The Edmonton Elks visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night with both teams attempting to claw back into the playoff picture.
The Elks (3-6) have won two in a row but remain in last place in the West Division and last in the CFL in total offense, scoring offense and total defense entering Week 12.
The Redblacks (3-7) had won two straight before losing on a game-ending field goal last week in Winnipeg. They also lost starting quarterback Dru Brown to a knee injury against the Blue Bombers.
The Elks are looking for the season sweep after a 39-33 win over Ottawa in Edmonton on July 6. Tre Ford threw two touchdown passes and Justin Rankin ran for 105 yards and a TD for the Elks, while Brown passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Redblacks.
Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce knew it was a long shot that Brown, who missed three games earlier this season with a hip injury, could get on the field this week. Brown was later ruled out.
“Anytime it’s a somewhat serious injury, you wanna give Dru the time off to get healthy. I’d say not likely this week, and we’ll go forward from there,” Dyce said, per TSN. “It’s nothing that we think is gonna be a long-term thing, just got to give him some time to get back up to 100 percent.”
Dustin Crum is expected to start in Brown’s place. He has completed 58 of 93 passes for 625 yards with two TDs and two interceptions this season.
Edmonton, which got off to a disastrous 1-6 start, is coming off a 28-20 win last week against the Toronto Argonauts. Cody Fajardo passed for 273 yards with one TD and one interception and Rankin rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Rankin is the Elks’ leading rusher (400 yards) and second-leading receiver (427 yards) this season.
“He’s just such a dynamic player, he’s got my vote for M.O.P. He’s an incredible player that’s fun to be a round — a great locker room guy, a good glue guy, and a guy that cares about ball,” Fajardo told reporters this week. “He’s the smartest running back I’ve ever been around. He’s in the quarterback meetings, he’s in the receiver meetings, he’s listening to their splits, depths, and he’s really taking in all the coaching.”
–Field Level Media
