EDMONTON -- A pair of sacks from Dario Romero helped the Edmonton Eskimos put the Montreal Alouettes in the bag Thursday.
The defensive tackle, who also had a pass knockdown to his credit, broke through the line twice in the second half to knock the Als back for a total loss of 11 yards.
Up to that point, Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo had only been sacked once all season.
"I'm just having fun out there," Romero said. "Any time I get to the quarterback, it's just a bonus."
Coverage by the Eskimos defensive backs didn't allow Calvillo the quick release off the snap that makes his passing game work wonders.
"That's the secondary. Calvillo's not getting his first reads. That means somebody's on him," Romero said. "(Defensive co-ordinator) Jim Daley called a good game by switching zone into man, and it just kept him off his rhythm, and it gave us time to get there."
That disruption was a feat no other team had been able to do this year, and Romero chalks it up to going through some team growing pains.
"It's the ultimate team sport. If they're not doing well, then we can't do that well. If we're not doing well, then they (can't)," Romero said. "It all works together, and we're just coming together as a team."
It's a long way from where the Eskimos' cohesiveness was the first time they faced the Alouettes this CFL season in a 50-16 defeat.
"Three weeks ago, we weren't really clear defensively on what to do. Last time we played these guys, we probably lined up wrong 50% of the time," Romero said. "So it was just a matter of making the right calls, walking through stuff that they do just so it's in our head.
"We know what they're doing, and there was no guessing this time. We went out there with confidence and played well."
It's a confidence that has been building since rallying from a 22-0 deficit against the Saskatchewan Roughriders the week before.
"The challenge is can we be better this week?" said Eskimos head coach Richie Hall.
GERRY.MODDEJONGE@SUNMEDIA.CA
