Edmonton Eskimos vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers Match Player Stats On Jul 17, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jul 17, 2014

Eskimos 26, Blue Bombers 3: Mike Reilly threw for 197 yards and a touchdown and added 89 yards on the ground as visiting Edmonton cruised in a showdown between unbeaten West Division teams.

Odell Willis had an interception return for a score to lead a dominant defense performance by the Eskimos (4-0), who equaled their win total for the entire 2013 season. Reilly completed 16-for-29 passes while A.J. Guyton added a fourth-quarter touchdown reception for Edmonton, the first of his CFL career.

Drew Willy went 13-of-26 for 171 yards and an interception for the Eskimos (3-1), who came into the game with a league-high 115 points but managed just a 22-yard Lirim Hajrullahu field goal while going two-and-out 10 times. Nic Grigsby led the way offensively with 116 total yards.

Edmonton's vaunted defense put the Eskimos on the scoresheet just over six minutes into the game, as Willis gathered a Willy dump-off that was bobbled by Grigsby and returned it 16 yards for the touchdown. Edmonton padded the lead on a short Grant Shaw field goal near the midway point of the second, and a Reilly 30-yard scamper on the next drive helped set up a Shaw 14-yarder that helped give the Eskimos a 13-3 halftime edge.

The Edmonton defense held strong in the third quarter - aided by Hajrullahu's 44-yard field goal attempt that caromed off the upright and back onto the field - and put the game away early in the fourth as Reilly hit a wide-open Guyton from 14 yards out. The Eskimos forced another two-and-out on the ensuing Winnipeg drive - prompting boos from the home crowd - and Shaw capped the onslaught with a 30-yarder inside three minutes remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Winnipeg had the football for just 9:46 in the opening half, managing only four first downs. ... Eskimos WR Fred Stamps was attended to after taking a hard hit in the end zone one play before Guyton's TD catch. Stamps left the field on his own power and returned later. ... Edmonton RB John White led all players with 20 carries for 102 yards.