The Edmonton Elks were able to win their final game of the season last night in the most CFL way imaginable.
The Elks and Toronto Argonauts gave fans at Commonwealth Stadium an awesome showing last night. By the time the fourth quarter ended, they were tied at 30, resulting in overtime. While it was obvious the finish would be exciting, nobody pictured it ending the way it did.
With just seconds remaining, the Elks were looking at a 41-yard field goal for the win. Interim head coach Jarious Jackson went a different route, however, instead calling on punter Jake Julien and going for a 54-yard rouge attempt. It was a decision that was very rarely seen over time and resulted in a wild ending.
A WALK-OFF PUNT!
A ROUGE WINS IT IN OVERTIME FOR EDMONTON!!@GoElks @CFL pic.twitter.com/Q5JQI8Q9Xi
— CFL (@CFL) October 26, 2024
“Interim head coach or not, that’s one of the craziest finishes I’ve seen,” Jackson said. “I’ve seen the back and forth kicks, or where somebody’s gotta take it out of the end zone and take a knee. To actually finish on a rouge, it’s gotta rank in the top two for me.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a walk-off rouge this season. Oddly enough, the Toronto Argonauts were the ones who picked up a win in such fashion earlier in the year, albeit not in overtime.
WALK-OFF ROUGE? WALK-OFF ROUGE! šØ pic.twitter.com/xaAClXxOCM
— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) August 23, 2024
The Argos way of winning quickly blew up on social media, as American fans are unfamiliar with the rouge rule. The somewhat bizarre single-point kick doesn’t exist in the NFL but is summed up in the CFL rulebook as:
If the ball is kicked into the Goal Area by an opponent, a rouge is scored:
- when the ball becomes dead in possession of a team in its own Goal Area or,
- when the ball touches or crosses the Dead Line or a Sideline in Goal and touches the ground, a player or some object beyond these lines.
While many football fans are mixed on the rule, the rouge is something that passionate CFL fans love, as it keeps the game different and unique to the NFL. The Elks won’t be complaining, either, as it ended what was a disappointing season on a high note.