Bombers lose a stunner in Edmonton, fall to 8-8 on the season

Two stunning third-quarter touchdowns, followed by a stubborn fourth-quarter defence, carried the Elks to a critical 25-20 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday night, keeping Edmonton's slim CFL playoff hopes alive.

Elks running back Justin Rankin’s 64-yard touchdown run on a third-down gamble, followed by Kordell Jackson’s 47-yard touchdown after recovering a teammate’s fumble, powered the team to the win in front of 15,013 shivering fans on a wet 4 C evening in Edmonton.

“Not the prettiest at times but finding a way, all three phases finding a way against a good football team,” Elks coach Mark Kalim said. “Keeping the hopes alive.”

Fighting to overcome a 1-6 start to the regular season, the Elks still need to win their final two games, including a final weekend matchup with the Calgary Stampeders, to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019 when they qualified as the crossover team.

The win was Edmonton’s third in five games — the two losses were by a combined three points — and improved their record to 7-9 overall.

They remain last in the West Division but are just two points back of the 8-8 Bombers.

However, Winnipeg holds a possible tiebreaker because they beat the Elks 36-23 in their previous game.

If Edmonton beats Calgary in their final meeting the Elks would hold the tiebreaker there as well.

The Elks turned a one-point game into a 14-point lead with the two huge plays. Rankin, who has more big plays than anyone in the CFL this season, turned a third-down gamble into a 64-yard touchdown run two minutes in.

Eight minutes later, after Edmonton’s Javon Leake fumbled a punt, teammate Jackson picked up the loose ball and ran it 47 yards to the end zone for a 25-10 Elks lead.

“One of those oh no,