Thursday Commentary: Drama

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Welp. It’s our last Pick commentary of the 2026 CFL season. How bout that?

The Edmonton Elks meet the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL championship game this Sunday in Calgary and Montreal is favoured by 3 1/2 points.

Before we get to the pick, here are some fun Game Notes. Montreal and Edmonton is the most common Grey Cup match-up in CFL history. Sunday will mark the 12th time they’ve met – more than any other two teams – and the Eskimos hold a whopping 8-3 advantage.

The Alouettes have returned to the Grey Cup after losing to Saskatchewan in Winnipeg last year. They’ve got 24 returning players from that squad, so about half their team.

One of the biggest reasons these teams are here is because they’re the top two teams at protecting the football (turnover ratio). Edmonton is #1 at +23, while Montreal is next at +21.

The Elks have the CFL’s #1 defense while the Alouettes have the #1 offense.

Plus, there’s the added top storyline that nobody even has to play up: Montreal punted quarterback Cody Fajardo after leading them to the 2023 Grey Cup win and being named game MVP. Why’d they show him the door? In favour of young hotshot quarterback Davis Alexander who, this year, was named league MVP.

Now … they meet again, with Fajardo leading the Elks. For all the marbles.

And if defense wins championships, Edmonton can prove it once and for all. And of course there’s the three guarantees in life: death, taxes & Fajardo winning. So I’m taking Edmonton.

I told you — nobody does drama like the CFL.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

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