The Edmonton Elks may have kept themselves in the playoff race with a 25-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday night, but a decision not to compete for points in the final drive could still be their downfall.
Due to a loss to the Bombers early in the season, the Moose need to win by at least 13 points in Week 19 to tie the season series. and have a chance to control the playoff tiebreaker. However, the team decided not to punt into the end zone while maintaining a five-point lead late in the game, and opted to punt the ball on third-and-2 from the Winnipeg 42-yard line with 10 seconds left.
The decision led some to question whether the team had been short-sighted in its management of the game, choosing immediate safety over long-term chances.
“Absolutely a valid point because at some point late in the game we had (a tiebreaker),” head coach Mark Killam said of the criticism, citing his team's 25-10 lead late in the third quarter.
“We thought about it. It was always, “First we have to win.” We have to do the right things to win the game and then if we can control things late to try and keep it going, then let's do it. Victory was most important. I'm glad we have dubbing.”
Defenseman Cody Fajardo appeared to disagree with the decision as he left the field in third and the broadcast showed him begging his head coach to go along with it. Once they got the ball back, the Blue Bombers prioritized defending the season series over winning the game, avoiding a Hail Mary that could be taken away and returned for points in favor of a simple, low-risk draw.
If the Moose were able to score a touchdown on the main drive and convert the ensuing two-point attempt, they would need to win just one more game than Winnipeg has in the last two weeks to make the playoffs. This is because in the event of a tied season series with the same point differential between tied teams, the next tiebreaker will be their division record.
The Bombers are currently 3-6 against Western Division opponents with one game remaining against Saskatchewan. Edmonton is 3-5 but will play both BC and Calgary over the next two weeks. If the points were in their favor, a single loss for the Bombers would send them into the postseason if they won, and if Winnipeg lost, only one win would be needed.
Now the only way for the Green and Gold to advance is if they win both of their remaining games and the Bombers lose both of theirs. This puts their fate completely out of their hands, but it doesn't spoil Kilam's result on Saturday.
“It’s just a great team win,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not the prettiest thing to see, but all three phases allow us to find a way to face a good football team and keep hope alive.”
The Elks (7-9) will face the BC Lions (9-7) in their penultimate game on Friday, October 17 at 10:30 pm ET, but could be eliminated by the time they take the field as the Bombers (8-8) face the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-4) at 8 pm ET.
