Riders look for 1st win in Jones' return to Edmonton

Chris Jones may have been instrumental in bringing the Edmonton Eskimos their first Grey Cup title since 2005 last season, but he will be public enemy No. 1 in the City of Champions on Friday night.

Jones bolted Edmonton for the Saskatchewan Roughriders shortly after the Grey Cup, and now returns to Commonwealth Stadium with his new club looking for its first win.

While the background surrounding the evening affair leads one to believe there's some extra motivation, Jones was quick to downplay that notion.

"It's our next game. It's professional football right? They've got a right to do whatever they feel is necessary to motivate their football team," Jones told Rod Pedersen of CFL.ca. "We're motivated to try to win a game and try to win a championship."

Extra motivation aside, the real reason behind the importance of this matchup is the fact both teams enter without a win on the season.

The Riders looked pedestrian in Jones' debut at the helm, falling 30-17 at home to the Toronto Argonauts last week. Edmonton had a bye week to try and rebound from a 45-37, Week 1 overtime home loss in a Grey Cup rematch against the Ottawa RedBlacks.

Jones knows the Eskimos roster as good as anybody, and will certainly need to shut down the vaunted Edmonton passing attack. Mike Reilly looked great in the loss to Ottawa, throwing for 383 yards and a touchdown, with the receiver duo of Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker accounting for 255 yards of the 383.

Veteran quarterback Darian Durant was solid but unspectacular in the Riders' opener, throwing for 310 yards in his first action since missing the 2015 season due to injury. He will surely be licking his chops at the sight of a wounded Edmonton defense that allowed 590 total yards to Ottawa.

Background drama aside, a battle between two teams in need of a win should lend itself to an entertaining affair in the late game Friday night.