{"id":778815,"date":"2026-07-04T01:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T01:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778815\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T01:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T01:25:11","slug":"2026-cfl-week-5-edmonton-elks-3-0-vs-bc-lions-0-3-game-preview-injury-report-and-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778815\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 CFL Week 5: Edmonton Elks (3-0) vs. BC Lions (0-3) Game Preview, Injury Report and Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Elks<\/a> have opened the season with a perfect 3-0 record. This football team has played some inspirational football, defeating Ottawa, Montreal<\/a>, and Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

However, there is still a lot of football left in the 2026 CFL season. The Elks will head to Kelowna, BC to take on the BC Lions<\/a>. Edmonton<\/a> will have a chance to attempt to reverse their misfortunes, as BC has owned their number in the last five seasons.<\/p>\n

There will be another shake-up at the middle linebacker position due to the injuries to both Nick Anderson and Brock Mogensen. At the middle linebacker spot, the Elks will start their 1st round pick: Dariel Djabome.<\/p>\n

Game Details<\/p>\n

Date: Saturday, July 4th, 2026<\/p>\n

Location: Kelowna Apple Bowl \/ Kelowna, British Columbia<\/p>\n

Kickoff time: 7:00 PM EST<\/p>\n

Channel: TSN<\/p>\n

Stream: CFL +<\/p>\n

Weather forecast at kickoff: 11\u00b0C cloudy. It will feel like 21 \u00b0C with a wind gust of 26 km\/h from the west. P.O.P will be 10%.<\/p>\n

Odds<\/p>\n

Spread: Edmonton Elks (-1.5) \u2013 106 \/ BC Lions<\/a> (+1.5) \u2013 114<\/p>\n

Moneyline: Edmonton Elks \u2013 118 \/ BC Lions \u2013 102<\/p>\n

Over \/ Under: Over 57.5 \u2013 115 \/ Under 57.5 \u2013 105<\/p>\n

Via FanDuel Sportsbook<\/p>\n

Edmonton Elks Depth Chart<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

BC Lions Depth Chart<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Injury Reports<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Players to watch: Edmonton Elks<\/p>\n

RB \u2013 Justin Rankin<\/p>\n

Justin Rankin has been lights out for the Edmonton offence. He is the current rushing leader among yards with 387 and 4 touchdowns. He is just as effective in the passing game with 154 receiving yards and a 15.1 average yards per catch.<\/p>\n

DB \u2013 Tyrell Ford<\/p>\n

If there is a player on the defensive secondary that will need a big game vs BC, then it will be Tyrell Ford. He has the talent and speed to bait a quarterback into throwing a pass in an open space. What makes Tyrell Ford so special is his speed and ability to make an impact on the defensive coverage.<\/p>\n

K \u2013 Vincent Blanchard<\/p>\n

It’s not often that a kicker gets mentioned for a player to watch. He does not have a lot of games under his belt, with only 22 (including this season). However, he has been a perfect 8 for 8 in the field goal department. If the Edmonton offence is struggling, try to get into field goal range; Vincent Blanchard will help you out.<\/p>\n

Players to watch: BC Lions<\/p>\n

QB \u2013 Nathan Rourke<\/p>\n

He is currently 5th among all CFL quarterbacks in passing yards with 1,083, followed by 4 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions. He\u2019s a difficult quarterback to stop as he has a high football I.Q. Don\u2019t be surprised if Nathan Rourke makes something out of nothing on a broken play, or busted coverage.<\/p>\n

WR \u2013 Justin McInnis<\/p>\n

He has been one of the go\u2013to targets in the last two seasons for Nathan Rourke. Justin McInnis has the talent to shake off defenders and dial up his speed into second gear on a dime. If he has his day, it will be a long day for the Edmonton secondary.<\/p>\n

RB \u2013 James Butler<\/p>\n

Just because the BC running game has been subpar, James Butler has been a staple in the BC offence for his three seasons, in two different stints. Edmonton fans know all too well that James Butler was a nemesis and can control the clock at will.<\/p>\n

LB \u2013 Darnell Sankey<\/p>\n

From his days as a Stampeder, Roughrider, and an Alouette, Darnell Sankey has been a staple on defence. He brings a load of spirit on your defence with game-changing plays. He currently has a lifetime tackle total of 473, in 77 games played.<\/p>\n

Keys to an Edmonton victory:<\/p>\n

Do not overlook BC.<\/p>\n

Just because their record is 0-3, this team can still put up points on the scoreboard. Do not be complacent in this game. BC will have to play desperate football in this game to avoid a 0-4 start. It is vital for Edmonton not to take plays for granted.<\/p>\n

Exploit a weak defence.<\/p>\n

You know you\u2019re in a good spot with a 3-0 record. The running game has been the bread and butter of the Edmonton offence. On the other side of the field is a BC team that has allowed 113 points in 3 games. Do not let them off the hook, and make it a miserable day for BC.<\/p>\n

Contain Nathan Rourke.<\/p>\n

Everyone knows that Nathan Rourke can carry a team on his back as he has many times. If Edmonton lets Rourke take full control of a game, it will be difficult to reverse the momentum.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/p>\n

Final Score<\/p>\n

Edmonton Elks: 38<\/p>\n

BC Lions: 29<\/p>\n

Expect a lot of offence in this game. Both teams will establish some pretty good long drives. Nathan Rourke will do all he can to help BC secure their 1st regular-season win in 2026. However, somehow, someway, the Elks’ running game will be too much to handle for the BC defence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Elks have opened the season with a perfect 3-0 record. This football team has played some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-778815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}