Versatile third- string QB is Eskimos’ secret weapon
Edmonton Eskimos third- string quarterback Jordan Lynch can throw, run and score a rouge.
Lynch’s versatility proved valuable to the Eskimos in Thursday’s 15- 12 Canadian Football League win over the Montreal Alouettes. He threw the only touchdown pass of the game and tied the score 12- 12 late in the fourth quarter when he pinned punt returner Stefan Logan in the end zone for a single point with his fourth special teams tackle of the season.
“We probably don’t win without him,” Eskimos special teams coordinator Craig Dickenson said Tuesday.
“It was a total team effort, but certainly Lynch had two, if not three, big plays in the ball game, including the tackle late to give us the tie, and he was our holder on our last field goal.
“He’s a big part of what we do on special teams.”
That remark usually doesn’t apply to quarterbacks. But Lynch is a special case. Like Pat White last season, the 24- year- old native of Chicago has accepted a multipurpose role of running the shortyardage offence in addition to playing on punt cover.
He threw a four- yard TD pass to receiver Kenny Stafford on his first CFL throw to get the Eskimos on the scoreboard in the dying seconds of the first half. That closed Edmonton’s deficit from 12- 0 to 12- 7, which was significant in the low- scoring game.
But Lynch’s special teams tackle in the fourth quarter was his most impressive play.
With the Alouettes still leading 12- 11, kicker Grant Shaw was forced to punt from the Edmonton 50 with five minutes left in the game after another offensive series died halfway down the field. Shaw booted the punt 54 yards to the Alouettes’ end zone, where Logan collected the ball.
Lynch, who serves as one of the upbacks protecting Shaw in the backfield, came from further back than any other player to cut down the Alouettes kick- returner before he could get out of the end zone.
“His job, if he senses the ball going to the field, is to cut it off,” Dickenson said. “He understood that we were trying to get the guy pinned in the end zone, so he basically turned on the speed and made sure he was down there before the returner could get out of the end zone.”
The single- point rouge tied the score and helped set up Shaw’s last- second 28- yard game- winning field goal after the Eskimos made another huge defensive stop and drove the football back down the field to the Alouettes’ 21- yard line.
“It took a little bit of pressure off the team, specifically for Grant; he even mentioned it,” Dickenson said.
“It’s a lot easier kicking for the win when you know you’re already tied.
“It allowed us to be a little more relaxed when we were coming down the stretch, knowing that in the worst- case scenario, we were going to an overtime.”
Lynch is tied for third- place in Eskimos’ special teams tackles with linebacker Dexter McCoil, defensive back John Ojo, fullback Mike Miller and safety Mike Dubuisson.
“He’s a competitor, first and foremost,” Ojo said. “He’s definitely a team player. He’s willing to do whatever the team asks him to do.”
Lynch, a six- foot, 216- pound Northern Illinois University product who holds the NCAA singleseason and single- game quarterback rushing records, was brought in after White retired during the off- season.
He has proven to be the perfect replacement, having also rushed 13 times for 41 yards and two TDs and occasionally spotted the ball on field goals attempts.
There’s not much Lynch doesn’t do.
“He’s just a very valuable player,” Dickenson said. “He’s a good football player and he knows he can contribute no matter where he’s at.”