Alouettes fans didn’t need a reminder that Cody Fajardo is a winner, but their former franchise quarterback gave them one anyway in his return to Montreal.
The 33-year-old pivot secured the Edmonton Elks a 23-22 come-from-behind victory at his old haunt, Percival Molson Stadium, on Friday night. Trailing in the final minute, he led a six-play, 63-yard touchdown drive to pull off the upset, finding receiver Kaion Julien-Grant for the deciding points with 11 seconds left.
“I don’t know if you can draw up a better storybook than a game winner against your old team to another teammate that also came from the same team,” Fajardo told 880 CHED’s post-game show. “I’ve got a lot of emotions running through me right now.”
Fajardo was unceremoniously traded to the Elks this offseason when the Alouettes elected to move on after two successful seasons with him at the helm, deciding to elevate promising youngster Davis Alexander to the starter’s seat. That decision has had mixed results, as Alexander has been sidelined by a hamstring injury and veteran backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was acquired in exchange for Fajardo, has struggled in his place.
Bethel-Thompson was benched for performance issues at halftime of their much-anticipated head-to-head duel. Meanwhile, Fajardo went on to complete 27-of-38 passes for 289 yards and two majors in a contest that he acknowledged “meant a little bit more” to him in the lead-up. Most importantly, he secured the Elks’ second win of the season and his first W since supplanting Tre Ford as QB1 three weeks ago.
“All week, we were talking about how close we were, how close we were, how close we were. I kept telling the guys, ‘You know what losers say? They say we’re close. Let’s just finish it,’” Fajardo stated. “I’m proud of this team. We found a way to finish versus a very good Montreal team in a tough atmosphere. Hopefully, this turns the tide for this team.”
Fajardo posted a 16-12-1 record during his two seasons in Montreal, throwing for 6,967 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. He became a hero in the city during his inaugural campaign in 2023, willing the team to their first Grey Cup victory in 13 years and earning MVP honours in the process.
Friday night’s win bore some striking similarities to that game, though Fajardo’s pre-game message was far more family-friendly this time, and the deciding drive had to be twice as fast. In the end, both contests will be remembered for the quarterback delivering a touchdown strike to a Canadian receiver with just seconds remaining.
While Tyson Philpot caught the famous pass two years ago, Julien-Grant was also on that victorious Alouettes team and made his return to La Belle Province in Week 10. After dropping a potential game-winner last week against Hamilton, the 29-year-old stepped up with two majors against his old team. After the final one, he and Fajardo embraced to bask in the special moment.
“I just told him I love him, and he knows how I feel about him. I was just saying what a hell of a story this was. I don’t think there was anybody in the world that was going to stop Kaion from scoring on that final play,” Fajardo said.
“It just worked out that he was on a slant route, they brought Cover Zero, he was my Cover Zero answer, and I was able to hit him in stride. He carried that guy for the last five yards into the end zone. After all he went through last week, to have a game winner like he did tonight just bodes to the confidence he has and the way he’s able to mentally rebound.”
Through three starts this season, Fajardo has completed 76.6 percent of his passes for 999 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception. With this game, he officially passed his predecessor, Ford, on the passing leaderboard in all categories, despite having two fewer opportunities.
After coming up just short against both the Riders and Ticats, adding a win to that statline is sweet vindication for a player who no team was willing to bank on as a starter before the year began. He hopes this will be the start of an even greater Cinderella story for the moribund franchise he’s now seized the reins of.
“Expectations are high now. We understand we can win games. There’s no more sulking and saying this, that, and the other. We know we can play with anybody, and every game is its own entity,” Fajardo said. “We’re gonna have to go out, we’re gonna have to protect the ball next week. We’re gonna have to find ways to stay on the field. We’re gonna have to get our run game going. I’m going to have to be smarter without holding onto the ball very often and taking sacks.”
“There are a lot of things we’ve got to clean up, but I will say this: it’s easier to make those corrections when you win football games like that than when you lose those heartbreakers. It’s a little bit tougher to face those demons.”
Fajardo and the Edmonton Elks (2-6) will return to the field on Friday, August 15, when they host the Toronto Argonauts.
