It’s the Edmonton Elks’ turn to try and do something no other CFL team has yet: hand Montreal Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander his first regular-season loss.
Montreal (2-0) visits Edmonton (1-0) on Saturday afternoon. Alexander has led the Alouettes to comeback wins in each of their first two contests to boost his regular-season record to start a CFL career to 13-0.
With a win, Alexander would tie the CFL mark for most consecutive starts with a victory set in 2016 by Bo Levi Mitchell, then of the Calgary Stampeders. However, Alexander and the Alouettes did taste defeat in last year’s Grey Cup game versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the only loss of Alexander’s tenure in Canada.
Alexander, 27, has been impressive to start the ’26 season. The six-foot, 210-pound American has thrown for 777 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions while completing 56-of-80 passes (70 per cent).
A hamstring ailment limited Alexander to just seven regular-season starts in 2025. But thus far, he has been sacked just twice and has only two carries.
If there’s an early concern with Montreal, it’s the ground game. The Alouettes are last overall in rushing (65.5 yards per game), which puts much of the onus offensively on Alexander’s strong right arm.
Canadian Tyson Philpot (16 catches, 269 yards, three TDs) and American Tyler Snead (14 receptions, 225 yards, touchdown) have taken turns leading Montreal’s receiving corps.
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Edmonton hasn’t started 2-0 since 2019, which is also the last time it was in the CFL playoffs. Montreal is looking to go 3-0 for a third straight year.
Running back Justin Rankin is a big part of what Edmonton does offensively. He had 196 yards from scrimmage (102 yards rushing, 94 yards receiving) in the Elks’ 29-21 season-opening road win in Ottawa on June 6.
Montreal’s defence is allowing a CFL-low 3.9 yards per rushing attempt.
This marks the first-ever meeting between Alexander and Edmonton starter Cody Fajardo. Alexander is just 1-0 versus Edmonton while Fajardo _ the ’23 Grey Cup MVP with Montreal _ is 5-1 all-time versus the Alouettes.
Fajardo completed 23-of-34 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown versus Ottawa.
Pick: Edmonton.
B.C. Lions vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Friday night)
At Hamilton, the Ticats (1-1) come off last week’s 37-27 victory in Winnipeg. All-star cornerback Jamal Peters (head) is questionable but veteran linebacker Wynton McManis (knee) remains out. Mitchell threw for 287 yards and three TDs while Larry Roundtree ran for 124 yards versus the Bombers. B.C. (0-1) fell 31-27 to Saskatchewan last week. Nathan Rourke had 330 yards passing and ran for a TD, James Butler had two rushing scores and Justin McInnis recorded eight catches for 129 yards. But the Riders had 489 net offensive yards, including 417 yards and three TDs passing. B.C. has won its previous three games at Hamilton Stadium.
Pick: Hamilton.
Toronto Argonauts vs. Ottawa Redblacks (Saturday afternoon)
At Ottawa, Ryan Dinwiddie faces his former team for the first time. Dinwiddie led Toronto to two Grey Cups over five seasons before becoming head coach/GM with the Redblacks (0-1), who come off a bye after dropping their season opener to Edmonton. Chad Kelly had 445 yards passing and three TDs for Toronto (0-1) in last week’s 37-30 road loss to Montreal. It was his first action since suffering a leg injury in the ’24 East Division final versus the Alouettes that forced Kelly to miss all of last year. Toronto has won four of its last five games at TD Place.
Pick: Ottawa.
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Calgary Stampeders (Saturday night)
At Calgary, the Stampeders (0-1) were 2-0 last season versus Saskatchewan (1-0) and have won five-of-six meetings between the two. They also haven’t started 0-2 since 2021 and come off a bye following a 30-28 season-opening loss to Winnipeg on Sergio Castillo’s game-ending 38-year field goal. It came after quarterback Vernon Adams scored on a three-yard to put the Stamps ahead with 1:04 to play. The Riders began their Grey Cup title defence last week with a 31-27 home win over B.C. Trevor Harris threw for 417 yards and three TDs, all to Samuel Emilus. Saskatchewan has started 2-0 the last two seasons under head coach Corey Mace.
Pick: Saskatchewan.
Last week: 1-2.
Overall: 1-5.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press