(Edmonton) Tre Ford’s return as the Edmonton Elks’ starting quarterback on Saturday night didn’t bring the expected results.
Ford fumbled and had two interceptions as the Canadian Football League West Division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Elks 27-14 at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Blue Bombers (8-6) won their sixth straight game and shut down the CFL’s top-scoring offense.
The Elks have suffered just their second loss in their last seven games, and their record is 5-9.
With the score tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter, a Ford pass that was short of its intended target was instead intercepted by linebacker Michael Ayers, who returned the ball to the Elks’ 36-yard line.
Brady Oliveira followed that up with a punishing 30-yard sprint and then a six-yard run into the end zone to give the Blue Bombers the lead for good.
Oliveira added a late touchdown on another run, this one from five yards out, right through the Elks’ defensive line.
Oliveira finished his evening of work with gains of 127 yards on the ground, on 18 carries.
For their part, the Elks spoiled a fantastic performance from Justin Rankin, who amassed 157 yards on 14 carries.
Ford finished the game with 10 completions of 17 attempts for gains of just 131 yards.
For the Blue Bombers, Zach Collabos completed 19 of his 27 passes, for 191 yards.
The two teams will meet again next weekend in Winnipeg.