One large question looms for the Lions following Friday’s 27-14 loss to the Eskimos

The B.C. Lions may be off to a better start this year than the 0-5 early record they put up in 2011 before rebounding to win the Grey Cup, but Friday's 27-14 home loss to the Edmonton Eskimos still is deeply troubling for this team. It wasn't a particularly bad effort on any one front, as the offence moved the ball effectively both on the ground and through the air, while the defence held Edmonton to one offensive touchdown (the Eskimos also picked up one touchdown on an interception Joe Burnett returned 106 yards to paydirt, and they added four Grant Shaw field goals and a Burke Dales punt single). Even quarterback Travis Lulay's two costly interceptions were more than offset by his overall passing performance (28 completions on 38 attempts, a 73.7 per cent completion rate, for 360 yards and one touchdown). No, while the Lions were struggling more thoroughly last year and while there were still positive takeaways from this game for them, they still have to be asked one simple question: how in the world did they manage to lose at home to this Edmonton squad?

Before this game, we asked "Can the Edmonton Eskimos keep winning despite their discernible lack of passing offence?", and Friday night's answer was a resounding yes. This was not a team that impressed offensively; in fact, quarterbacks Steven Jyles (10 for 16, 150 yards) and Kerry Joseph (four for six, 60 yards) barely made it over 200 passing yards when combined, and you'll have to do much more than that to win a typical CFL game. You'd think you'd have to do even more to defeat the defending Grey Cup champions and this year's favourites on their home turf, but that wasn't the case this time around. Yes, the Eskimos found success in the ground game, with Hugh Charles rushing 20 times for 118 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown, but it's usually going to take more than that to carry an offence. If not for Burnett's two crucial interceptions and Grant Shaw's four-for-four field goal performance, this team wouldn't have put up many points.

What's really embarrassing for the Lions is that the Eskimos' vaunted defence wasn't even in top form Friday. Yes, Burnett had the two crucial interceptions, but beyond that, the Lions were effective both through the air and on the ground (where Andrew Harris had nine carries for 65 yards and a touchdown with an average of 7.2 yards per carry). They dominated the short-passing game, with Harris adding another 120 receiving yards on 11 catches and 2011 first-round draft pick Marco Iannuzzi chipping in six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. B.C. just failed to execute at the right time. While that's easier to fix than overall offensive or defensive failure, it's still problematic, and it's led to the 2-2 Lions dropping to the West Division's basement while the Eskimos have improved to 3-1 and are tied with Saskatchewan for first. There's still just a one-game differential between all four of the West teams, and this was just one game, so the sky isn't falling out in Vancouver yet. If the Lions keep throwing away home games they should win against offensively struggling teams, though, fans might want to grab their umbrellas.