Redblacks down Eskimos in thrilling Grey Cup rematch, but both face big losses

The third game of the CFL's opening weekend was the most thrilling one yet, but it had potentially-major consequences for both sides. The rematch of last fall's 103rd Grey Cup saw the other team win this time, with the Ottawa Redblacks knocking off the Edmonton Eskimos 45-37 in overtime, but both teams lost significant players along the way. After a slow start, both teams delivered great offensive performances, and there's lots for both to build on going forward, but the injuries suffered during this one may come back to haunt them too.

This one got off to an exceptionally slow start, with Ottawa leading 3-1 after the first quarter on a safety and a rouge, but it quickly escalated from there. It was 14-10 Redblacks at the half, and then the third and fourth quarters saw almost all-out shootouts. The final minute of regulation in particular was zany, with Ottawa confused on the final play but still able to pull off a 55-yard goal from Chris Milo as time expired to send the game to overtime. Once there, a coverage mixup from Edmonton led to an easy Brad Sinopoli touchdown, and Mike Reilly wasn't able to put together an answering drive. That gave the Redblacks both Grey Cup revenge and their first-ever victory over the Eskimos (previous Ottawa franchises had beat Edmonton, of course). However, it came at a significant cost for both teams.

For the Redblacks, the big question is the health of quarterback Henry Burris. Burris, the CFL's most outstanding player in 2015 at age 40, appeared to injure his throwing hand partway through this one, and he left the game after completing 23 of 31 passes (74.2 per cent) for 251 yards with a touchdown and an interception. New offseason acquisition Trevor Harris filled in admirably, completing a staggering 17 passes on 19 attempts (89.5 per cent) for 292 yards and three touchdowns (and boosting the remarkable quarterback stats piled up by the three pivots in this game), but the team would obviously prefer to have Burris healthy as well. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like his injury is too serious:

Still, the Redblacks will be hoping that Burris can recover quickly. For the Eskimos, things look even worse, and  there are plenty of concerns. Linebacker Deon Lacey left the game after a brutal late finger injury (discretion advised), and the team lost several players in their already-thin secondary, including regular all-star (and sole remaining veteran presence) Patrick Watkins. Reilly (28 completions on 40 attempts, a 70 per cent success rate, with 383 passing yards, a touchdown and no interception) and the offence played well, but Edmonton's defence is definitely a work in progress given the numbers of yards they gave up and the penalties committed. That's only likely to be further exacerbated with these rising numbers of injuries. We'll see just how bad the injury report turns out to be for both teams, but it may be a sour coda to what was otherwise a remarkable night.