EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks had one goal for WestJet Thanksgiving Weekend: keep their playoff dreams alive.
That’s exactly what they did, gaining momentum in the second half with both sides of the ball making massive plays while also preventing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from clinching a playoff berth in the process.
With the win the Elks not only claimed a fourth straight win at home, but also snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Bombers, all while keeping focused on their penultimate goal.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats that defined Edmonton’s win over Winnipeg.
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138 — JUSTIN RANKIN RUSHING YARDS
Edmonton’s offence had multiple moving parts that helped them succeed on Saturday night, and Rankin’s impact was a massive part of that as he tallied 138 yards and a touchdown in the win including a 64 yard run that resulted in the score that put Edmonton ahead by eight.
His 138-yard performance is his second highest this season, trailing only a 204-yard performance against Calgary in Week 14, and his 18 carries in one game are the most this season. His touchdown also marks two weeks in a row with a score for the Elks.
600+ — YARDS OF NET OFFENCE BETWEEN BOTH TEAMS
Both teams fought until the final whistle in this showdown, and it was apparent as each team tallied over 300 yards of net offence with the Blue Bombers accounting for 326 yards on 50 plays while the Elks tallied 307 yards on 49 plays.
Both teams had a running back with over 115 yards as well as a receiver with over 65 yards in the game, while Winnipeg got the edge under centre with Collaros putting up 60 more yards than Fajardo with 202 compared to 142. Despite not tallying a passing touchdown, Fajardo did more than enough to move to 6-5 on the season and keep Edmonton in the playoff race.
2 — INTERCEPTIONS FROM ELKS DEFENCE
With both Edmonton’s offence and special teams scoring, the Elks defence deserves their flowers from recording a sack, two tackles for loss and two interceptions that were crucial in getting the ball back into Cody Fajardo‘s hands on Saturday.
JJ Ross and Kenneth Logan Jr. both intercepted Collaros, forcing him into two turnovers for the second time in three weeks, while Jared Brinkman was responsible for the sack. Brock Mogensen led the team with six tackles including a tackle for loss, while Joel Dublanko added the other as he recorded five tackles on the night.