The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-2) visited Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday night against the Edmonton Elks (0-9) in their second meeting of the season. These two teams last played in Week 7 in Winnipeg when the Blue Bombers beat the Elks 28-14.
There was a new quarterback behind center for the Edmonton Elks with Tre Ford getting his first start of the 2023 season. The former first-round pick had a chance to make an impression and the hometown fans were excited to see what he could do and hope he could give them a win.
Edmonton looked good early in the first quarter. On the first play of the game, Tre Ford handed the ball to Kevin Brown. The offensive line created a huge hole and Brown used his speed to score a 65-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 14:07 left.
On the kickoff, Edmonton kicker Dean Faithfull kicked the ball for 100 yards. The ball bounced into the endzone before going out of bounds for a single point. It was now 8-0 Edmonton. Winnipeg went on a three-play drive for 16 yards before punting the ball back to Edmonton.
Later in the first quarter, Edmonton went on an eight-play drive for 77 yards which resulted in a Tre Ford eight-yard touchdown that made it 15-0 with 2:18 left. Winnipeg’s defense did not do a good job against the Elks’ offense. Having a new quarterback in can throw a team off because Ford does not have many highlights in the CFL.
Winnipeg went two-and-out on their next drive and punted the ball back to Edmonton when the first quarter ended. Edmonton had the ball on their 52-yard line to begin the second quarter up 15-0.
After Edmonton went two-and-out, Winnipeg had the ball on their 23-yard line. On the next play, Winnipeg took a major hit when Zach Collaros scrambled to avoid getting sacked. As he was falling down attempting to keep the play alive, he tried the ball to Greg McCrae but Loucheiz Purifoy intercepted it and returned it for a 23-yard touchdown. It was now 22-0 with 11:13 left.
During Purifoy’s interception, Noah Curtis landed on Collaros and he was down for several minutes before trainers helped him off the field and he did not return to the game. Curtis could’ve gotten called for a roughing the passer penalty but Curtis was already going down when Collaros just released the ball. Dru Brown was the new Winnipeg quarterback.
Later in the second quarter, Winnipeg finally got on the board when Dru Brown threw a nice 23-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dalton Schoen which cut the Elks lead to 22-7 with four minutes left. Before halftime, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo converted a 53-yard field goal which made it 22-10 with 49 seconds left. The Elks led 22-10 at halftime.
Edmonton had 171 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 6 of 7 passes (85.7%) for 32 yards, three carries for 26 yards, and one touchdown. Ford’s ability to scramble out of the pocket was something Edmonton needs badly. He did a good job in the first half.
Running back Kevin Brown had six carries for 95 yards, one touchdown, and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell had three catches for 14 yards.
Winnipeg had 160 yards on offense. Before the injury, quarterback Zach Collaros completed 2 of five passes (40%) for six yards, and one interception. Backup quarterback Dru Brown completed 8 of 11 passes (72.7%) for 125 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back Brady Oliveira had four carries for 24 yards, and one catch for three yards, and wide receiver Rasheed Bailey had two catches for 31 yards.
In the third quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Dru Brown threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski which made it 22-17 Edmonton with 5:10 left.
Edmonton needed to respond. On the third play, Winnipeg’s defense blitzed Ford and he quickly threw the ball to Kyron Moore. Moore had room in front of him and took off for a 70-yard touchdown. It was now 29-17 with 2:37 left.
With under a minute left in the third quarter, Dru Brown’s pass intended for Dalton Schoen was incomplete but a pass interference penalty on Ed Gainey moved the ball to the Elks’ one-yard line. Dakota Prukop scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak. It was now 29-24 Edmonton with 26 seconds left. Just as time expired, Tre Ford’s pass was intercepted by Evan Holm. Winnipeg had the ball on their 46-yard line to begin the fourth quarter down 29-24.
On the third play of the fourth quarter, Dru Brown stepped back to throw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler, who made a great one-handed catch with a defender on him to give the Blue Bombers its first lead of the game 31-29 with 13:30 left.
Later in the fourth quarter, Winnipeg put the game away when Dru Brown had Elks’ blitz coming at him and he threw the ball to Brady Oliveira for a screenplay. Oliveira ran with the ball before breaking a tackle and scoring a 17-yard touchdown which made it 38-29 with 3:38 left.
Edmonton could not get back into the game, and the Blue Bombers took control for the rest of the game and defeated the Elks by the final score of 38-29.
This was a competitive game between these two teams. However, the key difference in this game was Winnipeg’s defense adjusted against Ford but the Elks could not adjust against Brown. Winnipeg struggled early on but as the game went along, they adjusted and took away opportunities for Ford. Edmonton scored seven points in the second half.
For Edmonton’s defense, they did a good job against Collaros and took away big plays. However, after Collaros’s injury, they could not solve Dru Brown and were penalized eight times for 100 yards. In addition, they lost two key players on defense in Loucheiz Purifoy and Elliott Brown.
As for the quarterbacks, they were both impressive. Winnipeg quarterback Dru Brown completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 307 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for 15 yards. If Collaros is going to miss time due to his injury, Winnipeg is in good hands. On the other side, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford completed 12 of 16 passes (75%) for 189 yards, one touchdown, one interception, five carries for 50 yards, and one touchdown.
Ford did a good job scrambling out the pocket and was only sacked once. He gave Edmonton’s offense a spark that they needed and he earned another chance to start. Despite the injuries for the quarterback position in the CFL, the guys who are stepping in are a bright spot and can be the future of the league in the next decade.
Winnipeg had 459 yards on offense. Running back Brady Oliveira had 14 carries for 110 yards, two catches for 20 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receivers Rasheed Bailey, Nic Demski, Kenny Lawler, and Dalton Schoen combined with 13 catches logging 240 yards. Winnipeg’s defense had 30 tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Edmonton had 356 yards on offense. Running back Kevin Brown had ten carries for 98 yards, one touchdown, and wide receivers Dillion Mitchell and Kyron Moore combined with nine catches for 163 yards and one touchdown. Edmonton’s defense had 44 tackles, two sacks, and one interception.
Next week, Edmonton plays the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday at 7:30 pm on CBS Sports Network, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers battle the Calgary Stampeders next Friday at 9 pm on CFL+.
