The Edmonton Elks needed exactly one half to nearly blow their bye week send-off, and exactly one half to save it. Down big and looking lost against Winnipeg, the Elks flipped the script after halftime and rode another Vincent Blanchard walk-off field goal to a win that head coach Mark Kilam says means more than anything Edmonton has done all year.
"I felt like we did not play our best ball," Kilam said. "Full credit to Winnipeg in that first half. They came out, they were the better football team, they were more physical... there was like 31 plays to 7 at one point in that first half."
That's not a typo. Winnipeg ran 31 plays to Edmonton's 7 at one stretch, and the Elks were on their heels for the better part of 30 minutes. Then came halftime, some hard words in the locker room, and a completely different team walking out for the second half.
The Halftime Switch
Quarterback Cody Fajardo didn't sugarcoat how bad it got. "I just felt like we were a little out of sync. We missed on some plays. It's tough. These are tough games when you have a bye week looming, 10 straight," he said. "Like, I felt like the first half we weren't all there, just mentally we weren't there. And then at halftime there were some words said in that locker room and guys came out fired up."
Kilam credited the defense for keeping the door open even while getting overrun early. "The best part about that was we were holding them to 3s, not touchdowns," he said. "I think that kept us in the game... obviously the defense in the second half was outstanding. I mean, they've been playing good football all year."
Fajardo pointed to the offensive line as the reason Edmonton could climb back into it, singling them out for the game ball. "Zero sacks, wear it on their defensive line all night," Fajardo said. "We won the game because of them."
Zero Penalties, Rare and Notable
Both Kilam and Fajardo flagged the same stat unprompted: Edmonton played a full game with zero penalties, something that's dogged this team all season. "We bring it up, but we try not to like beat a dead horse with it," Kilam said. "It's an area we have to improve on... maybe it can drop that number down a little bit for us."
Fajardo called it the difference-maker in a game where Edmonton turned the ball over three times. "Very uncharacteristic night offensively with the turnovers we had," he said. "Having zero penalties, that's what helps kind of swing it into our favor when you do turn the ball over 3 times. Credit to the guys. We've been working technique, technique, technique, trying to stay away from putting ourselves in tough situations."
Blanchard Does It Again
For the second time this season, it came down to Vincent Blanchard's leg — and for the second time, he delivered. Kilam broke down the three-phase sequence that set up the winning kick: an interception, a huge special teams play, and then the offense grinding out the rest.
"We had the interception, uh, then we had a critical, critical punt cover coming out. Ty'Shawn Blackburn made a great tackle. You know, our offense stayed on the field, Rankin and the O-line just willing it, making it happen, get us in position for Vin to work." — Mark Kilam
Blanchard, for his part, made it sound simple. "It's a good feeling just to do your job. Everybody have a job, and my job is to put the ball in the post, and just happy to do my job," he said. Asked what goes through his mind walking onto the field for a game-winner, he kept it just as level: "No, to be honest, just stay relaxed, just breathe and trust the process. Everything is doing well this season. Just stay positive and just believe in yourself."
He also gave credit to his battery mates. "Brad do a very good job since Luke get injury. Jake, he's pretty good. He got good hands. I always trust is whole, and we work together almost since the start of the season," Blanchard said. Comparing tonight's walk-off to his game-silencing kick in Saskatchewan, he said, "It's nice to get the feeling to do this away and now to do this at home. I think both kicks was a good feeling, to be honest."
Fajardo didn't hide his admiration for his kicker's mentality. "He's a guy that we got ultimately trust in. And it's a hard job to stand on the sideline all game long, then come out here and kick a game-winning field goal," Fajardo said. "The guy is just dialed this year. He really wants to be a part of this, you know, the game winners, and he wants that on his shoulders."
What It Means Heading Into the Bye
This win pushes the Elks to 8-3 heading into a 17-day break, and Fajardo says the number is no accident. "Getting to 8-3 at the bye week is what I challenged them 2 weeks ago. I said it's a 2-game sprint to 8-3 to the bye, and they answered the call. And it's pretty, it's a pretty awesome locker room in there right now," he said.
He also framed this comeback as bigger than last week's blowout of Toronto. "This says way more than last week's win," Fajardo said. "Divisional opponent, a lot on the line. Us with a bye week looming, sometimes your mind's elsewhere... I think this will give us confidence going throughout the rest of the season... knowing that if we don't play our best ball, we can kind of get ourselves out of a funk."
Kilam is already leaning into the identity Edmonton has built at home, floating a new nickname for Commonwealth Stadium. "This is the concrete castle of the North, man. And that's what we think. And we defend it as such," he said.
As for what the bye week actually looks like, don't expect total shutdown mode. "We're obviously not going to be off for 17 days, but these guys earned it, man," Kilam said. "We'll come back ready to rock and roll for Labor Day." Blanchard has simpler plans — his girlfriend is in town for the week, and he's looking forward to just hanging out and recharging before the Elks push for the rest of their 2026 schedule.
Watch the Full Videos
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | HC Mark Kilam | 08.21.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | K Vincent Blanchard | 08.21.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | QB Cody Fajardo | 08.21.26