James Maclennan/CFL.ca
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks exit Week 5 with one in the win column, knocking off the Ottawa REDBLACKS 39-33 on Sunday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
Though the Elks never gave up the lead after scoring on their opening drive, both teams traded haymakers in the back-and-forth battle that ended with Mark Kilam earning a well-deserved Gatorade shower for his first win as a head coach.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Edmonton Elks’ win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
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174 – JUSTIN RANKIN ALL-PURPOSE YARDS
It hadn’t been a heavy workload for Justin Rankin to start his 2025 campaign, with the Elks’ winless start often forcing head coach Mark Kilam to chase games through the air. But on Sunday, the game script gave Rankin both opportunity and space – and he capitalised in big chunks. The explosive back wasted no time, scoring his first touchdown of the season on a 45-yard catch-and-run from the backfield. He wasn’t done there, adding a 74-yard rushing major in the third quarter – the longest run by any player this season – to cap a monster outing.
Despite Edmonton’s deep pool of pass-catching talent, it was Rankin who led the charge in the air, finishing with four catches for 69 yards to go with his 105 on the ground – his fifth career 100-yard rushing game. The 174-yard total marked a new career high for the second-year CFL pro.
118 – OTTAWA PENALTY YARDS
Yellow flags have become a familiar and frustrating theme for the REDBLACKS through five weeks – one that’s wearing thin for head coach Bob Dyce. Ottawa entered Week 5 leading the CFL in penalties per game (10) and ranking second in penalty yards per game (82.8). While the flag count was down to nine on Sunday, the timing proved costly, with several infractions stalling promising drives.
The discipline was most glaring in the third quarter after Edmonton turned it over in their own end to give Ottawa favourable field position down 32-19. With the REDBLACKS needing a touchdown to put the pressure on, a miscommunication between Dru Brown and his centre had nearly the entire receiving corps offside at the snap, and the flags killed any chance at a conversion. The 118 yards are the most Ottawa has given up through penalties since their Week 1 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
158.3 – TRE FORD QUARTERBACK RATING
Tre Ford didn’t have to carry the full load on Sunday — Edmonton even turned to backup Cody Fajardo for a pair of drives — but when called upon, he delivered flawlessly. The Canadian pivot recorded a perfect quarterback rating for the second time in his career, completing a personal-best 88.2 per cent of his passes. Ford opened the game 10-for-10 and didn’t throw an incompletion until the second quarter, finishing the game with only two passes missing their intended receivers. It is now a second straight game without an interception for Ford, who will look to build on his reliable outing against the BC Lions in Week 6.
