Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
That was a wild one.
5-1 Edmonton travelled to visit 4-1 Saskatchewan with first place in the West Division on the line, and the match-up lived up to the advanced billing. The Elks beat the Riders 36-34 on a walk-off field goal after a back-and-forth shootout.
Touching tribute
The Roughriders honoured Bhishma Rajyaguru with a heartfelt video montage, which included music for the moment and a message from in-house public address announcer Chris Hodges, at Mosaic Stadium prior to kick-off. After honouring the 22-year-old Regina resident, team captain Jayden Dalke was remembered with highlights from his time with the Green and White.
A touching tribute to the lives of Bhishma Rajyaguru and Jayden Dalke at Mosaic Stadium prior to Thursday night’s game.#CFL #Riders #RiderNation pic.twitter.com/n29wKki3nM
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) July 24, 2026
Full credit to TSN and the Riders for an appropriate pre-game ceremony considering the circumstances. Melfort, Saskatchewan, native Logan Ferland was crying on the sideline, but he and his teammates quickly put emotions aside and strapped up to go to work between the white lines.
Within the game, head coach Corey Mace had one more Dalke layer to add. When his team lined up to punt for the first time, the Roughriders put 11 men on the field and purposely took a delay of game penalty.
Fajardo fillets
Veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo had an eventful game in the Queen City, which included him throwing for a single-game career-high, hitting the uprights, pitching the football away, and leading a walk-off win.
The 34-year-old completed 25-of-32 passes for 510 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Arguably his two biggest completions came on third-and-one and third-and-10, both to T.J. Luther, during what proved to be the game-winning drive. He moved Edmonton from the team’s eight-yard line to Saskatchewan’s 50, as the possession started with one minute and 41 seconds left on the clock.
Canadian kicker Vincent Blanchard made a career-long 57-yard field goal to send the visitors home victorious.
What the EFF?!
During a key third-and-two with less than five minutes and 30 seconds left, veteran Canadian offensive lineman Mark Korte snapped the football before Fajardo was ready. After being surprised by the snap, he tried to pitch the ball to Justin Rankin, but it flew well past No. 5, and Antoine Brooks Jr. picked it up for Saskatchewan.
TSN caught head coach Mark Kilam walking over to his starting centre on the sideline; if you can read lips, he appeared to say, “Korte, what the f*** just happened?” That’s what everyone watching the game was wondering.
Fortunately for Kilam and the Elks, Samuel Emilus was called for offensive pass interference — questionable at best — after beating Kordell Jackson running a go route for a touchdown down the left side. Then, Global kicker Alex Hale badly missed a 46-yard field goal try wide left, and Javon Leake brought the football out of the end zone, so no points were gained from Fajardo’s gaffe.
Hale heat turned up
The aforementioned Hale has put himself on the hot seat in Rider Nation.
Yes, he made his first field goal in the 40-yard range with a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter, but his shanked 46-yarder one drive later may have cost the Riders a win. If the CFL rookie made that three-pointer, Saskatchewan would have been up by four when Edmonton was driving for what turned out to be a game-winning field goal.
Fajardo needing a touchdown to complete the comeback makes for a much different and more unlikely scenario.
Hale has the second-worst field goal percentage in the three-down league among all kickers at 75. He’s put 12-of-16 kicks through the uprights, but only one has come from 40 yards or longer. That doesn’t cut it, especially on the passionate prairies.
Throw Harris wants back
Quarterbacks talk about throws they want back with regularity in professional football, and despite a mostly sparkling performance — 26-of-36, 386 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception — Trevor Harris has one he wants back.
With less than two minutes to go, the 40-year-old had Johnny Johnson III open in the end zone, but his throw came up short. That would have put the Riders ahead by five pending an extra point and forced the Elks to score a touchdown to win.
It was a rare misfire for Harris, and that cost the team a win in a shootout where an accurate football was needed in that spot.
Bustin’ coverage
It’s been a while, but at least two busted coverages cost the Roughriders.
Austin Mack split two high defenders for a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter as he went untouched to the end zone. In the fourth frame, No. 3 ran a corner route and covered 81 yards without any defensive player near him to score his second major in as many quarters. Marcus Sayles and Jaxon Ford were the cover men on that side of the field, but both had eyes on Luther running a short out route.
Mack registered four receptions for 173 yards with two touchdowns, averaging a whopping 43.3 yards per grab. Kaion Julien-Grant recorded a 68-yard catch, Luther posted a 37-yarder, and Brendan O’Leary-Orange had a 23-yarder.
Those are the types of chunk plays Saskatchewan had avoided allowing for the most part through five games, but offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic, Fajardo, and his playmakers gashed Joshua Bell’s unit in Week 8.
Riders Tom Vallesi’d again
Many fans in Riderville feel longtime head referee Tom Vallesi has been out to get them over the years. Whether that’s actually true, Rider Nation has another reason to believe he has something against the team.
With over three minutes left in the second quarter, Jonathan Edouard appeared to force a fumble off Leake as he was returning a punt, and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon recovered. However, Vallesi and his crew ruled Leake was down by contact on the field.
Mace threw his challenge flag.
When TSN showed multiple slow-motion replays, it seemed as though the football was moving prior to Leake hitting the turf. But the replay centre did not view the play the same way, and upheld the call by Vallesi.
That was a big swing in the game, as Saskatchewan went from possibly having the football in Edmonton territory to the Elks moving into field goal range for a three-pointer to take a 17-14 lead.
Uh oh, Ouellette
After a run play with less than one minute and 30 seconds left in the third quarter, A.J. Ouellette was holding his right leg on the ground and looked like he was in pain.
Edmonton defensive lineman Noah Curtis was blocked into Ouellette as he was being tackled to the turf and twisted his right leg awkwardly. The 31-year-old eventually walked off under his own power with the athletic training staff testing the stability in his right knee.
The five-foot-eight, 208-pound ball carrier did not return to the game, as Bertrand-Hudon finished at running back for the Roughriders, running three times for nine yards.
Big three
Saskatchewan’s top receivers took turns dominating drives in the first half and had moments in the second half.
Kian Schaffer-Baker toasted Jackson twice on the Riders’ second drive. No. 89 beat No. 13 down the right sideline on a go route for 37 yards to start a five-play, 108-yard drive. He capped it by beating Jackson down the seam, pressed his inside hip and released up the field for a 56-yard touchdown. Two receptions for 93 yards by Schaffer-Baker on that possession.
The Green and White’s third drive featured Emilus with three grabs for 39 yards, which he finished off by scoring his fifth major in 2026.
Then it was KeeSean Johnson’s time to shine, but in a more eventful way. He caught a pass across the middle from Harris for 23 yards, but had the football punched out by Kenny Logan Jr. It was knocked around on the field, but his no-quit attitude helped him recover the fumble and avoid a critical turnover. Seven plays later, No. 3 was hauling in a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.
Schaffer-Baker: eight receptions for 185 yards with one touchdown. Johnson: seven catches for 88 yards with one touchdown. Emilus: eight grabs for 84 yards with one touchdown. Combined, the big three totalled 357 of Harris’ 386 passing yards.
Local punt returner
Daniel Wiebe looks comfortable as a punt returner for Saskatchewan.
The born-and-raised Saskie product took one for 70 yards in the opening frame, but it was called back due to a Melique Straker holding penalty.
Later in the first quarter, Wiebe let Jake Julien’s 67-yard punt roll out of the end zone to give his team field position at the 40-yard line and avoided giving up a single.
Regardless how long James Letcher Jr. and Mathew Sexton are out, Wiebe seems like found money for the Roughriders in the return department and can contribute on offence if called upon.
Two-play foreshadowing
In the second quarter, Jameer Thurman broke through Edmonton’s offensive line and slammed Leake to the ground for a one-yard loss. The underrated linebacker was fired up after stuffing No. 22, but the tables turned on the next snap.
It was second-and-11 from Saskatchewan’s 12 -yard line, Leake caught a check-down pass over the middle, juked Thurman in a phone booth, and took the football into the end zone for a touchdown.
That sequence foreshadowed the outcome. Just when it seemed like the Riders had control, the Elks slipped through to take a road win.
