Edmonton and Montreal battle for the last Grey Cup of this era

One of the great traditions in Canadian sports continues on Sunday in Calgary as the Edmonton Elks and the Montreal Alouettes square off in the 113th Grey Cup. This is Montreal's third appearance in the CFL title game in four years (they won in 2023 and lost last year to Saskatchewan) while Edmonton returns for the first time since winning the Cup in 2015.

The Elks missed the playoffs in each of the past five seasons and endured a 22-game home losing streak that stretched nearly four full years before they snapped it in August 2023 (the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID pandemic helped lengthen the time frame). They improved from 7-11 the last two years to a West Division-leading 13-5 with an old-school formula: run the ball, play strong defence, and win the turnover battle.

Edmonton's D did its part by allowing the fewest points and yards in the CFL while leading the league in interceptions and fumbles forced. On offence, the Elks topped the league in rushing yards with a strong running-back duo of Justin Rankin and ShunDerrick Powell and duel-threat quarterback Cody Fajardo leading the charge. The 34-year-old Fajardo threw for a career-high 4,788 yards and 25 touchdowns with an acceptable 10 picks while topping all QBs with 517 rushing yards before adding another 84 yards on the ground in last week's 28-16 playoff win over B.C.

However, sometimes the best defence is a good offence. And Montreal, which led the league in total yards gained, is favoured by a field goal this Sunday on the strength of a dynamite passing attack featuring some explosive stars.

Quarterback Davis Alexander, who was hampered by a bad hamstring in last year's Grey Cup loss, powered the Alouettes to a league-best 14-4 record and