The Edmonton Elks have dropped their first five games for the second time in team history.
The only other time the club started this poorly was 1965.
The Elks strive to begin their climb out of the CFL cellar when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday night.
Edmonton also has lost 19 consecutive home games, a dubious CFL record.
The Elks (0-5) let an opportunity to post their first win escape their grasp last Thursday when the host Saskatchewan Roughriders scored nine points in the final 64 seconds to record a 12-11 victory.
“It put us in a real poor situation,” Elks coach Chris Jones said on Monday. “We know where we’re at. We didn’t get here in one week and we won’t get out of it in one week.”
Edmonton dropped its previous three games by an average of 17.7 points. The Elks are last in the nine-team CFL in scoring offense (12.4 points per game) and eighth in scoring defense (24.0).
Quarterback Taylor Cornelius has passed for 666 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted three times.
However, Cornelius was intercepted by Saskatchewan’s Nic Marshall with 16 seconds left while attempting to drive Edmonton into field-goal range.
Hamilton (1-3) has been experiencing its own issues and recorded its first win of the season with Saturday’s 21-13 home win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
Marc Liegghio kicked five field goals and fill-in quarterback Matt Shiltz tossed a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tyreik McAllister.
Shiltz has thrown for 696 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Tiger-Cats, who are tied for sixth in scoring at 19.5 points per game.
Shiltz is playing in place of Bo Levi Mitchell, who sustained a lower-body issue in the team’s second game and is currently on the six-game injured list.
Hamilton’s defense has struggled and ranks last in the CFL at 31.3 points allowed per game. The Tiger-Cats allowed 42, 32 and 38 points in their first three games before the much-improved effort against Ottawa.
Despite Edmonton’s winless mark, Hamilton coach Orlondo Steinauer sees the Elks as a potentially troublesome opponent.
“They were in some ball games. They’ve had some struggles and setbacks of their own,” Steinauer said. “We’re not looking at the record, we’re focused on ourselves. It’s going to be a tough opponent in their house.”
The Tigers-Cats will be without defensive lineman Mason Bennett (hamstring) and fullback Myles Manalo (knee) for Thursday’s game.
Edmonton could be without defensive linemen A.C. Leonard (hamstring), the team’s leader with three sacks. Offensive lineman Andrew Garnett (abdominal) is out.
–Field Level Media