Last game: 29-26 OT win over Calgary (Week 3) Next game: Vs. Edmonton, Thurs. July 6
Worth noting: The Riders are rolling and their incoming opponent is reeling. The talk of this short week in Riderville should be the perils of the trap game. That’s a good test for a Riders team that’s showing promise and in that, an ability to scrap and claw its way to wins. The first of those, of course, came with that Week 1 goal line stand in Edmonton. Let’s see how the Riders handle this week.
9. Edmonton Elks (0-4)
Last week: 9
Last game: 26-7 loss to Ottawa Next game: At Saskatchewan, Thurs. July 6
Worth noting: Another short-ish week for the Elks doesn’t necessarily make the outlook any sunnier for them, as they have started 0-4 for the first time since 2010. If they need something to draw on, they can look back to their last visit to Mosaic Stadium, where Taylor Cornelius led the squad to a 26-24 win over the Roughriders, back in Week 15 of the 2022 season.
3DN Power Rankings
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (4)
Saskatchewan was on a bye this week, giving Rider Nation extra time to revel in the glory of the team’s double-overtime victory over the rival Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. The team is pretty beat up with seven Canadians on the six-game injured list but, with the Edmonton Elks coming to town this week, the Riders have a good chance to improve to 3-1.
9. Edmonton Elks (9)
Chris Jones promoted unproven rookie quarterback Jarret Doege all the way from fourth-string to first-string in a desperate attempt to find a spark this past week and the move didn’t pay off as he threw three interceptions. The offensive line is terrible, the defence gave up over 200 yards along the ground, and Eugene Lewis is on the six-game injured list. Edmonton’s season couldn’t have started off much worse.
This is one of those where normally I would think our Elks would be smashed, but then it feels like it could be one of those quirky mid-summer games that we all remember from every season.
I’m taking the Elks for this one. Just like our July 2022 with the heavily misleading statistic of our .500 record for that hot and sultry July that apparently that Rod Black remembers again, this July just might spring us ONE win and this could be the last one!
I am not a fan of this band, but this feels like the right song for this game before Chris Jones is fired later in hopefully July after his only win of 2023!
