10.16.2026 | Game Preview: VS Winnipeg
The Edmonton Elks host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in CFL Week 19 action at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday (Oct. 16) at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Catch the action live on TSN, 880 CHED and CFL+
With wins in six of their last seven games, the surging Elks have a CFL West Division-leading record of 12-4. Winnipeg is tied for third place in the division standings alongside the Saskatchewan Roughriders with matching records of 8-8.
Playoff Picture
The Elks are already assured of finishing no worse than second in the West Division, guaranteeing themselves a home playoff game. With either a win by the Elks or a loss by the B.C. Lions over the final two weeks of the regular season, the Green and Gold will clinch top spot in the division and earn a bye to the West Final, which Edmonton would then host on Nov. 7.
While they have many clinching scenarios, the Elks intend to take care of business themselves with a win on Friday in front of the Commonwealth faithful.
“We have high standards and high expectations in this building and we’re trying to take another step this weekend,” Elks coach Mark Kilam says.
The Elks have been dominant at Commonwealth Stadium, where they have a record of 7-1 this season and wins in 11 of their last 13 games overall going back to the 2025 season.
The last time Edmonton both reached and hosted the West Final was in 2015, when the Green and Gold defeated the Calgary Stampeders en route to winning the Grey Cup.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, also has plenty to play for, as the Blue Bombers can clinch a postseason berth with a victory in Edmonton.
Renewing Acquaintances
This is the third meeting of the season between the Elks and the Bombers. Edmonton won both prior games, 23-18 on the road in Week 3 and 22-19 at home in Week 11.
Both games featured dramatic finishes. At Princess Auto Stadium on June 25, Cody Fajardo passed to T.J. Luther for a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to lift Edmonton to victory over the host Blue Bombers. Eight weeks later, on Aug. 21, Elks kicker Vincent Blanchard sent Commonwealth Stadium into a frenzy when he booted the game-winning field goal to break a tie with Winnipeg as time expired.
After losing 13 consecutive regular season games to Winnipeg between June 2019 and June 2025, the Green and Gold are now on a three-game win streak against the Blue Bombers going back to October 2025. All three of those victories have come by five points or less.
“I’m excepting their best effort,” Elks defensive end Malik Carney said. “They’re a veteran team, we’re expecting them to come out and play bully ball, establish the run, but we’ve got a job to do, and knowing us and knowing our front, we’re not going for that, so they’re going to have a tough time, but it should be a great game.”
Quarterback Battle
Friday’s match-up features two of the CFL’s top veteran quarterbacks going head-to-head, in Edmonton’s Cody Fajardo and Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros.
Since coming to the CFL in 2016, the 34-year-old Fajardo has dressed for 157 regular season games, throwing for 26,074 yards and 120 touchdowns. The 34-year-old has won the Grey Cup twice, been named Grey Cup MVP once, and was finalist CFL Most Outstanding Player in 2019.
Collaros, 38, made his CFL debut in 2012, and has suited up for 182 regular season games, passing for 38,536 yards and 229 touchdowns. He’s won three Grey Cups, is a one-time Grey Cup MVP, and been named the CFL Most Outstanding Player tiwce.
Fajardo is having his finest CFL season, having already set career highs for completions (370) and passing yards (4,668) and touchdowns (23). Collaros missed several weeks due to injury, but has still totalled 199 competitions for 2,553 yards with 13 touchdowns over 10 games.
The two were briefly teammates with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019, before Collaros was traded. Since then, they have gone head-to-head as starters 14 times, including twice in the postseason.
“He’s seen it all, he’s done it all,” Fajardo said. “The guy’s a Grey Cup champion, he’s an MOP. He’s a quarterback that, for me, I can help our defence out by sustaining drives and staying on the field and trying to keep him on the sidelines.
“I’ve just got so much respect for him, and when our paths crossed in (Saskatchewan) he did a lot for me as a first-time starter,” continues Fajardo. “So I’ve just got a lot of respect for him and the way he plays the game, so I always tell him after the game, it’s always great competing against him.
“We’ve had our fair share of back-and-forths, me winning some, him winning some, and I don’t expect anything different in this one: two competitors giving it their all.”
Players to Watch
Elks running back Justin Rankin racked up nearly 200 rushing yards over Edmonton’s previous two games against Winnipeg this season. The native of Frisco, Texas, ran for 106 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, then totalled 93 yards on the ground in Week 11. Through 16 games, Rankin ranks second in the CFL this season with 1,037 yards rushing, his second consecutive year topping 1,000 for the Green and Gold.
There won’t be many visiting players more popular at Commonwealth Stadium than Jake Ceresna. The Winnipeg defensive end spent five seasons wearing Green and Gold over three stints in Edmonton: 2018, 2021 to 2023, and 2025, totalling 36 sacks. At age 32, the two-time CFL All-Star continues to be a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, with seven sacks so far this season, tied for sixth most in the CFL.