On Saturday night the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host the Edmonton Elks with a 5:00pm kickoff time.

History

Those looking outside the window on Thursday night likely saw some snow fall and maybe revisited the idea of heading to a Bomber game on Saturday. While it will be a little cooler, around 12 degrees at kickoff, it is perfect weather for Elk hunting.

Winnipeg and Edmonton have played each other a total of 201 times over the teams’ existence. Winnipeg had won 95 of those contests and lost 103 of the games. However, since 2014 these teams have played each other 18 times with Winnipeg winning 10 of those games.

Preview

When you compare the team’s offence and defence it is no surprise that Winnipeg leads in most of the categories. That is fully expected as Winnipeg sits at 13-2 and Edmonton holds down the basement in the West with a 4-11 record.

When you look at individual players Winnipeg is once again heads and tails better than Edmonton.

No that is not an error, Taylor Cornelius is not only the leading passer for the Elks but also the leading rusher!

Sometimes it can be very advantageous for a team to have a quarterback that can throw and run the ball, but in the case of Edmonton it has not been. Maybe, and this is just my eyeball test, it is because when I have seen Cornelius run it is out of necessity to escape pressure and not out of design.

Hitting Their Stride

Football, it is a funny game. The season can be heading one way and then take a turn for the better or worse. But if you ask Blue Bomber Head Coach Mike O’Shea what he thinks about this season so far and the trajectory they are on it seems that he likes it. For a man that rarely shows his cards it is not too hard to read between the lines here.

They Strike Again!

The Bombers in the last number of years are masters at the trade deadline.

In 2019 the Bombers struck a deal that would bring Zach Collaros to Winnipeg and help the team break their long Grey Cup drought. In 2021 the Bombers added kicker Sergio Castillo late in the season – a move that even surprised Bob Irving! It was a needed move, but seemed to come out of the blue. That move would help Winnipeg secure their second Grey Cup in as many seasons.

Can you believe that in 2022 the Bombers did it again? This time they brought back Alden Darby who is definitely going to help the Bombers banged up defence and their secondary.

Oh yah, by the way, this year the Bombers are rolling with Lieghhio. A huge contributing factor is his success rate on field goals of 87.5% compared to 62.5% in 2021 when they brought in Castillo.

Predictions

*I am predicting that Collaros and Demski both have another big game after being named CFL Top Performers this week.

*I predict that Brady Oliveira has another good game and gets him that much closer to 1,000 yards rushing! Hard to believe that he can still do that when you recall the terrible start to his season. But even when you add in those abysmal games, Oliveira is only 142 yards away from reaching 1,00 yards rushing this year. He also started 21 games for Winnipeg – dating back to 2021 – and has averaged 56 yards in those games. That average was absolutely decimated at the beginning of the season, so you know he is capable of big games.

*I predict that Cornelius has to run the ball, but for all the wrong reasons! I expect him to be under pressure early and often.

*I predict that Cornelius has to run the ball, but for all the wrong reasons! I expect him to be under pressure early and often.

*While the Elks suggest that getting to a winning record is not about speed, the Bombers suggest that they certainly will not help the Elks get to the other side.

So I am predicting that the Bombers are going to be 14-2 after this game.

I highly recommend watching Bonfire Sports weekly shows, and after the game check out their live postgame show GameDay After Dark! They provide an excellent commentary on the game and the live chat is always on fire! Find all their social links here.

What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.

Find all my articles here.

Written by a Bomber fan, for the Bomber fans.

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