The Edmonton Elks have already beaten the Winnipeg Blue Bombers twice this season, and on Friday night they get a shot at making it a clean sweep at home.
Game details
| When | Friday, October 16, 2026 at 9:30 PM ET |
| Where | Commonwealth Stadium |
| TV | TSN |
| Line | Edmonton Elks -4.5 | O/U 55.5 (market view) |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers record | 8-8 |
| Edmonton Elks record | 12-4 |
Overview
Edmonton enters this one at 12-4 and winners of two straight, following up a 37-35 squeaker over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with a 27-12 road win over that same Hamilton club. Winnipeg comes in at 8-8, having snapped back with a 33-28 win over the Calgary Stampeders after dropping back-to-back games, including a 10-37 blowout loss to the Montreal Alouettes. Both teams are technically playing their best football of the moment, but Edmonton's margin for error is a lot wider given where each team sits in the standings columns.
Edmonton has outscored opponents 497-394 on the season, while Winnipeg sits on the wrong side of its own ledger at 416-447. That gap shows up on tape too. Edmonton's two September meetings with the Blue Bombers both went Edmonton's way, a 22-19 home win in Week 12 and a 23-18 road win back in Week 4, and nothing about Winnipeg's recent form suggests this matchup flips.
The edge here belongs to Edmonton. Cody Fajardo has thrown for 4,668 yards on the season, Austin Mack has racked up 1,229 receiving yards, and the Elks have the better record and the better scoring differential. Winnipeg has the pieces to make this interesting, particularly with Brady Oliveira running the ball, but history and form both point toward Edmonton.
Key players
Cody Fajardo leads the Elks with 4,668 passing yards this season and sets the tone for Edmonton's offense.
Austin Mack has turned in 1,229 receiving yards, Edmonton's top mark among pass catchers.
Brady Oliveira paces Winnipeg's ground game with 1,307 rushing yards, tops among all skill players in this matchup.
Zach Collaros has thrown for 2,553 yards for Winnipeg but is listed as questionable heading into Friday.
Tony Jones leads Winnipeg's defense with 81 tackles on the year.
Keys to the game
Edmonton needs to establish Justin Rankin early and lean on his 1,037 rushing yards to control tempo.
The Elks defense has to account for Brady Oliveira, who leads all rushers in this game with 1,307 yards, even with his questionable tag.
Cody Fajardo and Austin Mack need to keep connecting the way they have all season, with Mack sitting on 1,229 receiving yards.
Fantasy angles
Start Cody Fajardo with confidence behind his league-leading 4,668 passing yards this season.
Start Austin Mack, who has been Edmonton's go-to target with 1,229 receiving yards on the year.
Brady Oliveira is a start if his questionable designation clears, given his 1,307 rushing yards lead this season.
Zach Collaros carries more risk than usual given his questionable status, so keep an eye on his game status before locking him into lineups.
Justin Rankin is a steady floor play off his 1,037 rushing yards this season.
Prediction
The market has this one pegged at Edmonton Elks 30, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 26, and that lines up with everything on paper. Edmonton has already beaten Winnipeg twice this season, carries the better record and point differential, and is riding its own two-game win streak into Friday. Winnipeg has shown it can hang in games, as the 33-28 win over Calgary proved, but Edmonton's depth at receiver and the Fajardo-to-Mack connection should be enough to get it done at home. As they say in this business, that is why they play the games, but the smart money and the season series both point the same direction.
Injury report
| Player | Team | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Collaros | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | QB | Questionable |
| Jonathan Moxey | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | DB | Out |
| Brady Oliveira | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | RB | Questionable |
| Jaylen Smith | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | LB | Questionable |
| Michael Ayers | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | LB | Questionable |
| Michael Fletcher | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | DT | Questionable |
| Nuer Gatkuoth | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | DE | Questionable |
| Dylan Hazen | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | LB | Out |
| David Beard | Edmonton Elks | OT | Questionable |
| Kordell Jackson | Edmonton Elks | DB | Out |
| Tomari Fox | Edmonton Elks | DL | Questionable |
Recent results
| Team | Last games |
|---|---|
| Edmonton Elks | Wk19 W 27-12 vs Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Wk17 W 37-35 vs Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Wk16 L 19-24 vs Toronto Argonauts |
In this story
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Edmonton Elks
- Edmonton Elks
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Austin Mack
- Brady Oliveira
- Cody Fajardo
- David Beard
- Dylan Hazen
- Jaylen Smith
- Jonathan Moxey
- Justin Rankin
- Kordell Jackson
- Michael Ayers
- Michael Fletcher
- Nuer Gatkuoth
- Tomari Fox
- Tony Jones
- Zach Collaros
Written by Trey Downs, an AI analyst, from News Hub Fantasy data (schedule, scores, box scores, injuries and depth charts), and checked against that data before it published automatically. Read how we use AI in our editorial standards.