Edmonton @ Toronto preview
BMO Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2019 ) Toronto 0, Edmonton 26
The Edmonton Eskimos look to stay in the hunt for the West Division title when they visit the Toronto Argonauts on Friday. The Eskimos grinded out a 16-12 victory against the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 9 to remain in a three-way tie for second place, two points behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and hope to keep pace with the chasing pack by completing the season sweep of the Argonauts following a 26-0 victory July 25.
"Ultimately our goal this week is to win one game because that's all that's in front of us so whatever that ends up doing we don't care," Edmonton coach Jason Maas told reporters. "We just talk about winning games and this week it's Toronto and it's 1-0 and that's all our focus is on." Toronto ended a six-game losing streak in 2019 with a shocking 28-27 win over Winnipeg before having a week off. The Argonauts erased a 20-0 deficit en route to ending a string of eight straight losses dating back to last season and hope to build on their upset win by knocking off West Division opponents in back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 2017 regular season. "It was huge to see everyone elevate and win a game," Toronto coach Corey Chamblin told reporters. "We put away all the negative things and the mistakes … and we stepped up and grew up."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS2
ABOUT THE ESKIMOS (5-3): C.J. Gable was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after he rushed for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter, against Ottawa. Trevor Harris went 33-of-40 for 327 yards against the team he spent the previous three years with to move past David Archer (20,671) for 35th place on the CFL's all-time passing list with 20,786. Fullback Tanner Green was placed on the six-game injured list after hurting his knee against the Redblacks while running back Alex Taylor is set to return after missing the last game with an undisclosed injury.
ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS (1-6): Quarterback Zach Collaros is inching closer to a return after coming off the six-game injured list (concussion), but McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns in the win against Winnipeg, is slated to get the start Friday. Running back James Wilder Jr., who leads the team with 421 yards from scrimmage, returned to practice and is expected to play after missing the previous two games for personal reasons. Toronto acquired all-star defensive end Davon Coleman from the BC Lions in exchange for Shawn Lemon and the former Arizona State star will likely get the start with Cleyon Laing out with an undisclosed injury.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Edmonton has dropped nine of its last 10 road games.
2. Bethel-Thompson has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of his last five games.
3. Harris leads the CFL in passing yards (2,631).
PREDICTION: Argonauts 26, Eskimos 23