# 2016 Edmonton Eskimos season

The 2016 Edmonton Eskimos season was the 59th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 68th overall. The Eskimos finished in fourth place in the West Division with a 10–8 record, and qualified for the playoffs via the "crossover" rule. The Eskimos attempted to repeat as Grey Cup champions. This was the first season under head coach Jason Maas and fourth under general manager Ed Hervey.
The Eskimos qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season following losses by the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes during their week 17 bye.

## Offseason
### CFL draft

The 2016 CFL Draft took place on May 10, 2016.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 8 | Tevaun Smith | WR | Iowa |
| 2 | 17 | Arjen Colquhoun | DB | Michigan State |
| 5 | 44 | Josh Woodman | DB | Western Ontario |
| 6 | 53 | Doug Corby | WR | Queen's |
| 7 | 61 | Doug Parrish | LB | Western Oregon |
| 8 | 70 | DJ Lalama | LB | Manitoba |

### Notable transactions

| Date | Type | Incoming | Outgoing | Team |
| May 2, 2016 | Trade | Two negotiation list players | Thaddeus Coleman (OL) | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| July 4, 2016 | Trade | Alex Hoffman-Ellis (LB) | Conditional 8th round pick in 2018 CFL Draft | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| July 10, 2016 | Trade | Robert Lester (LB) 8th round pick in 2018 CFL Draft | Cedric McKinley (DT) Vad Lee (QB) | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| August 8, 2016 | Trade | Alex Ogbongbemiga (LB) | Gregory Alexandre (DT) | Saskatchewan Roughriders |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| A | Sat, June 11 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | at Calgary Stampeders | W 23–13 | 1–0 | None | McMahon Stadium | 28,367 | Recap |
| B | Sat, June 18 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 25–11 | 2–0 | None | Commonwealth Stadium | 29,416 | Recap |

## Regular season
### Season standings

West Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 586 | 369 | 9–1 | L1 | Details |
| BC Lions | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 545 | 454 | 5–5 | W3 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 497 | 454 | 5–5 | W1 | Details |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 549 | 496 | 5–5 | W2 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 350 | 530 | 1–9 | L3 | Details |
East Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 486 | 498 | 5–3 | L1 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 507 | 502 | 5–3 | L2 | Details |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 383 | 416 | 3–5 | W3 | Details |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 383 | 568 | 3–5 | L7 | Details |

### Season schedule

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| 1 | Sat, June 25 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Ottawa Redblacks | L 37–45 (OT) | 0–1 | TSN/RDS | Commonwealth Stadium | 27,846 | Recap |
| 2 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 3 | Fri, July 8 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 39–36 (OT) | 1–1 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 34,196 | Recap |
| 4 | Thurs, July 14 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 20–16 | 2–1 | TSN/RDS | Investors Group Field | 24,007 | Recap |
| 5 | Sat, July 23 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 31–37 | 2–2 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 32,083 | Recap |
| 6 | Thurs, July 28 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 23–30 | 2–3 | TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 25,902 | Recap |
| 7 | Sat, Aug 6 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | at Ottawa Redblacks | L 20–23 | 2–4 | TSN | TD Place Stadium | 24,560 | Recap |
| 8 | Thurs, Aug 11 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 23–12 | 3–4 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 26,061 | Recap |
| 9 | Sat, Aug 20 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | at Toronto Argonauts | W 46–23 | 4–4 | TSN | BMO Field | 15,157 | Recap |
| 10 | Fri, Aug 26 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 33–25 | 5–4 | TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 37,168* | Recap |
| 11 | Mon, Sept 5 | 1:00 p.m. MDT | at Calgary Stampeders | L 24–45 | 5–5 | TSN | McMahon Stadium | 31,440 | Recap |
| 12 | Sat, Sept 10 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 28–34 (2OT) | 5–6 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 35,278 | Recap |
| 13 | Sun, Sept 18 | 2:30 p.m. MDT | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 23–26 (OT) | 5–7 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 30,328 | Recap |
| 14 | Fri, Sept 23 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | vs. BC Lions | W 27–23 | 6–7 | TSN/RDS2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 26,934 | Recap |
| 15 | Fri, Sept 30 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 40–26 | 7–7 | TSN/RDS2 | Investors Group Field | 24,706 | Recap |
| 16 | Mon, Oct 10 | 11:00 a.m. MDT | at Montreal Alouettes | W 40–20 | 8–7 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 20,512 | Recap |
| 17 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 18 | Sat, Oct 22 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | at BC Lions | L 25–32 | 8–8 | TSN | BC Place | 22,831 | Recap |
| 19 | Fri, Oct 28 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 29–26 | 9–8 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | 24,031 | Recap |
| 20 | Sat, Nov 5 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 41–17 | 10–8 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 33,514 | Recap |
*Top attendance in CFL
Total attendance: 278,982
Average attendance: 30,998 (55.1%)

## Post-season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| East Semi-Final | Sun, Nov 13 | 11:00 a.m. MST | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 24–21 | 1–0 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Tim Hortons Field | 24,182 | Recap |
| East Final | Sun, Nov 20 | 11:00 a.m. MST | at Ottawa Redblacks | L 23–35 | 1–1 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | TD Place Stadium | 24,248 | Recap |

## Team
### Coaching staff

Head coach
* Head coach – Jason Maas
* Assistant head coach – Mike Benevides
Offensive coaches
* Offensive line/run game coordinator – Mike Gibson
* Receivers coach – Carson Walch
* Quarterbacks / pass game coordinator – Jordan Maksymic
* Running backs – Tim Prinsen
Defensive coaches
* Defensive coordinator – Mike Benevides
* Linebackers – Demetrious Maxie
* Defensive backs/player development – Barron Miles
* Defensive line – Casey Creehan
Special teams coaches
* Special teams coordinator – Cory McDiarmid