# 2018 Edmonton Eskimos season

The 2018 Edmonton Eskimos season was the 61st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 70th overall. This was the third season under head coach Jason Maas and the second season under general manager Brock Sunderland.
The team began the season with a 6–3 win–loss record, but after losing six of the following eight games, the Eskimos were eliminated from the playoffs during their week 20 bye after Winnipeg defeated Calgary to claim the final playoff spot. The Eskimos failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2013, becoming the first Grey Cup hosts to miss the playoffs since the 2016 Toronto Argonauts.
The Eskimos' 9–9 record was actually tied with the BC Lions for the fifth-best finish in the nine-team league, however BC won the tie-breaker by winning the teams' season series and thus claimed the cross-over berth. Although the Eskimos' record was also better than the 8–10 record of the Eastern runner-up Hamilton Tiger-Cats but CFL rules do not allow two teams from one division to cross over. Edmonton became the first (and, as of 2024, only) Canadian CFL team to miss the playoffs without a losing record since the cross-over rule was implemented.

## Offseason
### CFL draft

The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
| 2 | 10 | Godfrey Onyeka | DB | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 3 | 24 | Jordan Beaulieu | DB | Western |
| 4 | 32 | Tanner Green | RB | Concordia |
| 5 | 40 | Curtis Krahn | OL | Calgary |
| 6 | 48 | Alex Taylor | RB | Western |
| 7 | 53 | Harry McMaster | WR | Western |
| 7 | 57 | Gabriel Bagnell | DL | Acadia |
| 8 | 65 | Blair Zerr | RB | Humboldt State |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| A | Sun, May 27 | 3:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 35–12 | 1–0 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 28,374 | Recap |
| B | Fri, June 1 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 13–33 | 1–1 | None | Investors Group Field | 23,034 | Recap |
| C | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |

## Regular season
### Season standings

West Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 522 | 363 | 5–5 | W1 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 450 | 444 | 7–3 | W2 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 550 | 419 | 4–6 | L1 | Details |
| BC Lions | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 423 | 473 | 4–6 | L2 | Details |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 482 | 471 | 5–5 | W1 | Details |

### Season schedule

| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| 1 | 1 | Thurs, June 14 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 33–30 | 1–0 | TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 | Investors Group Field | 25,458 | Recap |
| 2 | 2 | Fri, June 22 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 21–38 | 1–1 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 31,334 | Recap |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, June 29 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. BC Lions | W 41–22 | 2–1 | TSN/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 29,940 | Recap |
| 4 | 4 | Sat, July 7 | 3:30 p.m. MDT | at Toronto Argonauts | L 17–20 | 2–2 | TSN | BMO Field | 12,196 | Recap |
| 5 | 5 | Fri, July 13 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 16–15 | 3–2 | TSN/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 31,056 | Recap |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | 6 | Thurs, July 26 | 5:30 p.m. MDT | at Montreal Alouettes | W 44–23 | 4–2 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 16,654 | Recap |
| 8 | 7 | Thurs, Aug 2 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 26–19 | 5–2 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 35,623 | Recap |
| 9 | 8 | Thurs, Aug 9 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | at BC Lions | L 23–31 | 5–3 | TSN/ESPN2 | BC Place | 17,745 | Recap |
| 10 | 9 | Sat, Aug 18 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 40–24 | 6–3 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 29,702 | Recap |
| 11 | 10 | Thurs, Aug 23 | 5:30 p.m. MDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 24–25 | 6–4 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,281 | Recap |
| 12 | 11 | Mon, Sept 3 | 1:00 p.m. MDT | at Calgary Stampeders | L 20–23 | 6–5 | TSN | McMahon Stadium | 32,013 | Recap |
| 13 | 12 | Sat, Sept 8 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 48–42 | 7–5 | TSN/RDS | Commonwealth Stadium | 38,611 | Recap |
| 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 15 | 13 | Sat, Sept 22 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | at Ottawa Redblacks | L 15–28 | 7–6 | TSN/RDS2 | TD Place Stadium | 24,800 | Recap |
| 16 | 14 | Sat, Sept 29 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 3–30 | 7–7 | TSN/RDS2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 28,788 | Recap |
| 17 | 15 | Mon, Oct 8 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 12–19 | 7–8 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 31,335 | Recap |
| 18 | 16 | Sat, Oct 13 | 3:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Ottawa Redblacks | W 34–16 | 8–8 | TSN/RDS2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 27,163 | Recap |
| 19 | 17 | Fri, Oct 19 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | at BC Lions | L 42–32 | 8–9 | TSN | BC Place | 20,463 | Recap |
| 20 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 21 | 18 | Sat, Nov 3 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 33–24 | 9–9 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 27,749 | Recap |