Edmonton Eskimos take home 103rd Grey Cup

“I try to when we get to a game like this it’s already something they’ve heard before so they have a comfort level that they’ve run it and executed it before so we can play at a high level”. On Sunday, it helped decide a championship.

Will the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Henry Burris lead the Redblacks to victory?

In the first quarter, the Redblacks took an early 13-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possessions before momentum shifted in Edmonton’s favour.

It capped a remarkable comeback for the Eskimos. Edmonton’s offensive line finished fifth in sacks allowed with 47 but quarterback Mike Reilly is a very good runner and his mobility allows him to escape defensive pressure to either buy time, to look downfield or head upfield for costive yards. They won their final 10 games, all after Reilly returned as the starter after injuring a knee in the season-opening loss to Toronto.

Sean Whyte would like nothing better than to kick the winning field goal for the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday’s Grey Cup game against the Ottawa Redblacks. “It hurts a lot”. But obviously heartbroken, disappointed, all those things.

The Eskimos did it all on the drive leading up to the field goal chance, including completing a big pass on second and long and successfully converting a fake punt. Whyte missed a 44-yarder for a single shortly after.

Late in the first half, Reilly connected with Akeem Shavers for another Edmonton touchdown. The real momentum-changing play came right afterwards, though, with Burris running for just a yard on first down and horribly underthrowing a deep ball on second down, which was easily picked by Edmonton’s Patrick Watkins. The Redblacks added a rouge in the fourth, and then the Eskimos’ offence finally got rolling, with Reilly driving much of the length of the field (aided significantly by head coach Chris Jones using a challenge and getting a pass interference call from it) and backup QB Jordan Lynch plunging for the TD.

The Eskimos are first in the CFL defensively in points allowed (18.9), passing yards allowed (245), two and outs forced (124), and opponent second down conversion rate (40.1%).

For two years, the Algonquin Loggersports Team has attended every Redblacks’ home game, celebrating touchdowns by revving up their chainsaws and slicing through a log emblazoned with the CFL team’s logo.

There would be no miracle comeback for the Redblacks this time. This was the first Cup game to be held in Winnipeg, so organizers needed to prove that playing the game outdoors on the Prairies in November wasn’t such a bad idea.

Jones compiled a 26-10 regular-season record over his two seasons as Edmonton’s head coach.

Notes: Attendance was announced at 36,634…