Lawler hoping Elks can halt Bombers' perfect start to season on TSN

EDMONTON — All eyes will be on wide receiver Kenny Lawler when the Elks host the undefeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night.

Lawler is still shining from last week’s standout performance as Edmonton (2-4) mounted a furious comeback to beat Montreal, 32-31. Lawler had 92 yards receiving and a touchdown, but also drew a series of drive-extending pass interference calls on the Alouettes' secondary.

Of course, he’s no stranger to Winnipeg, as he was part of the last two Grey Cup-winning Bomber teams, and led the league with 1,014 receiving yards in 2021. He was the Elks’ most talked about signing over the off-season.

So the star wideout knows what to expect when his old mates play his new team at Commonwealth Stadium.

Watch Friday's game LIVE on the TSN Network, TSN.ca and the TSN App at 9pm EST/6pm PST. 

“They play a hard-fought game, they’re going to smack us in the mouth on every play,” Lawler said. “But we’ve got to match that. We’ve got to match their energy.

"If we’re playing timid, if we’re playing scared, that’s going to cause us to start making errors and falling behind on the scoreboard.”

The Elks have won two of their last three, but both triumphs were late comebacks over Hamilton and Montreal, who are sporting 1-4 records in the sad-sack CFL East. At 6-0, and with the two most recent Grey Cup titles, the Bombers are an entirely different ask.

Lawler says his teammates need to embrace the challenge.

“I’ve played with those guys. They’ve got all-stars all on their defence, all on their offence, it’s just a great team. They’ve built a dynasty over there. But we’ve got great players too," Lawler said.

"We’ve got to come in every day, we’ve got to fight, and I wouldn’t want to trade in this opportunity for