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Instead, he was whisked off to the sidelines to answer doctors’ questions and forced to remain out for at least three plays regardless.

“I’m not saying that changed the outcome of the game,” said Reilly, who completed 37 of 47 for 461 yards, a touchdown and an interception in Edmonton’s fourth straight loss since starting out 7-0. “James (Franklin) went in and James is a guy we have a ton of confidence in, but it was frustrating because there is nothing you can do about it.

“I flipped over immediately when I hit the ground and I was looking at the ref, asking him, ‘Why are we not getting a roughing-the-passer flag here?’ And then hopped up immediately and ran over to the line because we were going to run the sneak, and then I’m getting told that I have to come out of the game.

“If the hit was so concerning that I would have to come out of the game, I would think that it would probably be deemed a roughing-the-passer hit, but I don’t know.”

And neither did Eskimos head coach Jason Maas.

“I don’t know what (the spotter) saw but in the year and a half I coached Mike, I’ve seen him take tons of hits,” Maas said. “We have an award, he gets something every year, which is called the Toughest in the League award. Toughest in the league, and he takes one hit and the guy thinks he’s got a concussion, takes him out in the red zone?

“That’s what our league is about, protecting our players. I’m grateful for that. They decided to take him out. Our doctors, right when he came off the field, knew he was fine but yet he had to be out for three plays. That’s the rules and we had to abide by them.”