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“In this case, we play the team that just beat us, so we don’t want to flush it; they should leave that taste in their mouths,” Kilam said of the loss that snapped Edmonton’s three-game win streak.

The endless hours of film study have also reminded the Elks they’re winless in five games against West Division teams.

“The hardest thing about back-to-back, especially when you don’t play well, is you have to watch the film and have to stare it down every day,” said quarterback Cody Fajardo. “It’s a good reminder for me, and it’s a good reminder for a lot of guys, that I didn’t play my best football, and I’m reminded of it every day as we prepare. It’s added momentum. Not a lot of time to sulk on a loss, which is a good thing.”

There’s not much teams can do in terms of changing game plans between the two games. But both teams, even the 8-3 Stampeders, who are 6-0 against western opponents, will make some tweaks and try to find cracks in each other’s defences.

Trying to find any fissures in the Stampeders’ top-ranked defence will be difficult.  The Stampeders have given up just 214 points in 11 games, compared to 309 allowed by Edmonton, which has managed just 248 points of its own.

The Edmonton defence had its strongest performance of the season Monday, holding Calgary to 162 passing yards, 13 completions and 29:06 in possession — the fewest totals Edmonton’s defence has allowed this season. But injuries have since hit with lineman Jake Ceresna and linebackers Nick Anderson and Nyles Morgan sidelined.

With only one day of full practice, the 4-7 Elks settled for short walk-throughs on Wednesday and Friday. Offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic said he has adjusted some things that didn’t work Monday in Calgary when the Elks offence scored only seven points and failed to reach the end zone.

“There are some things that worked out for us that we’re going to try to put a little window dressing on and try to do it a little different,” he said. “We need to add some new things, and then we need to make sure that we’re executing the plan to our full potential.”

With limited time to prepare, Fajardo sees this week as more about mental preparation than physical work.  The 33-year-old quarterback — who threw for 255 yards in the loss to Calgary — jokes he’s an ‘old man’ who goes to bed early, and says there’s only so much a team can do physically to change the outcome.

“That’s the challenge for us this week. And that’s the challenge for a lot of the young guys, how to prepare for these short weeks and how much you have to be in your playbook,” he explained. “There’s going to be a lot of plays we’re going to install that we’re not going to have a live look at, only a walk-through rep. So we’re going to have to be able to carry that walk-through into a game and be crisp with live bullets.”

Despite their losing record, Fajardo says the Elks can’t be counted out. Their four wins have come against East Division teams, and after Saturday’s game, they’ll see ɫɫ�� and Hamilton before closing the season with four straight against western squads.

“As doom and gloom as everybody makes it seem, we’re a three-and-one football team the last four games,” he said. “We just went against the best team in the league, and we didn’t play our best, so we’re hoping to eradicate that. We want to be able to continue to fight, scratch and claw and put ourselves in a position so we’re playing meaningful games in October, and hopefully into November.”  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.