The Edmonton Elks needed every bit of their fourth quarter to stay perfect. Down from 17-0, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers clawed all the way back to take the lead — and then Cody Fajardo went right down the field and hit TJ Luther in the end zone for a touchdown that turned out to be historic. Edmonton gutted out the 23-18 win, moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017, and walked out of Princess Auto Stadium with something to feel genuinely good about.
Fajardo Delivers When It Matters Most
Fajardo wasn't handing out participation trophies for how his offense played. He'll be the first one to tell you it wasn't clean. But clutch? Absolutely.
"We're not playing our best ball all through four quarters, but what we are doing is we're playing our best ball in critical times. And when you do that, you're going to win more games than you're going to lose." — Cody Fajardo
The noise inside Winnipeg's stadium made it worse. When the Bombers took the lead and the crowd got loud, Fajardo said the Elks were battling just to communicate at the line of scrimmage.
"We had some communication issues breaking the huddle, wrong side of the field, guys not getting quite the concept. A couple times we stalled ourselves out because it was just tough to communicate." — Cody Fajardo
He worked through it anyway. That drive, that touchdown pass — it ended up being the 100th of Fajardo's CFL career. And the guy on the receiving end? Luther, catching the first TD of his.
Luther's First, Fajardo's 100th
It was the kind of moment that writes itself. Fajardo acknowledged Luther had been robbed on the play before — just a bit short in the end zone — so when the ball came his way again, there was no hesitation about where it was going.
"I believe that was my 100th career touchdown pass and that was his first. So pretty cool stat there. The ball's going to go to him obviously because your first one is pretty special." — Cody Fajardo
Luther, for his part, kept it simple and genuine. No overthinking it.
"It felt pretty good. Highly blessed, man. Thank Jesus for that one, man." — TJ Luther
Head coach Mark Kilam said his immediate reaction when Luther pulled it in wasn't celebration — it was chess. Already thinking about going for two.
"I was immediately just talking about going for 2 and see if we can make it a 7-point game." — Mark Kilam
The Second Half Scare
Edmonton had a 17-0 lead and let all of it evaporate. Kilam didn't sugarcoat it, but he also wasn't panicking about it.
"It's the CFL. Sure, we'd like to have a couple more there, but they're a good football team. They made their plays and ultimately we found a way to win." — Mark Kilam
Luther said the locker room never flinched when Winnipeg took the lead back. This group has been in tight spots before and they knew what to do.
"No, we wasn't worried. We've been in that position before, so we already knew what we had to do to get out of it. We just knew we had to lock in and focus on what our assignment was." — TJ Luther
Luther credited Fajardo for keeping the offense from unraveling when the noise was at its loudest: "Cody, he voiced that offense, man. He kept us all together. Even when the crowd was loud, we couldn't hear anything, he kept us together and kept us in the game for sure."
3-0 and Changing the Narrative
Edmonton hasn't started a season 3-0 since 2017. That's not lost on anyone in that locker room, especially Fajardo, who has been a part of the organizational rebuild and knows exactly what's been written about this franchise over the past several years.
"There's been a narrative that's been written about this organization over the last six years. And all I wanted to do, and these guys want to do, is just change that narrative. And we do that by starting 3-0." — Cody Fajardo
He was quick to pump the brakes on any championship talk though. He knows the CFL is a long season and rough patches are coming — the point is how you handle them when they arrive.
Luther was a little less measured. Ask him where the Elks stand right now, and he'll tell you straight.
"Nobody messing with us, man. I feel like we got the best team in the league. We all stay together and very assignment-oriented." — TJ Luther
Edmonton's attention now turns to a date with the BC Lions next week. At 3-0 and sitting atop the West Division, the Elks will find out quickly whether this start is the real deal — but right now, nobody in that locker room is losing any sleep over it.
Watch the Full Videos
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | HC Mark Kilam | 06.25.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | QB Cody Fajardo | 06.25.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | WR TJ Luther | 06.25.26