It was all there but the finish against Winnipeg
Did the Edmonton Eskimos deserve to lose Thursday’s game? Probably. But the same could be asked of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad that hung on to win its home opener 28-21.
Here’s what we learned in the loss to the Bombers in Week 3:
1
THE GOOD
The Eskimos surpassed the 400-yard mark in net offence for the third time in as many games this season, this time chewing up 440 yards on the strength of 345 passing yards by Trevor Harris, whose 54 pass attempts was the second-most by an Eskimos quarterback. Receivers Kenny Stafford and Ricky Collins Jr. were both over the 100-yard mark in receiving.
2
THE BAD
The Eskimos offence failed to come up with any sort of finish outside of Sean Whyte’s kicking leg. Defensively, while Edmonton only gave up 270 yards of offence, it was accompanied by four touchdowns. And while the Eskimos were able to lock down Andrew Harris, they were utterly exposed by a nifty bit of play-calling on back-to-back rushes by slotback Nic Demski on Winnipeg’s opening touchdown drive. And then there were the penalties …
3
THE UGLY
The Eskimos continue to hurt themselves with lack of discipline. So far this season, they are surrendering an average of 13 penalties for 140 yards per game. Yes, some of those can be chalked up to adjusting to the league’s new roughness infraction, while others, such as the first defensive pass interference call against cornerback Josh Johnson on Thursday, are nothing more than flights of fancy by head referee Al Bradbury.
4
SHORT YARDAGE
For the second week in a row, the Eskimos turned the ball over on downs with a failed third-and-one attempt by C.J. Gable in the second quarter. And that was besides the third-and-one they didn’t get a chance to pick up on their opening drive due to a procedure penalty.
5
UNHAPPY RETURNS Edmonton’s Martese Jackson came up with a 19-yard punt return when it mattered most, giving the Eskimos a short porch to tie the score late. Otherwise, he averaged just 5.6 yards on a handful of other punt returns.