EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks host the Ottawa RedBlacks for Salute to Service presented by YEGPlus in CFL Week 6 action at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday (July 9) at 7 p.m. MDT.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Catch the action live on TSN, 880 CHED and CFL+.
After suffering their first loss of the season in Week 5, falling 36-24 to the BC Lions in Kelowna on July 4, the Elks look to bounce back against a RedBlacks team that is in search of its first win of 2026. At 3-1, Edmonton’s record is tied for the best in the CFL, while Ottawa sits at the bottom of the league’s overall standings with a mark of 0-4.
FAMILIAR FOES
It was just over a month ago that these two teams met, on the opening week of the 2026 CFL season, when the Elks defeated the host RedBlacks 29-21 at TD Place on June 6.
The Green and Gold never trailed in that game, jumping ahead 13-0 and leading by as many as 16 points in the second half. Edmonton’s defence managed to keep Jake Maier in check for much of the game, holding the RedBlacks quarterback to a completion percentage under 60%, 22 for 37 for 203 yards.
Playing against Maier “is just reading the eyes, and knowing where he wants to go,” Elks defensive back Chelen Garnes said. “Schematically what we’re doing, I think we have a pretty good game plan on him.”
Edmonton has won its last three meetings with the RedBlacks, including a 2-0 record against Ottawa in 2025.
QUICK TURNAROUND
There are only four days between Thursday’s tilt at Commonwealth Stadium and Edmonton’s last game, against the Lions, a very quick turnaround by football standards.
This is nothing new for the Green and Gold, however: Edmonton also played on just four days of rest between Weeks 3 and 4, beating the Montreal Alouettes 32-29 in overtime at home on June 20, before going on the road and defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-18 on June 25.
“Five-day weeks are tough,” Elks head coach Mark Kilam said. “But we’ve been through it, we know that if we put the work in we can have a positive outcome. Guys have to do a great job on their own mentally as far as picking up the (game plan), and then physically we’ve got to make sure they’re taking care of their bodies and getting them as much back we can … but I’ve got full belief in our leadership group that we’re going to get the guys ready.”
The Elks won their only game when playing with less than five days of rest last season, a 31-19 victory over Calgary Stampeders at Commonwealth Stadium in September.
ROOKIE STEPS UP
From an Elks’ perspective, one of the highlights of last week’s loss in Kelowna was the play of rookie linebacker Dariel Djabome. In his first start, the 22-year-old linebacker tied for the team lead with seven defensive tackles and intercepted last year’s CFL Most Outstanding Player award winner, Nathan Rourke.
FIRST CAREER INT FOR DJAMBOME#GoElks pic.twitter.com/PukdY8Lim8
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) July 4, 2026
Rarely does a player with so little pro experience have such a significant impact on the defensive side of the ball. But Djabone, who the Green and Gold drafted out of Rutgers University with the third overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, already comes across like a veteran: the Longueuil, Quebec, native is less concerned about his own personal accolades and more focused on making sure the Elks don’t give up four touchdowns again, as they did against BC.
“I have high expectations for myself, personally, and as a defence, so it wasn’t good enough,” said Djabone, who wilk make his second career CFL start on Thursday. “We had some critical mental errors, didn’t finish stuff right, so we worked on that to get better and then hopefully we’ll have a great game against Ottawa.”
GOOD TO BE HOME
While the CFL is now into Week 6, this will just be Edmonton’s second home game of its 2026 schedule. It will also only be the Elks’ second time taking the field at Commonwealth Stadium this year, as their preseason home game was contested at Clarke Stadium.
There has been an emphasis on making Commonwealth Stadium a fortress again for the Green and Gold, and the Elks took care of business when they hosted the Alouettes three weeks ago, thrilling their fans with a dramatic overtime victory over the defending East Division champs.
“Finally playing at home, in front of our crowd, it’s going to be amazing,” Garnes said. “I can’t wait.”
Going back to the 2025 season, the Green and Gold are 5-1 in their last 6 games at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium.