CFL ‘Quick Kicks’ 2026: Week 4

Let’s dive right in. The first game of the weekend saw a big game in the West as the  Edmonton Elks visited the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It was the Elks who came away with a 23-18  win, marking the first time they have started a season at 3-0 since 2017! They also broke a streak, given that this was the first time an Edmonton team has won in Winnipeg in nine attempts, with the Elks last winning in the Peg on November the 3^rd, 2018.

The first half was emphatically Edmonton’s in this game. Justin Rankin set the tone early with a five-yard touchdown run, and things very nearly got worse for the home side shortly after. Tyrell Ford intercepted Zach Collaros and appeared headed for a touchdown after taking a lateral from Brock Mogensen, only for Collaros himself to chase Ford down to prevent the score. An impressive individual play from a 37-year-old quarterback, and the Elks were held to a field goal from the subsequent drive, but that still left the score 10-0 after the first quarter. Short-yardage quarterback Cole Snyder then punched in a touchdown following another efficient Cody Fajardo-led drive to extend the lead to 17-0.

We have often mentioned here that more often than not if a team wins the turnover battle, they go on to win. With that in mind it is worth mentioning that it is not often that a team fumbles four times in the same half. Winnipeg managed it here and it cost them dearly. Brady Oliveira was crushed at the line of scrimmage by defensive lineman Jordan Williams early in the first quarter, lost control of the ball, which popped into the air and was scooped up by Brock Mogensen for the Elks. Then in the second quarter, rookie tight end Dante Daniels caught a pass and was making ground up the sideline when he attempted to hurdle a defender, only to fumble as he took a hit from Kordell Jackson. Five plays later, the Elks scored a touchdown to increase their lead to 17-0.

Winnipeg did show some life before the break. Collaros engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Tim White, cutting Edmonton’s lead to 17-7 at halftime.

If you have ever read these columns before you will know that I am always banging the drum for the importance of special teams to the overall result. That applied here too. Sergio Castillo, as consistent as any kicker in the CFL usually, had a night to forget, missing from 49 yards in the first quarter and 50 yards in the second. When you lose a game by five points and miss two field goals, those mistakes loom very large indeed. He did recover to knock through a 53-yarder in the third, but the damage from those early misses was already done.

The third quarter belonged to neither side in particular. Castillo connected on that field goal after a single on the opening kickoff trimmed the deficit to six, while both teams forced key turnovers. Michael Griffin jarred the ball loose from Rankin for Winnipeg before Noah Taylor forced a Collaros fumble that was recovered by Malik Carney for Edmonton. Joel Dublanko, Noah Taylor and Jordan Williams each recorded a sack, with the team also forcing three fumbles courtesy of Taylor, Williams and Kordell Jackson.

With the Bombers trailing 17-11 entering the fourth quarter they put together what was arguably their best drive of the evening. Collaros completed all five of his pass attempts on the possession, including a 14-yard touchdown strike to Brady Oliveira, while Bryce Perkins added a crucial 20-yard run on second-and-one to help Winnipeg take an 18-17 lead. Princess Auto Stadium came alive in a big way. The Blue Bombers had extended their sell-out streak to 16 consecutive games here, and those supporters were making their presence felt.

But the Elks had one more answer. There was a resonance about Cody Fajardo’s winning throw too. Fans in Winnipeg may have been reminded of the 110th Grey Cup and Fajardo’s game-winning pass to Tyson Philpot that day. Here, the veteran quarterback hit T.J. Luther for an eight-yard touchdown with 56 seconds left. It was a quick slant to the left. Which was essentially the same route Philpot ran in that Grey Cup three years ago. It was also the 100th touchdown pass of his CFL career.

Fajardo was gracious in victory: “This is a team that there’s been a lot of changeover, there’s a narrative that’s been written about this organisation over the last several years, and all I want to do and all these guys want to do is just change that narrative, and we do that by starting 3-0.” T.J. Luther himself was equally bullish, declaring: “Nobody’s messing with us. I feel like we’ve got the best team in the league.”

Amid the Elks’ joy, it is worth pausing to recognise one Bomber who was exceptional on the night. Trey Vaval was arguably Winnipeg’s best player, returning six punts for 83 yards and three kickoffs for 105 yards, making at least one defender miss each time he had the ball in his hands. He is the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Special Teams Player and continues to make a strong case for defending that honour in 2026. Although as we will see, he had plenty of competition across the rest of the week.

For Edmonton, Fajardo finished 25 of 35 for 267 yards and the winning score. Rankin had 106 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He is leading the CFL in rushing scores through four weeks too, while Kaion Julien-Grant was the top receiver with 6 catches for 84 yards.