Edmonton Eskimos rolling despite injury to Reilly

EDMONTON — Life without starting quarterback Mike Reilly hasn’t exactly been all doom and gloom for the Edmonton Eskimos.

The Eskimos (3-1) have won three straight since Reilly suffered a knee injury in their season-opening 26-11 home loss to the Toronto Argonauts on June 27. After sweeping a home-and-home series with Ottawa, Edmonton routed Winnipeg 32-3 on Saturday to move into a tie with Calgary (3-2) atop the West Division standings.

Backup Matt Nichols has been the starter in all three wins, having completed 47-of-79 passes (59.5 per cent) for 650 yards with four TDs and four interceptions. Nichols will be under centre Friday night against Saskatchewan (0-5) despite rookie James Franklin completing 9-of-15 passes for 124 yards and three TDs against Winnipeg.

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READ MORE: James Franklin tosses three touchdowns as Eskimos down Blue Bombers 32-3

Defensively, Edmonton has been solid this season, having allowed just 58 points overall. Defensive end Marcus Howard has a league-high five sacks and was named one of the league’s players of the month for July on Wednesday.

The start to the season has been one to forget for Saskatchewan. The Riders lost incumbent Darian Durant (Achilles tendon) in the season opener then veteran backup Kevin Glenn suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of their 31-21 home loss to Hamilton on Sunday.

Glenn won’t play against Edmonton, leaving rookie Brett Smith to make his first CFL start. Smith replaced Glenn against Hamilton and completed 2-of-4 passes for 12 yards. Tino Sunseri, who drew some starts last year after Durant suffered a season-ending elbow injury, will serve as Smith’s backup.

READ MORE: Brett Smith named Riders QB after Kevin Glenn injury

Sunseri re-signed with Saskatchewan following Durant’s Achilles injury after being released by the club during training camp.

Offence hasn’t been the problem for the Riders, who boast the CFL’s top passer (Glenn, 1,483 yards) and rusher (Jerome Messam, 329 yards) and second-leading receiver (Weston Dressler, 26 catches for 403 yards and two TDs). Saskatchewan has also scored a league-best 143 points.

But opposing teams have scored a league-high 165 points against the Riders, who incredibly are 0-4 at Mosaic Stadium.