THE CANADIAN PRESS
CFL.ca Staff
#FNF
EDMONTON — Kenny Stafford started the scoring and Patrick Watkins added a pick-six, as an air-tight Edmonton Eskimos defence shut down the Riders on the way to a 30-5 win on Friday night.
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Matt Nichols found Stafford for a 27-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive to give Edmonton early momentum, then he turned the game over to his defence to close things out, clinching the Eskimos’ fourth straight win.
Watkins finished with a sack and two interceptions on top of a team-high five tackles while Dexter McCoil and Otha Foster also had sacks, leading an Eskimo defence that’s allowed only 20 points over the last three games and eight over the last two. JC Sherritt added his second interception of the season.
Nichols threw for 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27-of-39 passing on a career night to move to 4-0 on the season.
While the Eskimos entered the game with the CFL’s number one-ranked defence, it was the offence giving them a quick start. It started with three straight rushes to rookie runner Shakir Bell off the top followed by a completion on second and long to Wallace Miles. Then with the drive seemingly stalled just on the outside of field goal range, a fake punt resulted in a run for a first down by Jordan Lynch to keep the drive alive.
That play was a key one in the first half because without it, the Esks wouldn’t have had the only touchdown of the opening two quarters. After a 14-yard completion to Bowman on second down, Nichols connected with Stafford on a slant and the first-year Eskimo hit the seam and found the end zone.
The 27-yard score, Stafford’s third of the season, capped off a 76-yard drive on 11 plays to put Edmonton ahead 7-0 early.
Nichols kept up the pace on the Esks’ second possession of the game, responding to Alex Hall’s third sack of the season with a key second-down conversion on long-yardage. Terrell Maze tried to undercut the out to the sideline but missed, and there was Bowman making the grab and tip-toeing in bounds for a 23-yard completion.
The drive didn’t culminate in a touchdown this time, but a 31-yard field goal by Grant Shaw gave the Eskimos a 10-point cushion in the opening quarter.
Looking to respond and get the Riders back in the game, Smith found himself overwhelmed early on in his first career start — a tough task to begin with against an aggressive Eskimo defence. An 18-yard completion to Chris Getzlaf in the first was all the momentum Smith could muster early on, while in the second quarter a nine-play drive on which Smith went 4-for-5 ended only in a punt single.
A 21-yard run followed by a 20-yard catch by Jerome Messam set up the Riders’ first field goal of the game, a 34-yard boot from Paul McCallum, while the defence shut down Nichols and the Esks through the second quarter to keep the score within six points at the half.
In the second half, however, the Riders began to unravel. Smith and the offence looked to push a little more while the Eskimos turned up the pressure, and the result was a pick-six by Watkins. Smith looked to find Ryan Smith but was picked off by the long-time CFL shutdown corner, and Watkins sprinted 47 yards untouched to break the game open for the Eskimos.
Up 20-5, Edmonton’s defence wasn’t done. Smith faced heavy pressure from Edmonton’s front seven and forced a pass off his back foot into the hands of linebacker Sherritt, who returned the interception inside the Rider 10. The Rider defence tightened up and forced a field goal, but the Eskimos took a 23-5 lead into the final quarter.
Patrick Watkins had two interceptions to lead the Eskimos to their CFL-leading fourth win of 2015.
While the Eskimos showed no signs of any give on defence, the offence put the game away midway through the third. Bell sprinted the Eskimos into scoring range on a catch-and-run, then Nichols finished off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendial Lawrence on the fade pass to the left end zone sideline.
Nichols’ second touchdown pass put him at exactly 300 yards on the night and more importantly put the Esks’ lead at 30-5.
Watkins added another pick late while the Esks’ defence continued to play shutdown ball, becoming the first team in the CFL to win four games in 2015.
Smith completed 15 of 22 passes for 132 yards in an efficient first career start, but he was picked off twice and failed to find the end zone as the Eskimos made it two straight games without a touchdown against. Running backs Messam and Anthony Allen, meanwhile, combined for only six carries for 27 yards as the Riders’ rushing attack was grounded for the second straight game.
The Eskimos are back in action next Thursday with a visit to BC Place to take on Travis Lulay and the Lions, where they’ll look to win their second road game of 2015. The Riders, meanwhile, will go back to the drawing board before visiting the Argos on Aug. 8 — Toronto’s home-opener — where they’ll seek their first win of the season.
