The Edmonton Elks did exactly what they needed to in Week 14.

With Saturday’s impressive 31-19 win over Calgary, the Elks responded well after a frustrating loss to their provincial rivals one week prior in the Labour Day Classic. Edmonton now has wins in four of their last five games, which has put their season back on course after a tough start. And now things out of their control are starting to fall favourably, too.

Week 14 also saw losses for BC and Winnipeg, which has brought the Elks right back into the thick of this playoff race. That’s what can happen when you start taking care of your own business. As a result, Edmonton’s door is wide open as they enter the final third of their season with six games to go.

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While the Elks don’t have an easy slate down the stretch, their schedule allows them decent control of their own destiny. Three of Edmonton’s remaining six games are against teams they’re directly battling for a playoff spot: Toronto, Winnipeg, and BC. Whie it’s still on them to take care of business, it’s an energizing spot for the Elks.

It’s even more exciting for fans in Edmonton when you consider recent trends.

Start with tailback Justin Rankin, who torched the Stamps Saturday for 204 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. But that’s not a one-off for Rankin, as he’s averaged more than 132 offensive yards over his last five outings. Rankin also has four touchdowns during that stretch and leads all running backs this season by averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Rankin’s roll coincides with the Elks solidifying things at quarterback. With Saturday’s win, Edmonton is 4-3 since installing Cody Fajardo as starter. During those seven starts, Fajardo has completed more than 75 per cent of his passes for 1,843 yards, seven touchdowns, and just two interceptions. It’s exactly the type of stability this offence needed.

The big question will be how Edmonton handles a couple tough pieces of injury news on defence. Both defensive lineman Jake Ceresna and linebacker Nyles Morgan were placed on the six-game injured list last week and missed Saturday’s win over the Stamps. It’s not an ideal situation, as both Morgan and Ceresna are key defensive pieces for the Elks.

Encouragingly, rookie Brock Mogensen recorded four tackles stepping in for Morgan over the weekend. Fellow rookie Tyreek Johnson, jumping in for Ceresna, had a pair of tackles himself. And Nick Anderson, out since late July, has been a limited participant in practice recently and was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Saturday’s win.

The Elks can take another big step this weekend when they visit Toronto with a chance to put them two games in their rearview mirror. With the Argos currently third in the East, an Edmonton win would put them two games clear in a possible crossover situation. And that would be on top of maintaining their gap to BC and Winnipeg, if not closing.

By no means is anything guaranteed for the Elks, even with big opportunities down the stretch in front of them. What is true: Edmonton has everything to play for in the final third. I’m not sure how many had that on their bingo card after a frustrating 1-6 start.

All the credit to them.

QUICK HITS

The Elks aren’t the only team to recently re-enter the playoff picture. With Friday’s crazy 34-33 comeback win over BC, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have moved into a tie with Toronto for third in the division at 4-8. With the crossover very much in play, there’s that much more incentive when Ottawa takes on the Lions again this weekend.

 

It was nice to see the Tiger-Cats snap their losing skid at three games Saturday. And it was encouraging to see Hamilton’s offence paced by their run game as opposed to the passing attack. Greg Bell had his best game of the season rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown as the Ticats beat Montreal 26-9.

Finally, Tevaughn Campbell has quickly turned into one of the biggest additions of the off-season. Signed as a free agent after six years in the NFL, Saskatchewan’s standout field corner added two more interceptions to his total in Saturday’s 21-13 win over the Bombers. Campbell has four interceptions in his last four outings and now leads the league with six.