovers, Ottawa’s offence was unable to reach the end zone, and their comeback push was ultimately derailed by consecutive turnovers, as Benjie Franklin outjumped Eugene Lewis for an interception before Jack Cassar recovered a fumble on a punt return.

One area that will have offered some room for optimism in Ottawa was the growing connection between QB Jake Maier and Ayden Eberhardt as they synced really well in the passing game.

For Toronto, Chad Kelly was 25 of 32 for 424 yards with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Samuel Hicks had 16 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown, and Kevin Mital led the receiving corps with 8 catches covering 178 yards. Defensively, Isaac Darkangelo had 10 tackles. For Ottawa, Jake Maier was 25 of 40 for 281 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, and Ayden Eberhardt had 8 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown. Nyles Morgan led the way on D with 10 tackles.

The third game of the weekend saw the Edmonton Elks welcome the Montreal Alouettes to Commonwealth Stadium. This one mattered to most teams for getting early-season form going, but for different reasons. The Elks had not started 2-0 since 2019, whilst Montreal had started 3-0 in the past two seasons. It was the Elks who came out on top to go to 2-0 with a 32-29 overtime win.

The headline going into this one was Davis Alexander’s extraordinary unbeaten record as a CFL starter; 13 wins from 13 regular-season starts, and whether he could match Bo Levi Mitchell’s 2016 mark of 14 consecutive winning starts to begin a career. He could not. But the man who ended it had good reason to think he might.

Cody Fajardo and Davis Alexander know each other extremely well. They were teammates when Fajardo played for the Alouettes in 2023 and 2024, with Alexander serving as Fajardo’s backup on Montreal’s Grey Cup-winning team three years ago. This was, however, the first time they would face each other as opposing starters, and Fajardo had his own ideas about how it would go. “Davis and I were talking all week, with the whole record thing,” Fajardo said. “I was like, if anyone’s going to do it, let me get a chance at it.”

The key to this game was the conditions. Heavy rain in Edmonton made it a miserable afternoon to throw a football. Montreal led 13-7 at the half and had done enough to suggest they could win ugly in the rain. From an Alouettes perspective, the defence started well too. Geoffrey Cantin-Arku and Nate Beauchemin set the tone with physical play, and the first quarter was nearly flawless, capped by a forced fumble early in the second. The problem was what came after.

Enter Justin Rankin. Rankin only touched the ball once in the first quarter, losing two yards. But in the final three quarters, the 28-year-old RB put up 232 offensive yards on 17 carries and five receptions.

The Elks really exploded in the third quarter. Rankin found a seam and blazed 36 yards for the first rushing score before coming up big again with 6:40 to play in the third, overcoming a stumble and getting a great block from Fajardo before running 47 yards into the end zone. There was then a critical moment in the fourth quarter. Jake Julien’s spin on a fourth-quarter punt was enough to slip out of the hands of Mario Alford, with the Elks recovering on the Montreal 11-yard line, leading directly to an Edmonton field goal. Then came the fumble from Tyler Snead that led to another.

Davis Alexander and crew don’t give up easily, though, and down 10, they found a way back. A key throw to Tyson Philpot kept things going before Alexander hit on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Snead with three minutes remaining. Then Maltos Díaz tied it with a late field goal to force overtime.

In the extra session, Montreal drove methodically and took the lead with a field goal on the opening possession. Then came a remarkable sequence. After getting lucky when Rankin fumbled, and it was determined that the Elks got the last touch before the ball went out of bounds, Fajardo ran it in himself from six yards out to give the Elks the dramatic victory.

Fajardo was magnanimous about ending his old teammate’s record. “It was pretty impressive the way that we gutted it out. We’re a gritty team; we’re going to find ways to win here. We already knew we were a good football team. I think what this does is it puts the rest of the league on notice that this isn’t the same Edmonton Elks team from a couple of years ago. The standard has changed here.”

For Edmonton, Cody Fajardo was 19 of 29 for 231 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, Justin Rankin had 18 carries for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns and 5 receptions for 51 yards. Defensively, Chelen Garnes had 6 tackles and a fumble recovery. Across the field for Montreal, Davis Alexander went 29 of 44 for 356 yards and a touchdown, Travis Theis had 19 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Tyson Philpot had 8 catches for 120 yards.

The Final game of the weekend was in Calgary as the Calgary Stampeders welcomed the Saskatchewan Roughriders to town. In each of his previous two seasons as Rider’s head coach, Corey Mace had led Saskatchewan to 2-0 starts. However, Calgary had won five of the teams’ last six meetings and swept the season series last year. So, something had to give!

You could argue they had saved the best until last with this game, too. There is a reason they play sixty minutes of football and two periods of overtime, and this game was the proof. If you needed a reminder of why the CFL is such a wonderful league, look no further than this one.

Before a ball was even kicked, there was a backstory worth noting. Canadian receiver Jalen Philpot had provided bulletin board material for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. HC Corey Mace and WR Kian Schaffer-Baker admitted post-game. The defending champions needed no extra motivation to beat Calgary, but it appears they got some anyway.

In the first half, the Roughriders were simply dominant. The Stamps ran 17 plays for 52 yards through two quarters compared to the Green and White’s 35 plays for 316 yards. That stat tells you everything about how the opening half went. However, the half ended on a moment that threatened to change everything. With Saskatchewan leading 23-7, Mace elected to have rookie Global kicker Alex Hale try a 47-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half, going into a stiff breeze. The 28-year-old missed the kick wide left. The wind pushed the football outside the goalpost just as it had three plays earlier when he missed a 32-yard point-after attempt, and Tyreik McAllister brought it back 120 yards for a touchdown. That made the score 23-14 at half despite the Roughriders dominance.

To Mace’s credit, he learned from the mistake in hindsight. During Saskatchewan’s first drive in the third quarter, faced with a third-and-eight from Calgary’s 33-yard line going into the wind, Mace kept the offence on the field, and Harris completed a timing out-route throw to Samuel Emilus for a first down. That led to a quick slant KeeSean Johnson touchdown plus a two-point convert, extending the lead to 31-17.

The story of the game for Saskatchewan was Kian Schaffer-Baker, who is becoming a real handful for opposing defences. Schaffer-Baker has recorded back-to-back 100-yard receiving games for the first time in his CFL career, producing eight receptions for 130 yards with two touchdowns at McMahon Stadium. One week earlier at Mosaic Stadium, he posted 11 catches for 165 yards.

The Stamps clawed their way back in the fourth quarter in extraordinary fashion. Vernon Adams Jr. drove his team the length of the field, and Tevin Jones caught the game-tying touchdown with 43 seconds remaining to complete Adams Jr.’s masterful drive in the final two minutes and 44 seconds.

In overtime, it went to double sessions, and the critical sequence came via the officials. After trading field goals in the first overtime session, a holding penalty against Vyshonne Janusas was assessed on what appeared to be a promising Stamps drive in the second overtime period. Erik Brooks had brought the ball to Saskatchewan’s five-yard line, but the penalty moved the line of scrimmage back to the 35. It was only a 10-yard penalty on the books, but it cost Calgary 30 yards of field position and forced them to settle for a field goal.

Then Saskatchewan drove in response. Harris completed passes to Emilus, Dhel Duncan-Busby, and Schaffer-Baker before Tommy Stevens punched it in from one yard out for the game-winner. Stevens and the Riders may have the best short-yardage package in the CFL, and you saw that to full effect here.

For Dave Dickenson and the Stampeders, it is now 0-2, both defeats coming at home, both in overtime or beyond, and the second consecutive walk-off loss at McMahon Stadium to open their 2026 season. For the Roughriders, they are 2-0 with wins that have shown both brilliance and fragility. It is worth pausing on one historical nugget here. Starting with a win in Calgary back on September 20, 2024, the Roughriders have now sported a 20-5 record in games that have a bearing on the standings or playoff placement. That September 2024 victory, followed by a 0-6-1 slump, changed their fortunes completely, eventually leading to the run that ultimately led to the 2025 Grey Cup.

For Saskatchewan, Trevor Harris finished the game 23 of 36 for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns, AJ Ouellette had 18 carries for 84 yards, and Kian Schaffer-Baker led the receivers with 8 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, for Calgary, Vernon Adams Jr finished the game 20 of 30 for 254 yards and a touchdown, Dedrick Mills had 15 carries for 103 yards, and Erik Brooks led the way with 6 catches for 64 yards. Marquel Lee led the defensive charge with 8 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.

The first three weeks of the 2026 CFL season have really delivered. This week, we saw 274 points scored over 4 games, another QB masterclass, the end of ‘the streak’, overtime finishes, and a missed kick returned 120 yards for a TD. A cynic might ask why the rules need changing in the face of this. For me, the biggest question, as a lover of the fantastic special teams rules in the CFL, is why would we want to restrict the chances of seeing such great plays as Tyreik McAllister’s touchdown return? But these are not my decisions to make. So, for now, let’s really enjoy the games as they are.

Week 4 gets underway with the Edmonton Elks visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday, June 26th, in the early hours UK time, but is available to catch up on CFL+, the league’s free streaming service outside Canada. A big early test for both sides. On Friday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Toronto Argonauts, and on Saturday, the BC Lions welcome the Calgary Stampeders to Kelowna, as their stadium in Vancouver plays host to World Cup games, in what could be a make-or-break game for two sides looking for their first win of 2026. Sunday sees the Montreal Alouettes host the Ottawa REDBLACKS, with both teams having something to prove. A full four-game slate to look forward to once again.

Until next week, CFL friends!

MOP's of Week 3

O – Bo Levi Mitchell, QB Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 15 of 18 for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns.

D – Nate Beauchemin DT, Montreal Alouettes: 5 tackles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery.

ST – Tyreik McAllister KR/RB Calgary Stampeders: 1 missed Field Goal returned 120 yards for a touchdown, 4 punt returns for 34 yards, 4 kickoff returns for 39 yards. 1 carry for 14 yards.

Interdivisional Standings This Week: East Division 1, West Division 1

Interdivisional Standings 2026 season: East Division 2, West Division 2

Home Field Advantage?

This Week: Home 2 Away 2

The Season so Far: Home 4 Away 6

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

Rated 5 out of 5