Alouettes drop OT decision to Elks
The Montreal Alouettes suffered their first loss of the 2026 season, as they fell, 32-29, to the Elks in Edmonton in overtime on Saturday night.
The Als trailed by 10 points with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but they managed to battle back to force the extra frame.
The offence was first up in overtime and settled for a field goal. They appeared to win the game when Elks running back Justin Rankin fumbled in the extra frame, but the referees determined that Edmonton got the final touch of the ball before it went out of bounds.
Here’s the full story from Saturday night:
The Als defence got off to a good start, as they forced the Elks into three consecutive three-and-outs.
The team carried a six-point lead into halftime thanks to Travis Theis’ first career rushing touchdown. The 25-year-old finished the night with 19 carries for 91 yards and one score on the ground and nine receptions for 41 yards.
Unfortunately for the Als, the Elks ground game took over in the second half. Give the Elks credit, they found a way to move the ball more efficiently with Rankin.
“He’s a good player,” defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund said of Rankin. “They have good system. They’re pros and they’re game-planning also. It just comes down to executing on our side. We’re missing some easy tackles. We had him in the backfield, we’re missing. He can spin out. He’s a good player. There’s no doubt about that. Nothing has really changed in our game plan. We weren’t on our A-game.”
Despite Edmonton carrying a 10-point lead into the final moments of the game, Davis Alexander was able to drag the Als back into the game.
He delivered a nice ball in the end zone to Tyler Snead, who made a ridiculous catch with a defender draped all over him. That cut Edmonton’s lead to just three points.
The defence forced a quick punt by the Elks, and Alexander helped lead the offence into Elks territory before Jose Maltos-Diaz made the game-tying field goal.
“It’s definitely built in us,” Alexander said of the late comeback. “I think I’ve said it the past two weeks, we have to avoid these situations because you’re not going to catch every single break. That’s kind of what happened.
“We’re way too good of a football team for that game to come down to that. At the end of the first half, if we convert, maybe it’s the last drive of the half, and even if we only get three points, it becomes 16-0…It’s on us. We’re back to the drawing board. Spirits are high and we’re ready to go.”
Maltos-Diaz’s go-ahead kick in overtime set an Alouettes franchise record, as it was his 25th consecutive successful field goal.
On the ensuing drive, Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo scored the game-winning rushing touchdown.
What’s next?
The Alouettes will head back home to face the Ottawa Redblacks (0-2-0) on Sunday night at Percival Molson Stadium. You can pick up your tickets at GoAlsGo.com. And don’t forget, hot dogs are just $3 in the Maxi Tailgate before the game
