Edmonton plays host to Montreal

Sep 10, 2014 - 4:25 PM Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - After faltering just once through the first eight games of the season, the Edmonton Eskimos find themselves hoping to head off a two-game slide this week as they host the Montreal Alouettes at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night.

Trapped in third place in the highly-competitive West Division where all five clubs are playing above .500 at the moment, the Eskimos planned on working their way back into the win column last week as they faced Calgary for the second time in a span of just five days, but it wasn't meant to be. In fact, the only team to have defeated Edmonton in 2014 is Calgary, thanks to a 41-34 victory during Week 11 action.

Edmonton dug itself a deep hole by falling behind after three periods at home, 31-10, and while a 24-point outburst in the fourth quarter gave the Esks some hope, in the end they simply could not save themselves. Matt Nichols, who again filled in for Mike Reilly at quarterback, converted 25-of-43 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns, adding another score on the ground, but outside of his efforts and those of a few key receivers, Edmonton was destined for yet another setback versus the Stampeders.

Slotback Adarius Bowman, who enters play this week as the CFL leader in receiving yards with 866 on 65 grabs, notched his second straight 100-yard effort as he posted eight grabs for 124 yards, less than a week after coming up with 123 yards on another eight catches against the same Calgary secondary.

Also going for more than 100 yards receiving was A.J. Guyton, who accounted for 111 yards and a major on six receptions.

In fighting back down the stretch, the Esks certainly made things interesting, and one can only wonder how the game might have turned out had Edmonton not been flagged nine times for a loss of 95 yards, compared to a mere two penalties for 15 yards for Calgary.

While Edmonton is still in the thick of things in the division standings, trailing only Calgary and Saskatchewan by four and two points, respectively, the Alouettes are in a completely different situation over in the East where they have a grand total of just three victories and yet are still tied for first place with a 3-7 Toronto squad heading into Week 12 action.

Montreal was a disappointing 1-7 in the first eight games of 2014 as the team tried to find a suitable replacement for the retired Anthony Calvillo. The Als first turned to former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, but in addition to struggling during his time under center and being called to the sideline, he also suffered an injury that landed him on the six-game injury list. The Als turned to Alex Brink, but have been testing out Tanner Marsh in key situations, but right now it appears as though the job of starting quarterback may lie with Jonathan Crompton.

A Tennessee product who was on the Edmonton roster last season, Crompton played with a heavy heart last week as he suited up for the start against Hamilton, just the second of his career. Grieving the loss of his former fiance' to cancer just days before, Crompton strapped on his helmet and went to work versus the Tiger-Cats.

Crompton converted 18-of-27 passes for 206 yards and a score, brushing off an interception and a sack, while Marsh stepped in and registered a pair of rushing touchdowns to get one of the weakest offenses in the league into gear.

In addition to a spirited effort from the offense, the Als also got very strong play from the defense and special teams as Winston Venable scored the first points of the contest with a 59-yard fumble return for a major in the first quarter. In the final frame, James Rodgers brought back a punt 83 yards and crossed the goal line to help built on what would become a 28-0 scoring burst for the hosts.

For his efforts Rodgers, who finished with 100 yards on four punt returns and 45 more on kickoff returns, was named the CFL Special Teams Player of the Week.

Not to ignore the defense, Bear Woods raised his visibility as he tallied 10 tackles, including two sacks, both of which were career highs as he was named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week as well for the Alouettes.

Edmonton won the first meeting of the season by a score of 33-23 just over a month ago, racing out to a 30-8 lead at the break in Montreal before the offense pretty much fell silent over the final 30 minutes for the visitors.

By picking up the win back on Aug. 8, the Eskimos moved to 38-29-2 in the all- time series, taking into account only regular-season bouts dating back to 1961. However, before the Edmonton win, Montreal had posted eight consecutive victories and nine in the last 10 matchups with the Esks.