The Edmonton Elks remember their most recent trip east for an afternoon game all too well.
Since that 48-30 drubbing at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes in early August, the Elks (10-3) have won four in a row to clinch a playoff spot and take charge of the CFL's West Division.
The Elks' visit to Toronto on Saturday to face the improving Argonauts (7-6) — who are 3-0 at BMO Field — should tell us plenty about both teams.
"I told the guys this morning the last time we went out east early, we got our butts kicked," Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo told reporters this week. "Obviously, it's a different football team. But it's really hard to travel out east as a western opponent and win those football games. We've got our hands full for sure."
Fajardo, who started his CFL career in Toronto in 2015, is the leader for an Elks team that has been the league's feel-good story this year.
A 53-16 demolition over the visiting Calgary Stampeders before an impressive crowd of 31,531 ended a five-season playoff drought for the Elks and completed a home-and-home sweep of their Alberta rivals.
Combined with Saskatchewan's loss in Winnipeg, it gave the Elks a two-game lead in the West Division with five games left. With Edmonton's next two games against the slumping Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a win Saturday would give the Elks a chance to go on a big streak and potentially seal up first in the West.
"Like I said to the guys after the game (clinching a playoff spot is) just phase one," Fajardo said. "We have more aspirations we want to take care of. We're the drivers of our own bus and destiny kind of rests in our hands, and that's a good spot to be in."
The Elks, who might be missing star running back Justin Rankin after he suffered a head injury last week, figure to face a significant challenge in Toronto.
The Argos can clinch their own playoff spot and a home post-season game with a win over Edmonton and a Tiger-Cats loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
The Elks started their current four-game run with a 42-12 beatdown of the Argos in Edmonton, but Toronto is 3-1 since then, with the only setback a last-minute heartbreaker in Saskatchewan against the reigning Grey Cup champs.
Argos star Chad Kelly continues to be a high-risk, high-reward quarterback, leading the league in passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
"They're just a tough team. They're playing for a lot, too," Fajardo said. "They're playing for playoffs. It's going to be one of those playoff games, grind it out. We've got to find a way to protect the ball offensively because they've been taking it away at a high clip. Their defensive line I believe leads the league in sacks, so got to get the ball out of my hand early, got to be able to protect. It's just a true test."
The Argos are, in fact, tied for the league lead in sacks with Saskatchewan. Veteran Shawn Lemon, 38, who started the season without a job, leads the Argos with eight sacks in just seven games.
"Shawn Lemon's my guy. We text, we have a lot of great conversations," Fajardo said. "We played on three different football games together, B.C., Toronto and Montreal, and won two Cups together. I've got a lot of respect for him and how he's resurged back and proved to everyone who was doubting him and questioning him. He's got a little bit of that chip on his shoulder like I have. So we resonate with each other. It's always fun to compete against him."
Lemon's strategy for battling Fajardo starts before the first snap.
"He always calls me the week we play him. I never answer his phone call," Fajardo said with a smile. "He always leaves me a message like 'Hey, good night Cody, just trying to play the mind games.' But that's what veteran D linemen do and I have a lot of respect for him."
Quarterback changes
Two teams are making quarterback changes this week — and neither comes as much of a surprise.
The Tiger-Cats will go with Harrison Frost ahead of Tre Ford against the Alouettes after the Canadian exited with a head injury on Labour Day against the Argos. Ford was cleared to play this week, but Frost gets the nod.
The Ticats really haven't had enough success with any of their three starting quarterbacks since Bo Levi Mitchell went down with an ankle injury in the fourth game. But it makes sense to take a longer look at Frost, who is 1-1 as a starter since joining the team from the UFL at mid-season.
The winless Ottawa Redblacks, meanwhile, will give McLeod Bethel-Thompson his first start of the season in Calgary after the veteran replaced Jake Maier in the second quarter of the team's walk-off loss in Toronto last week.
While head coach Ryan Dinwiddie expressed some frustration with a couple plays by Bethel-Thompson down the stretch, it would have been bizarre to go back to Maier after Bethel-Thompson nearly did enough to end Ottawa's historic 18-game skid.
Week 16 schedule
Montreal Alouettes (10-3) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-9), Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Als suddenly have lost two of three. If Montreal is upset in Hamilton and the Argos win the next day, we might have a bit of a race for first in the East.
Edmonton Elks (10-3) at Toronto Argonauts (7-6), Saturday 3 p.m. ET
Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu has made all seven of his field goals, including last week's walk-off winner, in his past two games since returning from injury. It seems his early-season struggles might be a thing of the past.
Ottawa Redblacks (0-12) at Calgary Stampeders (5-8), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT
First game of a home-and-home series that the Stamps desperately need to sweep to get back in the West playoff race.
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