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GAME 2 | EDMONTON ESKIMOS (2-0) at WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (1-0)

THE 4-1-1

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, IG Field
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN2
Radio: 680 CJOB
Vegas line: The Bombers are favoured by four points.
Home/Road: The Bombers were 6-3 at home in the regular season last year and Thursday’s game will be their home opener; the Eskimos are making their 2019 road debut after winning both their games at home to start the season. They were 2-7 on the road last year.
Recent history: The Bombers opened their 2019 season with a 33-23 victory over the B.C. Lions in Vancouver and then had their first of three byes last week. Edmonton is off to a 2-0 start after a 32-25 win over Montreal in their opener and a 39-23 decision over the Lions last week. The Eskimos won last year’s three-game season series with the Bombers 2-1, albeit with a bit of an asterisk. Edmonton captured the first game 33-30 in the season opener, the Bombers won in Edmonton 30-3 on September 29^th, but then opted to rest many of their regulars in the season finale with a playoff spot secured, and then fell 33-24.
Series: Edmonton leads with a record of 103-89-3; although the Bombers are 54-43-1 against the Eskimos at home.

3 STORYLINES

1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER

The Bombers opened the 2019 Canadian Football League season as a trendy Grey Cup pick which, of course, amounted to absolutely nada when the real games started a couple of weeks ago.

Sure, the club took an important first step in the season-opening win in Vancouver back on June 15th, but it’s also this club’s mantra to just go ‘1-0 this week.’ That takes us to Thursday and the home opener which is a bit of a different animal. This isn’t just about potentially starting 2-0 for the first time since 2014, it’s about giving your home fans an early-season look at what the 2019 edition will look like.

“Home openers are a huge deal,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “It’s a chance for us to start in front of our fans and really establish who we are this season and who we want to be and really get them involved in the game.”

So, who are the 2019 Blue Bombers? This one should help give us all a few more answers.

2. THE ESKIMOS ONSLAUGHT

Edmonton has put up some frightening numbers through its 2-0 start, including eight touchdowns, an average of 507.5 yards offence as Trevor Harris has thrown for 741 yards and six TDs.

“They look like the No. 1 offence right now,” said Bombers defensive back Brandon Alexander. “They can do everything – deep ball, short ball, run the ball, everything. They’re definitely well-rounded.”

The Eskimos defence has been just as scary. They have racked up nine sacks, with a whopping seven of them coming in last week’s thumping of old friend Mike Reilly, now with the B.C. Lions.

All that said, the Bombers posted some juicy stats in their opener as well. And with Paul LaPolice’s offence humming in Week 1, the chess match will be between what the Bombers do on ‘O’ and what the Eskimo ‘D’ counter with under new coordinator Phillip Lolley.

“LaPo called a good game (in B.C.) and it was a good balance,” said running back Andrew Harris. “The O-line did a good job picking up the things they were doing… and overall we did a good job of picking that up. Edmonton brings a lot of different looks as well and play some different fronts, but I think with how the guys have progressed and grown, it’s going to be another big challenge for them.”

3. STEADY, STEADY NICHOLS

Matt Nichols spoke earlier in the week about reining in his emotions and controlling the adrenaline rushes that come with all the excitement of a home opener. He’ll also likely parrot the ‘this is a big game because it’s the next game’ approach the Bombers take under head coach Mike O’Shea.

But consider some of the numbers Nichols has posted against his old club:

• He is now 4-2 vs. the Eskimos – including three straight wins in his starts.
• In his last five starts against the Esks dating back to the time he was anointed the starter over Drew Willy in late July 2016, Nichols has completed 74.7 percent of his passes for 1,441 yards with six touchdowns against two interceptions and a tidy 107.5 QB efficiency rating.
• In three of those five games, Nichols has eclipsed the 300-yard mark – he hates the so-called significance of that stat, by the way, but we’ll toss it out anyway – including a career-best 390-yard effort in a 33-26 win in August of 2017.

What the Bombers would kill to see is a replica of the work Nichols and the attack served up in Vancouver – he threw for three touchdowns against zero interceptions while showcasing the mobility he flashed in 2017 before last year’s knee injury.

THE QBS

• Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols is 39-26 as a starter in the CFL with both the Bombers and Eskimos. The Bombers are 31-15 with him at the controls dating back to late July of 2016.
• Trevor Harris will make his first start against Winnipeg as an Eskimos starter. He is 31-26-2 in his career as a starter during his days with Toronto and Ottawa and 2-2 vs. the Bombers.

3 BOMBERS TO WATCH

#33 Andrew Harris, RB: The Bombers offensive workhorse was his usual busy self in Week 1, rushing 16 times for 148 yards – that’s a healthy 9.3 yards per carry – while pulling in five more passes for 27 yards. Just an FYI: the Bombers were a perfect 7-0 last year in games where Harris combined for 20 touches or more.

#41 Kerfalla Exumé, DB: He introduced himself to the CFL with five special teams tackles in his CFL debut. Given his back story, it’s easy to cheer for the rookie.

#68 Geoff Gray, OL: It’s not just Gray, the starting right guard, but centre Michael Couture and left guard Cody Speller who figure to get a steady diet of dominant Eskimos DT Almondo Sewell and Mike Moore, another load up front. Sewell had one sack last week and Moore had two as these two collapse the pocket from the inside.

X FACTOR

#13 Chris Matthews, WR: It’s been eons – dating back to August 16, 2013, to be exact – since Matthews last suited up for the Bombers in a real game. That was before his run in the NFL and his return to the CFL last fall with Calgary.

He’s still the same inviting target he was six years ago, but that much more polished as a receiver. It will be intriguing to see how long it takes him to develop a chemistry with Matt Nichols.

NOTABLE:

The Bombers are making two changes to the roster from the Week 1 lineup. Coming aboard are WR Chris Matthews and DB Marcus Rios, while coming off the roster are LB Nick Temple and WR Kenny Lawler.

Temple was moved to the practice roster while Lawler was added to the one-game injured list where he joins WR Rasheed Bailey. The Bombers also moved OL Pat Neufeld from the one-game injured list to the six-game.

NOTABLE NUMBER

In their win over B.C. last week, the Eskimos limited the Lions to just three yards per offensive play. That included just 3.9 yards on first down plays and a puny 2.8 yards on second down. The Lions second-down conversion rate was just 38 percent. By comparison, the Bombers converted 17 of 27 second downs in their win over B.C., or 63 percent.