He’s back … although Adarius Bowman will say he never really went anywhere.
The 32-year-old receiver turned in his best game of the season with nine catches for 136 yards, a touchdown and two-point convert on Saturday as the Eskimos rallied for a 35-29 overtime CFL victory over the B.C. Lions at BC Place.
“Better now,” Bowman said on the 630 CHED post-game show. “This is definitely a business, but sometimes you have your own personal adversity to overcome. I just thank my team for being behind me and it’s good to be back into motion.”
Bowman had just one catch for 16 yards on nine targets during the previous two games and only 15 receptions for 140 yards on 33 targets over six games since coming off the six-game injured list on Sept. 4.
Head coach Jason Maas said it wasn’t entirely Bowman’s fault that he was overlooked in the Esks offence while sophomore Brandon Zylstra had 880 receiving yards during those six games.
“Sometimes (opponents) are covering him and sometimes the (quarterback’s) reads don’t go there,” Maas explained.
Still, those are not the type of numbers the three-time CFL all-star and league’s leading receiver last year is used to putting up. Saturday’s game – only the second time Bowman has reached the 100-yard mark this season – was more like it.
“I think it’ll do a lot for his confidence going forward to know that he still can provide a huge amount of offence for us,” said Maas.
The Eskimos got Bowman involved early on Saturday.
“First play of the game and had a tight window, threw him a tough catch ball and he came down with it,” quarterback Mike Reilly said about the 22-yard pass play. “That just got him going on the gas pedal a little bit. In that first quarter, he had a couple of huge catches.”
Bowman had four catches for 60 yards in the first quarter. He also made key contributions during the Eskimos’ last two drives to rally from a 16-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, catching four passes for 64 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown and a two-point convert.
Reilly said it was important for Bowman “to get that feeling again that he’s involved in the offence, that he’s out there making plays.”
“That was big not just for him, but for the rest of the team because Adarius is such a great player and such a big part of our team and he’s done so much and you know what talent that he has,” Reilly continued. “When it’s not working out, you want to figure out ways to get it going. Tonight, I think we did that, I think he did that.
“Our coaching staff drew up some great plays for him and got him involved. That’s all it takes sometimes, is just a little reminder of the ability that you have. That first catch of the game was a reminder to him and he didn’t look back. He had an amazing catch for the touchdown, he had a two-point convert, he had big plays all night.”
Bowman said it was “just good to get back into the rhythm.”
“I had a couple of bumps and bruises throughout the year, but I definitely know what I’m capable of doing and I know that I’m a leader on this team and I know how to get us back to that (Grey) Cup,” he said. “I’ve always been good at leading by example, so being a veteran guy, I’ve got to show up and show these young guys how to get ‘er done. It’s a great feeling, but there’s a lot more work we’ve got to do. We’re looking at next week now. We’re playing Calgary.”
The Eskimos, who still have an outside shot of finishing in second place in the West Division if they can win both of their remaining games while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers lose twice, play the Stampeders at 5 p.m. Saturday at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
With a playoff berth already clinched (although it’s still up in the air whether the Eskimos will be playing in the West or East Division), getting Bowman back on track is just part of Edmonton’s agenda right now.
“For these three weeks, it’s about figuring out how to get us playing our best football,” Reilly said. “With the talent that we have, Adarius playing his best football is certainly going to help propel us through the playoffs, so it was good to see tonight.”
While Bowman got back on track (passing the 600-catch milestone in his CFL career in the process) and Derel Walker caught six passes for 118 yards – his first 100-yard game in six outings since he returned from the NFL in early September – Zylstra, the league’s leading receiver with 1,514 yards, had an off-night.
After averaging 114 yards over his first 13 games this season, Zylstra didn’t even have a pass thrown his way until the last three minutes of the first half and didn’t make his first catch until late in the third quarter. He finished the game with three catches for 32 yards and also fumbled a punt return that resulted in a B.C. touchdown 10-1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
While the Eskimos are finally starting to get a lot of starters back from the injured list, three running backs were injured Saturday.
LaDarius Perkins, who replaced the recently acquired C.J. Gable (minor injury during practice last week), went down late in the fourth quarter. With Canadians Pascal Lochard and Alexandre Dupuis already hurt during the game, that left fullback Calvin McCarty as the only replacement.
Reilly called McCarty “a wily veteran.”
“That’s a position he doesn’t practise during the week,” Reilly said about tailback. “For him to come in and understand what he needs to do to get the job done to allow us to move the ball down the field and get those winning points, that’s huge.
“That just shows how valuable he is to our football team. I’m never concerned when Calvin in the backfield with me. I know he’s going to get the job done.”
McCarty’s primary role at running back was to block extra players the Lions sent after Reilly, but he also had a five-yard catch during the Eskimos’ game-tying drive.
“He’s definitely a pro,” Maas said about the 32-year-old McCarty. “It’s nice to have an 11-year vet, a true Eskimos guy who has been here his whole career, to be able to step in at a moment’s notice.
“Whenever we need him back there, whatever role we ask of him, he’s been able to do it all year for us. He makes it look easy and it’s not easy to do that kind of thing. He gives us everything he’s got.”