Blue Bombers can clinch playoff spot for 8th straight season with win over Elks

Willie Jefferson doesn’t similar to look excessively acold ahead, but determination is thing he’d similar to spot hap aft the Winnipeg Blue Bombers big the Edmonton Elks connected Friday.

A triumph by the Blue Bombers (8-6) successful beforehand of a 3rd consecutive sellout astatine Princess Auto Stadium would clinch a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season, 1 successful which the squad started 0-4.

“We don’t needfully interest astir standings and each that stuff,” Jefferson said Thursday aft Winnipeg’s walk-through practice. “But aft the crippled erstwhile we get to the locker country and we get the accidental to deliberation astir everything that’s going forward, it would consciousness a batch amended to triumph this crippled and person that playoff spot.”

The Bombers are riding a six-game triumph streak and pb the CFL West Division.

The Elks beryllium astatine 5-9, 4th successful the part and inactive successful the playoff picture.

Friday’s rematch comes aft Winnipeg defeated Edmonton 27-14 past week successful a crippled that was tied 10-10 heading into the 4th quarter.

That’s erstwhile Winnipeg seasoned backmost Zach Collaros helped technologist 3 touchdown drives, including moving backmost Brady Oliveira’s archetypal 2 majors of the season. He finished with 127 yards disconnected 18 carries.

Collaros ever follows the team’s one-game-at-a-time mantra and said clinching a playoff spot won’t beryllium a notable achievement.

“I deliberation we’ll beryllium disquieted astir the adjacent game, honestly,” Collaros said. “I cognize that’s a cliché happening to accidental and it’s benignant of coach-speak and you perceive that from maine each the clip arsenic well, but I’ll beryllium reasoning astir the adjacent hostile for definite due to the fact that the extremity is the goal.

“You’ve got to commencement by getting to the playoffs, obviously, but we deliberation we person bigger things up of us.”

Collaros was intercepted erstwhile past week by antiaircraft backmost Darius Bratton, who volition miss Friday’s lucifer with a genu injury.

Edmonton volition purpose to chopped down connected its turnovers. It had six, including 2 interceptions and 1 mislaid fumble by starting backmost Tre Ford.

Ford was replaced by McLeod Bethel-Thompson successful the 4th quarter, who got the motion to proceed nether centre erstwhile Friday’s crippled kicks off.

“It’s consistency,” Edmonton interim caput manager Jarious Jackson said of his crushed for starting the seasoned implicit Ford. “Just knowing what to do, wherever to spell with the football, managing the guys, managing the huddle. Just giving the squad a spark. I conscionable consciousness similar he’s been the much accordant feline this twelvemonth successful that position.”

Bethel-Thompson is 3-1 successful starts this play and would emotion to adhd different 1 successful the triumph file against the Bombers.

“I’m truly excited for this accidental to travel successful and bushed the brakes disconnected these guys,” helium said. “They’re a large squad and this is going to beryllium a large atmosphere.”

Jefferson said Bethel-Thompson has a antithetic benignant than Ford arsenic helium likes to enactment successful the pouch and usage his acquisition to work defences and prehend the opportunities.

Winnipeg’s defence, which leads the league successful allowing lone 20.6 points per game, needs choky sum to springiness unreserved extremity Jefferson and his counterparts clip to bring the pressure.

“If they tin clasp the receivers and past springiness america immoderate clip arsenic the antiaircraft enactment and beforehand 7 to get to the backmost and marque it hard for him and get him connected the ground, that’s a triumph for us,” Jefferson said.

Bethel-Thompson said the crippled program is to beryllium businesslike connected archetypal downs.

“When you enactment yourself successful 2nd and long, past they bash their drop, lucifer sum and they’ve got 9 (defensive backs) backmost determination and Willie Jefferson is coming disconnected the borderline with a caput of steam,” helium said.

The Elks mightiness trust heavy connected their crushed game, which was palmy against the Bombers. Winnipeg ranks sixth successful allowing an mean of 106.1 yards per game.

Edmonton moving backmost Justin Rankin utilized 14 carries to peel disconnected 157 yards.

EDMONTON ELKS (5-9) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (8-6) Friday, Princess Auto Stadium.

LONGTIME ADVANTAGE: Winnipeg has won its past 11 games against Edmonton, dating backmost to 2019.

MAKING GAINS: The Elks’ offence averaged 24.9 points per crippled successful this season’s archetypal 7 games. They improved to 32.1 points successful the adjacent seven, but past week’s 14 points matched a play low.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Oliveira leads the league successful rushing with 1,021 yards. He needs 15 much yards to scope 4,000 successful his vocation and determination into eighth spot all-time for Winnipeg rushers.