A CHARACTER WIN
Reilly, Eskimos take one ugly: Jones
Mike Reilly is human.
Then again, he still isn’t. The CFL Most Outstanding Player and all-star quarterback of the Edmonton Eskimos was “off ” Thursday night against the Saskatchewan Roughriders before 35,623 fans, the largest crowd of the season in the CFL that featured a carry-over 50-50 payout of $410,982.
Reilly was sailing passes and firing them high and wide or low and outside. He had only four completed passes for 86 yards in the entire first half against Riders coach Chris Jones’ dynamic defence that was dialed up as high as it has been all season.
“It was a tough grind-it-out win and we’ll take it. We won’t apologize for nothing,” Eskimos coach Jason Maas said in his post-game scrum.
“Chris Jones’ defence is never easy to go against. It doesn’t matter what personnel he has or what kind of things he’s calling, everything is a grind to beat him,” he said after watching Reilly hauled down four times, equalling the number of sacks he suffered through the first six games combined.
Said Reilly: “There were some throws that I’d normally make fairly easily, that I was a little bit off on at different parts of the game tonight, but it was a game where our mental toughness was tested and we made the plays we had to make to come through.”
When it was over, the Saskatchewan head coach who won the 2015 Grey Cup in Edmonton with Reilly as his quarterback produced the quote of the night.
“He keeps on playing,” said Jones. “You have to knock him out. He’s just one of those guys. As long as he’s up on the canvas, he’s going to keep fighting and find a way to beat you.”
Mass recalled saying something to the effect of, “We’d be doing OK if Mike could hit a receiver,” during the live mic TSN telecast
He later added: “But I never criticize him, because he keeps grinding, and at the end of the game, I know he’ll make it. He was doing everything possible for us to win. When (a throw) needs to be made, there’s nobody I’d rather have back there than him,” Maas said.
Reilly’s numbers were pretty pedestrian — 13 of 27 for 275 yards. He won’t be player of the week, although Derel Walker might have a shot after pulling in six catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Guts and grit and refuse-tolose determination trumped the talent and ability of not only the quarterback. Virtually the entire Eskimos team replicated the character of their starter to get it done and win a big game 26-19.
These weren’t the Roughriders we have watched struggle through the season without a quarterback. Zach Collaros returned under centre and had a good game, as Jones finally gave in to the cries from fans to move Duron Carter back to receiver, where he rewarded the move with a touchdown. And Jones had his defence playing near perfect football against the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.
While the Eskimos defence remains a work in progress, the Eskimos are riding a three-game winning streak, having kept the opposition under 20 points on the scoreboard and in all three victories.
And this game was huge for a team that’s now 3-0 against Western Division teams.
When the crowd had cleared, the Eskimos were 5-2 with a trip to Vancouver and a Thursday night date against the B.C. Lions up next, followed by a return to Commonwealth Stadium and a game against quarterback Johnny Manziel and the Montreal Alouettes.
It was a game, like most Eskimos contests this season, with many things to carp and complain about, although discipline — other than Maas losing a wrestling match with a Gatorade barrel in a fit of frustration over the early performance of Reilly and the offence — wasn’t an issue.
But this was a good oldfashioned tug of war win and it should be celebrated for that.
The 3-4 Roughriders have a bye week, then continue their six-game run against Western Division opposition, with a visit from the Calgary Stampeders and back-to-back Labour Day games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
They’re now in the Eskimos’ rear-view mirror and likely to stay there in this season when the 106th Grey Cup game will be played in Edmonton.