Randle’s pick-6 predicted by psychic receiver Adams

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This article was published 01/10/2017 (2954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Wide receiver Darvin Adams is one of the CFL’s finest receiving threats, but he may have added psychic expert to his skill set.

On Saturday night, moments before a pick-six interception by Winnipeg cornerback Chris Randle ended a late Edmonton rally at Commonwealth Stadium, Adams figured was time for heroic measures.

“Believe it or not, before that play even happened, I looked at (backup quarterback) Dominique Davis and said, ‘Don’t worry, Chris is about to pick the ball off,’” Adams said. “As soon as I said (it), he intercepted the ball and it was a touchdown. It just goes to show. I mean, that guy works hard. He’s a great leader. The same thing I can say about Matt (Nichols) I can say about Chris, he comes in early before everybody, works on his technique. He asks me all the time, ‘What do you think I should do on this?’ It’s the best of both worlds — so I feel like I go against the practice every day.”

The Bombers, thanks in large part to Randle’s 37-yard TD scamper with 2:34 left, held on for a 28-19 victory. The win was Winnipeg’s ninth in 11 games; the Eskimos have lost six straight after starting the season 7-0.

“We were able to move the ball pretty effectively for most of the second half,” Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly told Edmonton reporters. “Obviously, we still had a chance to win it there with a couple minutes left.

“Missed a little bit on the throw and the guy made me pay.”

Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols understood the risks of challenging Randle’s coverage skills.

“I watch film and play against him every day and it’s not a guy I’d wanna try in those situations,” Nichols said. “He’s the best in the business and I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s the hardest-working guy around. A guy that cares about his teammates and a guy that cares about this game and it shows up on game day, the kind of work he puts in.”

Under normal circumstances, Winnipeg would’ve had a more comfortable lead against the Eskimos, but with kicker Justin Medlock suffering through his worst outing as a member of the Blue Bombers, the game remained close. Medlock missed field goal attempts of 54, 42 and 30 yards while also missing his first conversion attempt since 2015.

“We were fortunate Medlock had an off night by his standards, it kept us in the game the first half, but we just didn’t stay on the field long enough in the first half to move the ball offensively,” Eskimos head coach Jason Maas told reporters. “The second half, I thought we turned the tide. You take away that big play at the end and it felt like we were going to go right down the field and score.

“Disappointing. A disappointing loss as a team.”

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: Defensive end Tristan Okpalaugo was a huge part of the Winnipeg’s improving defence, registering three tackles, one sack and five quarterback pressures against the Eskimos.

NOTEWORTHY: Linebacker Mo Leggett (upper body) and wide receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino (upper body) were injured and did not finish the game. O’Shea did not have an update on their status.

Darvin Adams finished the game with two catches for 45 yards, the bulk of which came on a spectacular 13-yard, one-handed grab for a major in the second half.

Adams reached the 1,000-yard receiving plateau for the first time in his CFL career and now has 67 catches for 1,006 yards.

He is on pace for 92 receptions and 1,392 yards.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14