Article content

EDMONTON — You’d think the Edmonton Eskimos might have a bit of an axe to grind — it was the Ottawa Redblacks who knocked them out of the CFL playoffs in 2016, after all.

But really, with a number of familiar faces working for the Eskimos these days, it’s not as much about animosity and payback as it is about getting their third win of the season. For the Redblacks, who landed here on a charter flight late Thursday afternoon, it’s about getting back on track after a one-tie, two-loss start and turning effort into results. Safe to say both teams are hungry.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or It's all about the W, not the storylines, for Redblacks, Esks Back to video

“We don’t want to get caught up in all the storylines and what happened before,” said Redblacks offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers. “Edmonton always plays us tough. They have two wins right now, we don’t have a win. We just want to go in, play good football and get a win.”

“We’ve played a lot of football against them for them being an Eastern opponent — six games in the past two years, that’s a lot of football,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “We know them fairly well and they know us fairly well. We have some staff and players here that were in Ottawa and same for them. There aren’t a whole lot of secrets. Just line up, play your best football and see who’s going to win.