Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will face a tough test when the Edmonton Elks come to town later this week, as the team is 2-0 for the first time since 2019.
The biggest reason for Edmonton’s success is the play of star running back Justin Rankin, whose hot start could help him reach his goal of becoming the first CFL player ever to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
“Rankin is one of the best players in the CFL. I don’t know what his yards per play is, but it’s extremely high right now. Whether he’s running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield, he’s making a lot of people miss. When he does that, he’s got enough speed to run by guys, and he’s got enough shift that he’s very hard to bring down,” head coach Mike O’Shea told the media on Sunday.
“(The Elks are) good. They’re dialled in, they’ve got a couple wins. I’m sure they’re feeling confident, and they should.”
Rankin was dominant in Edmonton’s win over the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 1, rushing 13 times for 109 yards, catching five passes for 94 yards, and scoring one touchdown. He was even better against the Montreal Alouettes in Week 3, rushing for 179 yards, making five receptions for 51 yards, and notching two major scores.
The 29-year-old is not only the CFL’s leading rusher, but also his team’s leading receiver.
“Montreal and Ottawa, their first two (opponents), both defences played very hard, they played very physical,” said defensive coordinator Jordan Younger. “You have to be precise — if you’ve got a gap, sometimes you just gotta hold your gap and trust your teammates to do their job. Sometimes what happens is somebody will get antsy, get out of their gap, and then he’ll take advantage of it because of his skill set and his ability to make people miss.”
The Blue Bombers struggled on defence in their most recent game, missing several tackles as Larry Rountree III rushed 23 times for 124 yards to help the Hamilton Tiger-Cats win 37-27 at Princess Auto Stadium. It was only Winnipeg’s eighth home loss since 2021.
Three of Rountree’s carries went for 10 or more yards, including a 23-yard scamper. Younger doesn’t seem to mind giving up some yardage along the ground, provided it’s not in large increments.
“For me, it’s more about how those yards come,” he said. “I don’t like the explosive runs. The anticipated runs, when we know we need to stop them, we anticipate what they’ve done, we practiced against it, and for whatever reason, we don’t see the information that will help us, or we don’t make the tackle right there to help us get off the field — that’s the part I think I get a little more frustrated with, more so than the number (of rushing yards).”
Winnipeg’s defence has been far from dominant so far this season, ranking seventh in net yards allowed per game (422.0) and ninth in rushing yards allowed per game (171.0). The unit has also forced only one takeaway.
After spending Week 3 on bye, it seems the Blue Bombers are hopeful they’ve corrected the mistakes necessary to ensure they’re not repeated against the Elks.
“They understand the mistakes that were made and the plays that were missed, and they also understand the plays that we made and the good things, too,” said O’Shea. “I think they are always highly dialled into what winning football looks like, and then when it doesn’t work out, the reasons why it’s more important to understand the truth than to have an emotional response.”
As for how the Blue Bombers plan to defend against Rankin, O’Shea posed an out-of-the-box solution.
“Play 13 guys,” he joked. “Hopefully, they don’t notice.”
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-1) will host the Edmonton Elks (2-0) at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday, June 25 with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Elks are coming off an overtime win over the Montreal Alouettes, while the Blue Bombers were on bye.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 25 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 880 CHED in Edmonton or 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
