The Edmonton Elks aren't winning pretty right now, and honestly, nobody in that locker room cares. A defense that's picked off four passes and forced turnover after turnover bailed out a patchwork offensive line and a receiving corps playing musical chairs, and Edmonton walked away 5-1 anyway. Quarterback Cody Fajardo, head coach Mark Kilam, and defensive back Kenneth Logan Jr. all stood in front of the media afterward with the same message: this was ugly, and they'll take it.
"Great teams find ways to win bad football games," Fajardo said. "That's what we did tonight. We're a 5-1 football team that found a way to beat a very good BC team playing ugly football, at least offensively."
An Offense Held Together By Duct Tape
Edmonton went into this one already thin, and it got thinner during the week. Fajardo explained the offense was scrambling after expecting Joe Robustelli back, only for him to get hurt on day two of practice, forcing three guys into new receiver spots on short notice.
"We had 3 guys in new receiver positions. We had a lot of MAs tonight, a lot of mistakes where we just either ran the wrong route or just broke the huddle not knowing what we did. And that just stalled us out." — Cody Fajardo
The offensive line situation wasn't any better. Edmonton has been "bit with the injury bug," as Fajardo put it, losing Beard, Woody, and now Carter up front. Enter Pashula, thrown into the lineup on short notice.
"He was our monster guy this week. Every time we got in the huddle and we had the monster plays, he knew exactly where to line up, what to do and where to go. Like he was just a pro all week." — Cody Fajardo on Pashula
Fajardo also praised backup center Mark for stepping in clean, no bad snaps, sharp communication on protections. But he didn't sugarcoat his own night either, admitting he missed a throw to Cephus late that could have iced the game without a defensive stand. Fajardo finished 27-of-37 for 282 yards and a touchdown, and pointed to the mid-20s as his sweet spot for attempts — 37 drop-backs with a banged-up line, he said, just isn't sustainable.
The Defense Was the Story
While the offense searched for rhythm, Edmonton's defense turned BC quarterback Chase Brice's four interceptions into the difference in a two-point game. Kilam didn't hesitate when asked who won this one.
"They've been carrying this team for a long time... How many picks they have? 4? So, I mean, they did a great job." — HC Mark Kilam
Logan Jr., who grabbed one of those picks and nearly had a second, credited the group's offseason identity. "That was just us playing with grit. That's what we built ourself on this offseason," he said. He pointed to the secondary's recent run — 10 interceptions over the last three games — as something that's clicking, crediting the front seven for creating the pressure that lets the defensive backs read and react.
"The guys up front, put me in position to go make plays and then I could trust my secondary behind me. So anytime it allows me to go be a ball player, that's what I'm gonna do." — Kenneth Logan Jr.
Logan also singled out containing BC running back James Butler, who torched Edmonton last time these two teams met. "All week KJ had told me this game was going to be on me," Logan said, referencing his last two outings against Butler. "I made a point to myself... that we were going to go out there and make sure everybody knew that we were coming to play today." Kilam backed that up, saying the group "took it personally" after Butler's big runs in the previous matchup and "rose up to that challenge."
Penalties and a Sputtering Start
Both Fajardo and Kilam flagged discipline as the game's biggest wart. Fajardo pointed out several flags came on punt and kick returns, killing field position and forcing the offense to work backward. Kilam was blunter about special teams specifically: "I'm tired of taking penalty on every single time. So we're gonna continue to coach technique and we need to execute those techniques."
Kilam also admitted the team let a struggling BC squad hang around far too long, especially after the Lions lost their starting quarterback on the first play of the game. "I just thought we just gave them so many chances to come back in and that's what I'm sick about," he said. "We sputtered out of the gate. That's definitely an area we can grow, but we found a way and sometimes you got to win ugly."
Cephus Answers the Call, Rookie Gets Baptized
One bright spot amid the shuffling: Josh Cephus, thrust into the slot on a week's notice after being out of the lineup entirely on day one. Fajardo nearly got him to 100 yards and said the mental toughness stood out more than the box score.
"On day 1, he was out of the lineup. And then by day 3, starting at the W position... He could have easily just sulked and been pissed off at the world and just not cared about it, but he didn't." — Cody Fajardo
Kilam echoed that sentiment, noting Cephus was still splitting reps with Robustelli early in the week before getting the bulk of the workload. On defense, rookie Gavin Meyer made his first-ever appearance memorable, picking off a pass on his very first play. "We liked him the back half of last year... we thought he had a good training camp," Kilam said.
Looking Ahead to Saskatchewan
At 3-0 at home this season — a sharp turnaround from a team that was 1-4 in its last five home games a year ago — Edmonton now sits alone in first place in the West heading into a short-week road trip to face the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders, who will be coming off a bye.
"It seems like we're always playing teams off a bye week... This team knows we can win on the road. We know we can do it on short weeks and we can know we can do it against teams on a bye." — Cody Fajardo
Logan Jr. put it simply: "We just try to go 1-0 every week. So we know that they're great cup champs. We just got to find a way." Kilam called the crowd at Commonwealth Stadium the best he's seen outside of Labour Day, and made clear this group has moved past what he called "the dark days" of home struggles. Ugly or not, Edmonton is 5-1, and it's about to find out if grinding out wins with a patchwork roster travels on the road against a champion.
Watch the Full Videos
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | QB Cody Fajardo | 07.17.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | HC Mark Kilam | 07.17.26
Edmonton Elks: POST GAME | DB Kenneth Logan Jr. | 07.17.26