Redblacks blown out in Edmonton for fifth straight loss to start their CFL season

JJ Ross of the Edmonton Elks tackles Greg Bell of the Ottawa Redblacks at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on July 9, 2026. Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia Network

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A miserable start, the lack of a running game, some poor tackling, and four Jake Maier interceptions added up to yet another loss for the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday night in Edmonton.

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Not to be overlooked were the contributions of Elks running back Justin Rankin.

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The CFL’s most electric player scored three touchdowns as the Elks buried the Redblacks 40-17 at Commonwealth Stadium, leaving Ottawa with an 0-5 start and its 11th straight defeat going back to last season.

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The Redblacks have a whole bunch of corrections to make before their next game one week from Sunday at TD Place against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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One of them could be to hand the quarterback reins to veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who made his Redblacks debut on Ottawa’s last series Thursday night.

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Maier completed 26 of 39 pass attempts for 293 yards and a touchdown, but the four turnovers tarnished his performance.

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When Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo hit Kaion Juilen-Grant on a quick four-yard touchdown pass with just over 12 minutes left, it put Edmonton up 23-14.

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Ottawa bounced back but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Brett Lauther, who extended his streak to 14-of-14 three-pointers to start the season.

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Rankin, who killed the Redblacks in the season-opening 29-21 win at TD Place, then delivered a stunning blow by catching a screen pass, blowing by a diving Luiji Vilain, and cruising 33 yards to put the Elks up by 13 with six and a half minutes left.

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That pre-empted a poorly orchestrated third-and-10 gamble that resulted in Maier throwing his third pick of the night.

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Rankin scored again, this time on a 31-yard jaunt, and Maier turned the ball over one last time as the clock wound down.

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With the win, the Elks improved to 4-1 on the season. In 2025, Edmonton finished last in the CFL’s West Division with a 7-11 record.

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Ottawa can only dream of such a turnaround.

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The Redblacks’ offence had a painfully slow start, with just two first downs in the opening quarter.

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But because the defence and punter Noah Gettman came to play, Ottawa trailed just 7-0 when the teams switched ends for the first time.

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The Elks scored on their initial possession, an eight-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a second-down touchdown run by Rankin that covered one more yard (19) than Ottawa had in net offence after 15 minutes.

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It should have gone nowhere.

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Rankin attempted to go up the middle, but all the holes were closed. When he re-routed to the left, cornerback Demerio Houston had his hands around Rankin’s legs but couldn’t pull him down.

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From there, it was nothing but daylight for Edmonton’s best player.

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Thanks to Gettman’s well-placed boomers and the defence keeping Edmonton from operating out of poor field position, the Redblacks stayed in the game until the offence untracked.