The Edmonton Elks’ mistake-filled fourth quarter transformed what looked to be a dream home opener into a nightmare.

But the Elks have no time to feel sorry for themselves after last Saturday’s 29-21 loss to Saskatchewan, which saw the Roughriders score 21 points in the final quarter. That’s because the reigning Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes visit Commonwealth Stadium this Friday night.

The Als are coming off a 27-12 thumping of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and feel they’re an even better team than the one that took the Grey Cup last November.

“We’re light-years ahead of where we were last year,” said Als wideout Tyson Philpot, who logged 141 receiving yards and caught two touchdown passes last week. “The coaches see that. The players feel that, too.”

The Elks see the home-opener loss to the Roughriders as the one that got away. Two key second-half fumbles, from running back Kevin Brown and quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, each led to Saskatchewan touchdowns.

That’s a 14-point swing off turnovers in a 29-21 game. You don’t need to be a math genius to recognize the impact the fumbles had.

Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones knows that the Als have a reputation for turning fumbles and interceptions into touchdowns. So, turnovers are something Edmonton will have to clean up.

“That’s something they rode at the end of the year, playing great defence,” said Jones. “We’ve got to do a great job protecting the football. We had three turnovers last week and almost had another.”

Jones is also concerned that the Elks took 11 penalties last week. He knows they can’t afford to have positive plays negated by flags.

Edmonton will get a boost as veteran defensive back Louchez Purifoy is good to go this week after missing the opener due to illness.

“Lou’s a veteran defensive player, he makes plays every single week,” said Jones. “He’s been around the league a long time, it’s good to have him back.

“I felt like, secondary-wise, we played decent for the most part, but we just gave up too many explosions last week.”