CFL best bets: Commitment to the ground game

It has certainly been a trying start to the season for the 0-5 Edmonton Elks. They appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough victory last week, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders tied the game with a late touchdown and two-point conversion and then won it when the ensuing kickoff wasn’t brought out of the end zone by return man CJ Sims, resulting in a “rouge” and a 12-11 final. Now the Elks host the 1-3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday night, and a key figure in their attempt to end a 19-game home losing streak is the subject of our top prop:

The bet: Over 52½ rushing yards for Edmonton Elks running back Kevin Brown (DraftKings)

A second-year player out of FCS school Incarnate Word, Brown is coming off his best game of the season. In that painful loss a week ago, he turned 15 carries into 65 yards and caught a pair of passes for 26 more. And he likely would’ve added to his totals in overtime if not for that special-teams gaffe.

Over the 13 games of his young professional career, Brown’s success has directly correlated to opportunity. He has cleared this number the six times he received double-digit carries, averaging 87 yards per outing. But he failed to do so in each of the other games, largely because he always saw seven attempts or fewer.

Edmonton coach Chris Jones has stressed the importance of running the ball, and he figures to keep feeding Brown against a Ti-Cats defense that surrenders 119 rushing yards a game. They also allow a league-worst 31 points per contest, which suggests that the scoring-challenged Elks will remain competitive throughout.