On Friday evening the Edmonton Eskimos did the unthinkable, slowing down the B.C. Lions vaunted offence and handing them an unanticipated first home loss 27-14. The Esks are now tied for first place in the West with the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 3-1.

PHOTO CREDIT - EdmontonEskimos.com

Edmonton - Jul. 21, 2012 - For the past year, there have invariably been three guarantees in life: death, taxes and the Lions winning at home. Since moving back into the newly refurbished BC Place Stadium, the Lions had gone undefeated in eight home games, including two victories over the Eskimos and the Grey Cup over the Bombers last November. So much for guarantees!

On Friday evening the Eskimos did the unthinkable, slowing down the Lions’ vaunted offence and handing them an unanticipated first home loss 27-14. One had to believe it was to happen sooner than later, but not at the hands of the Green and Gold. The Esks are now tied for first place in the West with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Albeit not glamorous, the Eskimos used a familiar but effective formula that to date has been rather successful, getting another solid performance from their defence (especially their secondary), a perfect performance from kicker Grant Shaw and an effective, but conservative performance from both QBs Steven Jyles and Kerry Joseph. Not to be forgotten was another solid performance in the running game.

With the Esks nursing a 19-14 lead, defensive back Joe Burnett took the second of his two interceptions 108 yards for a touchdown at 9:32 of the fourth quarter just as the Lions were about to retake the lead. Burnett is quickly becoming noted for his ball hawking skills and is earning the reputation as a game changer. Running back Hugh Charles, who turned in another 100-yard plus performance, scored the team’s only other touchdown. The final turning point occurred when the Lions’ Brandon Puguese took a roughing the kicker penalty with 2:51 left allowing the Eskimos to take another 1:59 off the clock and to close it out.

Trailing by one point 14-13 late in the third quarter, Jyles engineered two quality drives deep into the Lions’ end which ended up in Shaw field goals. He was forced from the game on the second of those drives after taking a helmet to helmet hit. Had it not been for Burnett’s big play, the team may have been lamenting the missed opportunities on those drives. Post-game, Jyles reflected on the obvious when stating, “We did a great job of managing the game. We knew we couldn’t make mistakes against this team here.” Indeed, once again the major mistakes were avoided. Jyles and Joseph finished the game with a combined 210 yards passing.

It remains to be seen whether the team can continue to avoid the major mistakes, but fans have to love what they’re currently seeing. Next week they renew acquaintances with the same Winnipeg Blue Bombers team they dissected one week ago. The Bombers are still winless and will be looking to turn their fortunes around. One has to believe a big game performance by either Jyles or Joseph will be needed to maintain the winning ways. Will that performance come at Canad-Inns? Stay tuned.