In what’s becoming somewhat of a trend, the Ottawa Redblacks failed to put together a full 60-minute effort but still found a way to win, riding a handful of explosive plays — and Lewis Ward’s trusty right foot — to a last-second 37-34 win over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday night.
Here are all my thoughts on the game.
1) It’s a good thing Dru Brown played eh? After spending a good portion of the week going through the CFL’s concussion protocol, the 27-year-old was cleared to play on Thursday.
Not only was Brown’s ensuing performance a season-high, it was also his career best and the fourth-most single-game passing yards by a quarterback in the 134 years of Ottawa’s pro football history.
Brown completed 26 of the 38 passes he attempted for 480 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception. The turnover came when he was flushed out of the pocket and under heavy pressure but it was still a throw he simply never should have made. In that situation, the ball has to be chucked out of bounds.
There were a handful of other off-target throws, but Brown was sharp overall and did an excellent job spreading the ball around, hitting five different targets on the game’s opening drive. As has become the norm, Brown repeatedly pushed the ball down the field, which resulted in a number of big plays (which the CFL defines as passes of 30-plus yards).
His best throw of the night was easily the needle he threaded between multiple Elks defenders to hit rookie Kalil Pimpleton in stride, across the middle, with eight seconds left to set up Ward’s game-winning field goal.
NO OVERTIME NEEDED.
With just two seconds remaining, a catch from rookie Kalil Pimpleton gives the Redblacks the opportunity to win it with a Field Goal.
AND THEY GET THE JOB DONE! #CFLGameday pic.twitter.com/9cHCg6XEV5
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 15, 2024
2) Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell’s unit generated 23 first downs, 520 yards of offence, and 37 points. The scary thing for opposing teams is that they could’ve done a lot more.
For all Ottawa did right, they were only one-for-four in the red zone, had two promising drives cut short by turnovers, and failed to establish the run.
What can Brown (@NoElls_) do for you? Recover fumbles, I guess 🤷🏻♂️#CFL #Elks #GoElks #OurTeamOurCity
pic.twitter.com/iAqmSYzLE9— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) July 14, 2024
It was also a bit of a strange night in that while the Redblacks only averaged 4.5 yards per first-down play, they more than made up for it by averaging a whopping 15.4 yards per second-down play. When you convert 64 percent of your second downs — and score points on eight of thirteen possessions — you usually win.
Two things that should be highly encouraging to all members of R-Nation is that there was a clear effort to get star receiver Dominique Rhymes involved from the game’s opening drive (he was targeted three times) and that when Ottawa needed to move the ball, they did. The Redblacks’ final four possessions all ended in points.
3) Even though he struggled to find space on the ground, American running back Ryquell Armstead managed to make his mark in the game via excellent pass blocking with his blitz pickup and by being a reliable checkdown outlet for his quarterback.
Armstead’s longest run of the night was just eight yards, averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, but turned four catches in 31 yards with 26 of them coming after the catch. He moved the chains twice on second down.
4) It’s been more than half a decade since Ottawa had three receivers top the 100-yard receiving mark in the same game, but that’s what happened against the Elks. Much of that production came due to yards after the catch, with 222 of the group’s 480 yards coming with the ball in their hands.
Coming into the game, Dominique Rhymes’ season totals were 10 catches for 121 yards. He nearly doubled that in 60 minutes on Sunday night, turning 10 targets into seven catches for 131 yards. Four of his catches moved the chains on second down and, most impressively, he sustained multiple punishing hits, yet hung onto the ball and stayed in the game.
Justin Hardy was dependable as ever, making five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, with three of his receptions coming on second down and resulting in first downs.
WELCOME TO THE AIR SHOW ✈️
Dru Brown airs one out 68 yards to Justin Hardy who won’t be denied for this TD!#CFLGameday on TSN & CBS SN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/KVZeqeeJJP— CFL (@CFL) July 15, 2024
The real revelation of the night was the breakout performance of rookie American Kalil Pimpleton. Throughout training camp and the preseason, the 25-year-old routinely impressed with his speed and hands. After spending a few weeks as a healthy scratch, his CFL debut lived up to the hype.
Pimpleton snagged four passes for 153 yards, with 74 of those yards coming after the catch. He averaged 38.3 yards per reception and, frankly, provided an explosive element that Ottawa’s aerial attack had been missing for quite some time.
BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE 💥
Kalil Pimpleton makes the catch and runs 70 yards passed everyone for his first #CFL TD!#CFLGameday on TSN & CBS SN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/kMEedv6Ygd— CFL (@CFL) July 15, 2024
As for the rest of the receiving corps, Jaelon Acklin finished with four catches for 40 yards, Canadian rookie Nick Mardner had one reception for 11 yards, and fullback Anthony Gosselin caught a pass for four yards.
It’s just one game, but having a handful of different receivers make big plays and put up huge numbers harkens back to the days when Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson, Ernest Jackson, and Chris Williams were terrorizing defences. I’m not saying this group is on the level of those players, but if they string together a couple more strong outings, those comparisons will start to get made.
5) Zack Pelehos has quietly been having an excellent season at right tackle, so when he was forced to leave the game with a shoulder injury, there was some real concern about the impact it could have. Thankfully, veteran Jacob Ruby stepped in and played flawlessly, allowing the offensive line to continue without missing a beat.
As a group, Ottawa’s big men up front conceded a single sack on 38 pass attempts. It wasn’t always a pressure-free pocket for Brown to step up into, but when he needed time to step into throws or for long-developing plays to unfold, he got it.
For all the offensive line did right in pass protection, the group again struggled to open lanes on the ground. Averaging just 2.9 yards per rushing play is far from ideal and nothing summed up Ottawa’s inability to run the ball more than their second-last possession.
Facing first and goal with the ball on Edmonton’s four-yard line and under three minutes left in the game, the Redblacks ran the ball twice for no gain and one yard, respectively. That led to them kicking a field goal instead of making it a two-score game and effectively sealing the win.
Looking forward, if Pelehos is forced to miss any significant time, it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff chooses to use Ruby at right tackle, or if Dontae Bull — a healthy scratch for the past few games — is given another opportunity to start.
6) Barron Miles’ defensive unit bent and, at times, broke. The negatives were that Edmonton racked up 26 first downs and went three-for-three in the red zone.
SAVE THAT 🏈
Arkell Smith hauls in his first-ever #CFL touchdown!! ‼️#CFLGameday on TSN & CBS SN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/x0fTkKXVEX— CFL (@CFL) July 14, 2024
The positives were that Ottawa notched three sacks, forced a fumble, and limited eight of the Elks’ thirteen drives to less than 24 yards.
Strong-side linebacker Adarius Pickett led the way with a game-high seven tackles, one forced fumble, and a pass knockdown. He also took a roughing the kicker penalty that kept an Elks’ drive alive, which resulted in a touchdown.
Deandre Lamont, Jovan Santos-Knox, and Tobias Harris each made five tackles. None of Ottawa’s defensive linemen put up huge stats, though the interior of the line frequently collapsed the pocket to pressure McLeod Bethel-Thompson into throwing before he had his feet set.
Rookie linebacker Davion Taylor filled in for veteran Frankie Griffin and finished the game with four tackles and a pass break-up.
7) Not only did Lewis Ward extend his current field goal streak to 14 in a row by making all five kicks he attempted against the Elks, he also proved yet again that he has ice in his veins as he split the uprights from 38 yards out with no time left on the clock to give Ottawa the win.
So far in 2024, Ward has made 94.4 percent of the field goals he’s attempted along with five-of-six converts. The former Gee-Gee will go down as an all-time great and Ottawa fans should appreciate what they are witnessing.
As for the rest of the special teams units, due to Ottawa’s offensive success, punter Richie Leone had a quiet night, punting just three times. Still, he averaged a 44.3-yard field position flip when he did kick. Pickett and second-year linebacker James Peter led the way in kick coverage with two special teams tackles each.
8) I understand why there’s the temptation to sprinkle returner DeVonte Dedmon into the offence, but the decision to give him a handoff in the second quarter seemed to backfire in a big way as, after rushing for a four-yard gain, he didn’t set foot on the field again.
Once Dedmon exited the game, return duties were split between Tobias Harris and Pimpleton. The former had a dangerous-looking 35-yard punt return, while the latter returned a kickoff 14 yards.
Given how pivotal Dedmon has been in constantly flipping field position this season, Ottawa fans will be hoping his injury isn’t anything serious.
9) The final few minutes of the game featured a pair of conservative coaching decisions from both head coaches. For one, things worked out. For the other, it led directly to a loss.
Facing third-and-goal from Edmonton’s two-yard line and up by four points with just over two minutes left in the game, Bob Dyce chose to kick a field goal to give Ottawa a seven-point lead. Was it a safe decision? Sure. Was it the right one? That’s debatable.
Had the Redblacks gone for it, they either would have scored a touchdown to give themselves a (likely insurmountable) two-score lead, or they would have turned the ball over on downs and forced the Elks to march 108 yards for a touchdown. Either way, Edmonton would’ve needed a major score.
Down seven, Chris Jones watched his team march the length of the field and score a touchdown in the waning moments of the game. The conservative call was to kick the convert and play for overtime, which he did. Obviously, that didn’t work out.
Given that his team was 0-4 and there were eight seconds left in the game (only because the Elks inexplicably failed to run the clock down), why not go for two and try to win? Ironically, Jones’ decision to be conservative validated Dyce’s decision to be conservative.
By nature, fans want to see more aggressive, entertaining coaching decisions, while coaches tend to lean more toward the safe play. Regardless, it was interesting to see how both coaches being overly cautious led to the final outcome.
10) With the win, the Redblacks have improved to 3-2 on the season. The victory not only moved them back into the win column following last week’s loss in Winnipeg, but it also allowed them to keep pace with the second-place Toronto Argonauts, who have an identical record. After just five games, Ottawa is a win away from matching last season’s win total.
Up next for Dyce’s group is a rematch with these same Elks at TD Place on Friday night.