Winless and banged up on defence, the Ottawa Redblacks hit the road looking for anything resembling momentum against a wounded but still-favored Elks squad.
Game Details
- Matchup: Ottawa Redblacks at Edmonton Elks
- When: Thursday, July 9 at 9:00 PM ET
- Where: Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
- TV: TSN
- Stream: Watch live on CFL+
Odds
- Spread: Edmonton Elks -7
- Moneyline: Ottawa Redblacks +245, Edmonton Elks -305
- Over/Under: 58
Ottawa is 1-1-1 against the spread this season with two overs and two unders, while Edmonton sits at 2-1 ATS with the same over/under split. Vegas clearly still respects the Elks despite last week's stumble, and this line hasn't budged much off what you'd expect for a 3-1 team hosting an 0-4 club.
Overview
This is about as lopsided a gap as you'll find on paper. The Redblacks are the last winless team in the league at 0-4, having been outscored 137-102, and they've lost four straight dating back to that Week 1 defeat to this very Elks team. Ottawa jumped Edmonton in that opener before falling 29-21, and head coach Ryan Dinwiddie has been blunt about what's sinking his club since — penalties. After Saturday's 27-22 loss to Saskatchewan, Dinwiddie called it "self-inflicted," pointing to flags that turned a 10-0 Ottawa lead into another defeat. That kind of talk after four straight losses tells you where this team's head is at.
Edmonton, meanwhile, arrives off its first loss of the year, a 36-24 blowout in BC where James Butler and the Lions' ground game ran the Elks ragged. That's the first real crack in what had been a 3-0 start, and it's fair to wonder if a home date against the league's only winless team is exactly the get-right spot Edmonton needs. History says probably. The Elks have won three of four, own the head-to-head over Ottawa already this season, and get to play in front of their own crowd at Commonwealth Stadium off a short week of rest to fix what went wrong against BC.
The real story here is depth — or lack of it — on Ottawa's defence. The Redblacks are dealing with a flood of injuries at linebacker and defensive back, including leading tackler Nyles Morgan's running mates and top ball-hawk Scott Hutter, who's out with ribs. Against a Cody Fajardo-led offence that's found different ways to win each week, that's a brutal problem to solve on the road. Edmonton has the clear edge here, and it's not particularly close.
Key Players
- Jake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) — Ottawa's offence goes as far as Maier can carry it, and he'll need a big night to keep pace with Edmonton's attack.
- Greg Bell (Ottawa Redblacks, RB) — Paired with Daniel Adeboboye in the backfield, Bell gives Ottawa its best chance to control the clock and keep this one from getting away early.
- Cody Fajardo (Edmonton Elks, QB) — 101-of-149 for 1,159 yards and 6 TDs on the year; he's got four picks too, which is where Ottawa's banged-up secondary has to find a way to cash in.
- Justin Rankin (Edmonton Elks, RB) — Leads the CFL with 406 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, and against an Ottawa front missing multiple linebackers, he's the guy who could turn this into a laugher.
- Nyles Morgan (Ottawa Redblacks, LB) — Ottawa's tackling leader is going to be extremely busy trying to plug gaps with reinforcements thin behind him.
Keys to the Game
- Ottawa has to find a way to slow Justin Rankin without bleeding out its already-thin linebacker corps even further.
- Penalties have been Dinwiddie's public enemy No. 1 — the Redblacks simply cannot afford self-inflicted wounds against a team this talented.
- Jake Maier needs an efficient, mistake-free night through the air to keep this from turning into a track meet Edmonton wins comfortably.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| King Ambers (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Habakkuk Baldonado (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Emeric Boutin (FB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Michael Brodrique (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Aaron Casey (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Scott Hutter (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Nick Mardner (WR) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Daniel Okpoko (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Jamie Pettway (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Kalil Pimpleton (WR) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Luiji Vilain (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Michael Wakefield (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Keelan White (WR) | Ottawa Redblacks | Questionable |
| Bennett Williams (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
Depth Chart
Ottawa Redblacks starters by position, built from the official Week 6 depth chart. This is a projected look and may shift with in-game adjustments.
| Position | Ottawa Redblacks |
|---|---|
| QB | Jake Maier (McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Bryson Barnes) |
| RB | Greg Bell (Daniel Adeboboye) |
| FB | Anthony Gosselin |
| WR (Boundary) | Eugene Lewis |
| WR (Field) | Binjimen Victor, Kalil Pimpleton |
| SB | Justin Hardy, Cade McDonald, Ayden Eberhardt |
| LT | Dino Boyd |
| LG | Drew Desjarlais |
| C | Sean McEwen, Samuel Carson |
| RG | Giordano Vaccaro |
| RT | Zack Pelehos |
| DE | Charlie Parks, Aidan John, Habakkuk Baldonado |
| DT | Cleyon Laing, Jelani Stafford, Muftah Ageli |
| DE (Field) | Kemari Munier-Bailey, Luiji Vilain, Michael Wakefield |
| WLB | Brian Cole II, Lucas Cormier |
| MLB | Benjamin Dobson, Josh Connors, Nyles Morgan |
| SLB | Marcus Barnes, CJ Reavis |
| CB | Demerio Houston, Amari Henderson |
| HB | Jeremy Lucien, Eric Cumberbatch, Adrian Frye |
| S | Alonzo Addae |
| K/P | Brett Lauther, Noah Gettman |
| LS | Peter Adjey |
| RET | Kalil Pimpleton, Cade McDonald |
Score Prediction
Ottawa Redblacks 26 - Edmonton Elks 33. Ottawa's offence should move the ball behind Maier and its two-headed backfield of Bell and Adeboboye, but the Redblacks' shorthanded linebacker corps and secondary won't have the answers for Rankin and Fajardo over four quarters. Edmonton bounces back from its first loss with a comfortable cover at home, and Ottawa's winless streak reaches five.
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Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.