11.07.2026 | Game Preview: VS Lions
A trip the Grey Cup is on the line when the Edmonton Elks take on the BC Lions in the 2026 CFL Western Final presented by Wegovy at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium, Saturday (Nov. 7) at 5:30 p.m. ABT.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Catch the action live on TSN, 880 CHED and CFL+
The Elks are coming a bye through the opening week of the 2026 CFL Playoffs, while the Lions knocked off the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 33-26 in the Western Semi-Final at BC Place last Saturday (Oct. 31), ensuring there will be a new champion in the CFL this year.
Saturday’s victor will head to the 113th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, where they will face the winner of the Eastern Final, either the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on Nov. 15.
This is Edmonton’s first playoff game in seven years and first time playing in the postseason at home since 2015, when the Green and Gold defeated the Calgary Stampeders en route to capturing the Grey Cup. Edmonton earned the right to host the Western Final by finishing atop their division’s standings with a record of 13-5, three wins more than BC.
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Many of the Elks top players across all three phases will make their CFL Playoffs debut on Saturday, including linebacker Nick Anderson, kicker Vincent Blanchard, fullback Syler Griffith, punter Jake Julien, wide receiver TJ Luther, offensive lineman Carter O’Donnell, running back Justin Rankin, defensive backs Kordell Jackson and J.J. Ross, and defensive lineman Noah Taylor, just to name a few. Even those who have previously suited up for CFL postseason action are doing so for the first time wearing Green and Gold.
But if it ever starts to get deep, all can look to the man that has led this team since Day 1 of training camp, quarterback Cody Fajardo.
The 34-year-old veteran is a two-time Grey Cup champion and one-time Grey Cup Most Valuable Player. He’s made six previous trips to the CFL Playoffs, appearing in a total of 10 games, compiling a 4-3 record as a starter. This will be his fifth time starting a CFL division final.
“I’ve played in the East and West Final multiple times, and I find that when people make it bigger than it is, that’s when the mistakes feel bigger, and then it snowball effects,” the 2026 CFL Most Outstanding Player award finalist said. “So I always find the team that hits the reset button the fastest when things aren’t going your waly has the best chance to win.
“You always feel the intensity,” Fajardo continued. “There’s more media you have to talk to, there’s more fans in the stands, so everybody always makes it bigger than it is. Yes, it’s a big game, but mentally you have to get yourself in a position to play the next play.
“I think we’ve done that all year. We’ve won multiple different ways this year, so it should give us confidence. We’ve started slow, we’ve started fast. We’ve won in the third quarter; we’ve won in the fourth quarter. We’ve found ways to win and we have to draw on those strengths and those experiences in this game versus a very talented team coming in here. Win one game, you find yourself in the Grey Cup. and so that’s the job for us.”
Rubber Match
It’s fitting the Elks and Lions should cross paths at this juncture. Not only because these teams finished with the two best records in the West Division during the regular season, but because they split their two games against one another. Now the rubber match will decide who gets to play for the greatest prize in Canadian football, and, according to Elks head coach Mark Kilam, it’s going to be “a war”.
“They’re an extremely physical football team; well coached, good players across the board. That’s what it’s going to be,” said Kilam.
When Edmonton and BC first squared off this year, at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna on July 4, the Lions prevailed by a score of 36-24. Halftime saw BC ahead by a score of 29-21 after a wild opening two quarters that saw the teams combine to score six touchdowns, before things settled down over the final 30 minutes.
In the rematch just two weeks later, on July 17, the Elks responded with a 19-17 victory before their fans at Commonwealth Stadium. Edmonton built up a 16-7 lead in the first half, then held on to beat the visitors, coming up with a massive stop on third down late in the fourth quarter.
“It feels like forever ago since we played BC,” Fajardo said. “I think both teams have gotten so much better since the last time that we faced each other, that’s what’s going to make this game so much more intriguing.”
Comparing the team’s total head-to-head stats from their two meetings this season, the Lions and Elks each had 44 first downs. Edmonton had a slight 15-yard edge in net offence, 701-686, while BC held the ball for just over three minutes more of possession time, 61:34 – 58:26.
This will be the first postseason game pitting the Green and Gold against BC since the Western Final in 2011, when the host Lions won by a score of 40-23 at BC Place.
Defend the Castle
It was during August, after yet another home victory for the Green and Gold, that Kilam dubbed Commonwealth Stadium “the Concrete Castle of the North.” Then social media went to work.
The moniker spread like wildfire and has very quickly become a defining part of the identity of the Elks and their fans, who have made Commonwealth Stadium a most unwelcoming surface for opponents to set foot in.
Edmonton compiled the West Division’s best home record this season, going 8-1 at Commonwealth Stadium. Dating back to 2025, Edmonton has won 12 of its last 14 games on Play Alberta Field.
Saturday will mark the Green and Gold’s first playoff home game in more than 4,000 days, the longest such gap in club history, and attendance is expected to be well over 30,000.
“Honestly it gives me chills when you talk about that,” Fajardo said. “When we run out of this tunnel, we need our fans. We need our fans in this game.
Since the facility opened in 1978, the Elks have a 19-9 postseason record at Commonwealth Stadium, including 9-5 in the Western Final and 4-3 against BC. The Lions have lost their last 11 playoff games played outside Vancouver.
“This is a place that was known to be very hard on opponents, and that’s what we’re going to have again on Saturday,” said Kilam.