The Edmonton Elks have had another forgettable season put out of its misery.
A loss to the first-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday officially knocked them out of playoff contention, a seemingly inevitable result that the Elks have had postponed for the last two weeks thanks to consecutive losses by a Saskatchewan Roughriders squad they had been chasing for a crossover playoff spot. At least in theory.
In reality, the Elks have been toiling away all season long in the basement of the West Division standings, where at 4-12, they are now guaranteed to finish for the second year in a row once the dust finally settles on the 2022 Canadian Football League season.
Unfortunately, they still have a couple of games left of death rattle to go before they can finally put it to rest.
Here’s what we learned from the 48-11 loss to the Bombers:
HIGH FIVE
Saturday marked the fifth time in 16 games so far where the Elks surrendered at least 45 points to the opposition.
The blowouts have all come at the hands of the top three teams in the West Division, with two to the B.C. Lions (59-15, 46-14), two to the Calgary Stampeders (49-6, 58-26) and now the Bombers.
You could argue two of those shellackings came in the first five weeks of the schedule for an Elks club being led by it’s third different head coach in as many seasons, but the two most recent ones have also come in their last four games. So, it’s difficult to look at Edmonton’s development under head coach and general manager Chris Jones as anything other than one step forward, two steps back. And that’s at the best of times.
At the worst of times, like on Saturday, it looked more like 10 steps back.
MEASURING STICK
In sports, the saying goes there are no such things as losses, only lessons.
Well, the Elks suffered possibly their worst lesson of the season on Saturday, when they witnessed first-hand just how far they must climb if they are ever to reach the pinnacle that is a Blue Bombers organization that has become the gold standard of the CFL.
With the win, the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Bombers improved to 14-2, which wraps up first place overall for the second time in a row.
NO ANSWER
And they did it with an exclamation mark, scoring touchdowns on all four of their first drives against the Elks, who didn’t have an answer for anything Winnipeg threw at them.
Edmonton surrendered 503 yards of offence, while only putting together 267 themselves.
Their only offensive play worth noting was a 59-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter by rookie Dillon Mitchell, who is easily the brightest spot in these dark days in Edmonton.
The Oregon product and former Minnesota Vikings draft pick has at least one catch for 44 yards or more in each of the past six games since rising to the rank of starter, and a touchdown in three of them, all but guaranteeing him the team nomination for Most Outstanding Rookie.
That award that will no doubt end up in the sure hands of Dalton Schoen, who became the league leader in both receiving yards (1,275) and touchdowns (14) with an impressive 162 yards and three TDs on seven catches Saturday against Edmonton.
MOP CONVERSATION
Speaking of year-end awards, Zach Collaros upped his bid to make it back-to-back seasons as the league’s Most Outstanding Player, completing his first 10 passes in a row Saturday on the way to finishing 15 of 19 for 241 yards and three touchdowns, compared to one interception at the end of the half that stands as his lone mistake of the night, and didn’t result in any points for Edmonton.
His only real challenger for the title is rookie Canadian phenom Nathan Rourke. The B.C. Lions quarterback set the league on fire before suffering a season-ending injury. He still sits top-five in passing, despite only playing half a season.
HOME STAND
Edmonton’s final two games come against the Toronto Argonauts and Lions, both at Commonwealth Stadium where the Elks are in danger of going winless for two straight seasons.
Their last time playing in front of their home fans saw them drop a league-record 15th consecutive loss at home, where they haven’t won since Oct. 12, 2019 — a full three calendar years as of this week.
On the flip side, it offers the Elks something to play for aside from simply winding out the string before hitting a bye in the last week of the season that feels more like the mercy rule in Little League than anything.
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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