10.09.2026 | Game Preview: AT Hamilton

Week 19 of the 2026 CFL regular season kicks off when the Edmonton Elks visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field on Friday (Oct. 9).

Catch the action live at 5 p.m. MDT on TSN, 880 CHED and CFL+

Edmonton sits atop the CFL West Division standings with a record of 11-4, while the host Tiger-Cats are third in the East Division at 5-11, snapped a five-game losing streak last week with a victory over the winless Ottawa RedBlacks.

Playoff Push

While the Tiger-Cats have been officially eliminated from postseason contention, Edmonton is already assured of a spot in the West Division playoffs and is now close to locking down one of the top spots in the division.

With a victory on Friday, Edmonton clinches a home playoff game, which would be its first postseason contest at Commonwealth Stadium in 11 years. Furthermore, if the Elks defeat the Tiger-Cats and the BC Lions lose to the RedBlacks in Friday’s late game (8 p.m. MDT), Edmonton will clinch first place in the West, something the Green and Gold last achieved in 2015.

“We have a playoff spot secured, but we want to win the West, and the way you do that, for us, is to keep winning games,” Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo says.

Rematch From Week 17

It was just a couple weeks ago, on Sept. 26, that the Elks and Tiger-Cats squared off in a history-making game at Commonwealth Stadium that won’t soon be forgotten.

With Elks kicker Vincent Blanchard making all nine of his field goal attempts to set a new CFL record, Edmonton came out on top by a score of 37-35. The teams were tied 35-35 after overtime, necessitating a two-point conversion shootout for just the second time since the CFL introduced the new tiebreaking format.

Hamilton led 29-26 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter before Blanchard drilled a 27-yard field goal to force overtime. The nail-biting battle continued a recent trend between the Elks and Tiger-Cats, who have now had three straight meetings decided by four points or less.

“We’re looking at it as we want to play good football,” says Elks coach Mark Kilam. “We want to prepare ourselves in the right way this week. That game could have gone either way the last time we played them. We found a way to win, which is incredibly important, but we want to prepare ourselves to play winning football, go out on an Eastern road trip, (and) play a tough opponent in their place.”

Week 18 marked Edmonton’s third and final bye of the 2026 CFL regular season. The Elks won their two previous games coming off a bye, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 32-29 in overtime at home in Week 13, and rallying to beat the Calgary Stampeders 38-28 at McMahon Stadium on Labour Day last month.

Ready for the Ti-Cats

While they’ve got just five wins this season, the Tiger-Cats have been playing much better of late, outscoring the opposition by 30 points over their last nine quarters. Hamilton allows the fewest passing yards per game in the CFL and ranks third among all teams in opponent’s average net offence.

“I’ve said it even before we played them last game, their record doesn’t indicate how good that football team is,” Fajardo says. “Looking at them defensively, they’re a top 5 defence in a lot of categories.

“They’ve got a lot of veteran guys that I have a lot of respect for, that have been CFL all-stars (and) have been really good players in this league,” Fajardo continues, “so we’re going to have our hands full again, and it’s going to be one of those tough-sledding games that we’ve got to find a way to win, probably late.

“Also we haven’t played great out East, and we know that, so this is way to right some of those wrongs and change that mentality going out East,” adds Fajardo. “It’s going to be a good challenge.”

Edmonton is 1-2 in the Eastern Time Zone this season. However, the Elks have returned victorious from three of their last four trips to Tim Hortons Field going back to 2023.

Players to Watch

Elks defensive back Tyrell Ford picked off Hamilton quarterback Harrison Forst during Edmonton’s Week 17 victory, bringing his league-leading interception total to seven this season. This game represents a homecoming of sorts for the 28-year-old, who grew up in Niagara Falls, less than an hour from Hamilton. In his three previous CFL games at Tim Hortons Field, Ford has one interception.

Veteran Tiger-Cats receiver Kenny Lawler had his best performance of 2026 in Ottawa last week, with 6 catches, 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns, all season highs. With 832 receiving yards this season, the two-time CFL league All-Star needs 168 yards over Hamilton’s final two games for the third 1,000-yard season of his decorated CFL career. Lawler played one season with the Elks, in 2022.