How will Kerry Joseph and the Roughriders do against a tough Eskimos' defence Sunday?

Sunday's game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos (4 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN2) sets up as an intriguing clash, particularly thanks to the identity of Saskatchewan's starting quarterback. That would be 41-year-old Kerry Joseph, who only came out of retirement to join the Roughriders last week. Joseph last played in 2013 for Edmonton, and he last saw substantial action with the Eskimos in 2012. Will he have what it takes to beat an Edmonton defence that's been very strong this year, one that looks way better than the units he used to face in practice?

Under new head coach Chris Jones, the Eskimos' defence has particularly rounded into form, and that's a big reason for their improvement from 2013. Last year, Edmonton went 4-14 (worst in the West, second-worst in the league) and allowed 519 points, the CFL's second-highest total. This year, the Eskimos are 10-5 heading into Sunday's game with just 294 points allowed so far. Their average of 19.6 points allowed per game is the third-best in the league, and if they allowed that average in their three remaining games, they'd finish with 353 points allowed this year. A 166-point improvement year-over-year is pretty remarkable, and it illustrates just how much better this Edmonton defence is this year.

The Eskimos' defence has improved in ways far beyond just points allowed, though. Heading into Week 17, they'd allowed a league-low 286.9 yards of offence per game, plus just 248 first downs (second-best in the league). After 16 weeks last year, those totals were 355.6 (fourth-worst in the CFL) and 315 (third-worst). Those are some substantial changes.

Much of the improvement has come against the pass, which could pose particular issues for Joseph and the Roughriders. Heading into Week 17 of last season, Edmonton's 8.7 yards allowed per pass marked the second-worst total in the league, as was their 66.4 per cent completion percentage. They didn't generate many interceptions or sacks either, notching just 14 (third-lowest in the league) and 43 (fourth-worst) respectively. The Eskimos weren't actually thrown on that much, so they posted the second-best passing yards allowed per game (250.0), but that's because they were run over on the ground, giving up a league-worst 135.1 rushing yards per game. When teams did throw against Edmonton last year, they were successful.

This year, things have changed. The Eskimos are conceding just 6.9 yards per pass (second-best in the CFL), and they have the league's best completion percentage allowed (56.6 per cent). They're allowing just 218.0 passing yards per game, second best in the league. They also lead the CFL with 19 interceptions and are second with 50 sacks. Joseph's going to be under a lot of pressure from their pass rush, and he'll have to be wary of interceptions, but their defence is also great at preventing completions and making tackles to prevent long gains. Fortunately for Saskatchewan, Joseph has plenty of CFL experience under his belt. We'll see if that's enough to help him out against the ferocious Edmonton defence, though.