Elks surge past Blue Bombers 23-18 on Fajardo's last-second TD
Edmonton quarterback leads late drive to cap first 3-0 start since 2017 before sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.
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Edmonton's Cody Fajardo led the Elks on a late touchdown drive Thursday night, finding TJ Luther on an eight-yard TD pass with less than a minute remaining to secure a 23-18 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before a sold-out crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium.
The two-point convert attempt failed, but it didn't matter — Winnipeg's final drive stalled at Edmonton's 17-yard line as time expired. The Elks improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017. The Bombers fell to 1-2.
Fajardo completed 23 of 35 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown. Running back Justin Rankin rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries. Winnipeg's Zach Collaros mounted a second-half comeback, completing 24 of 33 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns after Edmonton jumped ahead 17-0 in the first half.
Collaros capped a six-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brady Oliveira early in the fourth quarter to give Winnipeg an 18-17 lead. But Fajardo answered immediately with the game-winning drive, putting the Elks atop the CFL standings.
Edmonton plays the Lions in B.C. on July 4.