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It’s tough to go wire to wire in this league, but the Edmonton Eskimos did just that in 2015. The league’s best team all year long completed a dream season with a thrilling 26-20 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw on Sunday night. This wasn’t a 9-9 team catching fire at the right time. This was the regular season benchmark getting it done when it mattered most.
Just for sake of reference, and to dispel any further misconceptions, look at Edmonton’s record against the league’s two other top teams this year. The Esks finished a combined 6-1 against the REDBLACKS and Calgary Stampeders in 2015, including wins over those teams in the two most important games of the year. They’re the best, and there’s just no other way to spin it.
A fitting end
The Edmonton Eskimos earned the number one seed in the West Division for a variety of reasons. First and foremost of those reasons, though, is what they did defensively. The Eskimos got to the dance on the back of the league’s best defence, so it was only fitting that’s how they sealed the final game of the season.
The way this defensive unit responded to a rough start was superb. On two early, quick and surprising touchdown drives to start the game, the Esks were torched by Henry Burris for 88 yards on just eight passes. Before anyone could blink an eye, Edmonton’s vaunted defence had allowed two majors and was down 13-0.
After that, though, it was time for the reckoning. Over the next 54 minutes, the Eskimos held Burris and Ottawa’s passing game to just 132 yards and no touchdowns while forcing one interception. That’s a pretty solid response.
It was the second half that was most emphatic. Edmonton allowed just four points in the final two quarters which allowed its offence time to figure things out. In the third quarter, for instance, the Eskimos allowed 35 total yards and just two yards passing. So while they only scored one point themselves, the Eskimos’ defence shut the door and kept things close.
I’m not surprised by what the Eskimos did on the defensive side of the ball one bit. This was the league’s most terrifying defensive group all year long. That doesn’t make Edmonton’s performance on the biggest stage any less impressive, though. It was rather poetic to see the Esks win their final game of the season by doing what they did all year long.
Answering the bell
Ottawa set the tone in this football game after driving the ball 73 yards on the opening possession. That drive culminated in a Patrick Lavoie touchdown which was followed by an Edmonton turnover and a subsequent Ernest Jackson major.
The Eskimos’ worst nightmare was playing out in front of them and they were down 13-0 before Mike Reilly and the offence even called a signal. When they finally got on the field, the Eskimos needed their offensive unit to answer the bell and stop the bleeding a little bit. They did just that, and I think it turned the tide of the football game.
Think about it for a second, if you will. If Reilly and the Esks go out, run four plays and punt the football, the momentum is so firmly in Ottawa’s hands we might be talking about a game getting out of hand. We’d have been talking about an Edmonton defence that had been on the field for a ridiculous amount of time to start the game, and would have been even more susceptible.
Instead, Reilly and the Esks ran six plays and almost three minutes off the clock and finished thing off with a Sean Whyte field goal. Sure, a touchdown would have been a nice response, but what really mattered was stemming the tide. Edmonton needed to slow things down, give its defence a rest and turn this back into a slugfest.
If the Eskimos don’t respond the way they did on their first offensive possession, I don’t think they’re flying home victorious.
The human side
You’d only be human if part of you was hoping to see Henry Burris win another title. One of the league’s true ambassadors, Burris has done so many good things for this league in the 15 years he’s been a part of it. So seeing him lose a second trip to the big game in three years was tough to watch.
Burris was the league’s deserving Most Outstanding Player this year and came to play in the Grey Cup, too. But, just like his West Division MOP counterpart Bo Levi Mitchell a week earlier, Burris learned the Eskimos are just too much to handle right now.
I don’t know if Burris will get another shot at winning a title. But I do know that Sunday’s result doesn’t tarnish what was a storybook season for one of best quarterbacks this league has ever seen. He was the catalyst of a stunning turnaround in a city that has gone football mad. He was really the only choice for MOP this year. And he deserves a tip of the hat.
| Outstanding Hank |
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Henry Burris’ season didn’t end the way he’d have hoped, but 2015 was a storybook year in almost every other aspect. A career year and leading the REDBLACKS from a two-win season to an appearance in the Grey Cup helped Burris win the second MOP honour of his career. |
I know that Burris won’t find much comfort in those facts, at least not right now. I got to know the man during his time in Calgary, and his competitive fire is as red hot as it ever was. But I hope that a few months, or a few years, down the road he can look back on 2015 with pride. Despite the result of the last game, Burris has so much to be proud of this year.
Looking good
We were treated to a dandy of a Grey Cup game this year with two teams that were 100 per cent deserving to be there. So how do these teams shape up for next season? Well, I dare say, things are looking pretty decent.
We already know what Edmonton is capable of defensively and I expect much the same next season. We know how much Reilly is the straw that stirs the drink offensively, but it’s not just that. The Esks boast the league’s most targeted receiver in Adarius Bowman and the 2015 Most Outstanding Rookie in Darel Walker. They’re going to be healthier at running back next year. I don’t think these guys are going anywhere.
Ottawa’s prognosis looks similarly positive. Yeah, Burris will be 41 next season, but he’ll still be in great shape and he’ll still have five explosive offensive weapons around him. The REDBLACKS took so many strides defensively this year that I see that unit pointed in the right direction, as well. 2015 was no fluke in our nation’s capital and I expect Ottawa to challenge for the East Division crown once again in 2016.
