The Eskimos’ 19-6 victory over the BC Lions on Saturday at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium was worth a lot than just the two points in the standings.
Most importantly, it clinched a CFL playoff berth for the Green and Gold after missing post-season play last year with a 9-9 record.
“It’s just good to get a win, no matter what the score is or how it’s done,” wide receiver Greg Ellingson told TSN after the game. “We just focused on this one game so we could get in the playoffs. People doubted us. They didn’t think we could beat (BC). They had a good game last week, but we kind of put that on a hush and made sure we punched our ticket.”
The Eskimos have been having a difficult time since starting quarterback Trevor Harris hurt his throwing arm in late August, but have now won two of their last three games with Logan Kilgore behind the centre to even their record at 8-8.
“We all needed a win,” said Edmonton native Ryan King, the Eskimos’ long-snapper on punts and placement kicks. “The organization needed a win. The city needed a win. The fans needed a win.
“We have such a passionate fan base here that pays close attention to all the details of every game,” King continued. “When we got back-to-back losses, or whatever the case was, we just had to get a win for our organization and for the city.
“Going into the bye week, I think it’s important that we did get this win and clinched a playoff berth. Now we can reload and get ready for playoffs.”
While the Eskimos are currently in fourth place in the West Division, they still have a chance to make the West Division playoffs if the Saskatchewan Roughriders loss to the BC Lions next week and Edmonton can sweep the home-and-home series with the Riders to finish the regular season.
But a Saskatchewan win or Edmonton loss will send the Eskimos to the East Division Semi-Final against the Alouettes, 8-7, in Montreal.
“Whatever happens here out is going to happen,” King said. “I’ve played in a lot of playoffs through a lot of years. You can never really script out how it ends. The CFL is a pretty crazy game, especially when it gets in the playoffs in the Wild West.
“If you look at how the standings are now, everyone is really close (Saskatchewan, Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers all have 10 wins). Who knows how it’s going to end up? But the No. 1 goal that we’re all proud of (right now) is that we made the playoffs.”
Defensive end Kwaku Boateng, who collected his eighth quarterback sack on Saturday to tie linemates Almondo Sewell and Mike Moore for the team lead, isn’t concerned about the end result, either.
“Ultimately, the goal is always to win the games,” he said. “The next few weeks coming up is Saskatchewan, and we want to beat them so we can feel like we’re on the rise and have the ball rolling (going into the playoffs).”
Defeating the Lions also allows the Eskimos to enjoy their final bye week a lot more. Maas even gave the players an extra day off.
“Obviously, it’s nice to know we’re already in the playoffs,” said Ellingson, who caught six passes for 133 yards to go over 1,000 yards on the season for the fifth year in a row. “We’re going to take this time to rest up, get the guys healthy and enjoy the bye week, especially knowing that we’re making the playoffs. That’s a good feeling. And then come back ready and focused and make sure we get some momentum going into the playoffs.”
“That’s a big morale boost for us,” said SAM (strong-side) linebacker Don Unamba, who pointed out that the bumps and bruises from playing football “don’t quite hurt that much after a win.
“We can breathe a little sigh (of relief),” Unamba said. “We clinched, and we’re in (the playoffs). I don’t really care where we’re at (East or West Division). We’re in, and we’ve got a chance. I’m ready for the opportunity. We’ll see what happens from here.”
Of course, winning a game to get into the playoffs isn’t good enough for the Eskimos organization.
“When you play for Edmonton, championships are what you remember,” said Maas. “That’s what we’re playing for now.
“We have a chance to do that still. Now it’s just a matter of getting healthy, coming back and re-energizing ourselves and making a push.”
One area the Eskimos will be addressing again when they return to practice is the penalties. Edmonton was assessed 14 penalties for 170 yards on Saturday.
“We’ve got to be more disciplined going forward,” Ellingson said. “We’ve talked about that. It’s just something we’ve got to focus on.”
That will be especially important if the Eskimos play against teams like Montreal or Hamilton in the playoffs.
“They don’t take many penalties, so the only way we can beat them is protect the ball, take the ball away and be disciplined,” said kicker Sean Whyte.