Kendial Lawrence's kick return was crucial to jump-starting Edmonton's offence Sunday (video)

For an entire half of football Sunday, almost nothing went right for the Edmonton Eskimos. Their offence hit a rut and notched only four points, while their defence conceded 13 to 41-year-oldrecently-signed quarterback Kerry Joseph and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On the very first play of the third quarter, though, things started to change, and that's because of kick returner Kendial Lawrence, a key addition to the team this year out of the ranks of Italian football. Here's what Lawrence did Sunday:

That's a remarkable 96-yard return for a touchdown from Lawrence, and it's the primary reason he was chosen as both our third star and the league's special-teams player of the week. It's just one of many spectacular returns he's made this season, but it came in impressive style. He cuts right through the middle of the Riders' coverage, being surrounded by four guys at one point (0:05), but using his speed and momentum to find a way through. Lawrence's speed is particularly on display at 0:06, as he wins a flat-out footrace with Roughriders' defensive back Paul Woldu and stays inbounds, taking this all the way to the end zone.

This return was huge for the Eskimos, as it instantly got them back within two points of the lead. It also appeared to wake up their offence and defence; Edmonton scored the next 21 points en route to a 24-19 victory. Lawrence played a role there too, lining up as a slotback instead of his traditional running back role thanks to the return of John White, and catching five passes for 71 yards (second on the team, behind only star SB Adarius Bowman). His return was his biggest contribution of the day, though, and another highlight for him in what's been a season full of them.