The Eskimos picked a bad time to go on a slide, and if they plan on demonstrating they are a playoff calibre team – they have a chance to prove it against the Roughriders. The Esks have lost four of five games entering this one, where the Riders have a chance to separate themselves from the bottom of the division. Oddsmakers have the Roughriders as 4-point favourites in this game.

Betting Analysis

This will be the second and final regular season game of year between these two teams. Back on August 2 in Edmonton, the Eskimos tamed the Riders 26-19. At the time, the Eskimos were sitting pretty in second place in the West, but now the roles have been reversed with the Roughriders now owning that second spot. The Eskimos enter this game winners of three straight against the Roughriders, and over the last 10 games head-to-head are 8-2 straight up. The Eskimos are 9-2 against the spread in their last 11 games against the West division, and are also 2-1 in their last three games in Regina.

Edmonton Eskimos

Outside of an embarrassing 30-3 home field loss to the Blue Bombers this past Saturday night, there were more concerning factors in that game for the Edmonton Eskimos. Quarterback Mike Reilly and receiver D’haquille Williams left the game with injuries. Early reports say Reilly will start against the Roughriders. Despite initial fears that Williams could miss substantial time, the team revealed Monday that the shoulder injury isn’t serious, but his status for this game is unknown. The offensive stars will be needed if the Eskimos have any chance to battle in the post season.

Of note, after the loss to the Blue Bombers, the Eskimos fired special teams coach Cory McDiarmid and replaced him with Dave Jackson. Under McDiarmid, the Eskimos ranked ninth in punt return average (7.7 yards), eighth in kickoff average (61.8 yards) and special teams penalties (32).

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Roughriders are coming off a tight 34-29 win over the Alouettes in Montreal. Quarterback Zach Collaros had his best game as a member of the Roughriders, going 29-of-41 for 394 yards. For his efforts, he was named a CFL top performer of the week. Collaros had a lot of help in the victory, starting with running back Tre Mason, who rushed the ball 13 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Collaros also had a pair of 100+ yard receivers in the game with Kyran Moore (9-126 yards) and Shaq Evans (6-114 yards) starring in major roles.

Overall, this is one of the hottest CFL’s teams out there, winning of two straight, and more importantly six of their last seven games. The big question is can they continue the fire in last four games of the regular season? With a win against the Eskimos, they are that much closer to clinching second place in the West and home field advantage in week one of the post season.

Eskimos vs. Roughriders Prediction