Edwards' brilliance was matched only by the heroics of Kurt Tippett who played his best game for the club to finish with seven goals in the 21.4 (130) to 18.6 (114) win.
The Bombers led at every change, but a six-goals-to-two final term was enough to secure the premiership points.
Edwards turned back the clock to finish with 41 possessions and 10 tackles. He received plenty of support from Bernie Vince with 36 touches, Scott Thompson (33) and Nathan Bock (25).
Chris Knights continued his amazing run in front of goal with five majors giving him 14 in the last three games.
Brad Moran and Ivan Maric finished with 26 and 22 hitouts respectively.
Andrew Lovett was excellent for Essendon with 31 touches as was Brent Stanton (31) while Scott Lucas kicked four goals.
There were danger signs early for the Crows who weren't allowed any time or space by the hard-working Dons.
The visitors were 13 points down before Vince converted a free kick from outside 50 m, but it was only a brief respite from the Bomber blitz.
Jobe Watson got away from Michael Doughty to boot two goals as the lead stretched to 26, but late goals to Patrick Dangerfield and Tippett steadied the ship to make it a 15-point game at quarter-time.
Lucas converted a free kick paid against Maric for a deliberate rushed behind in the first minute of the second, but the Crows were slowly finding their feet with Edwards becoming important around the stoppages.
Tippett announced himself as the danger man up forward with three goals for the term including two from deep in either pocket. Knights bounced one through on the run from well inside the centre square and snapped brilliantly after roving a perfect Tippett tap.
But despite the resurgence, Adelaide was unable to edge in front and was hurt by some untimely turnovers that allowed Essendon to hang onto a 10-point advantage at half-time, with Hayden Skipworth booting a goal against his old side.
After rain showers fell through the open roof in the first half it rolled shut during the break. Knights added his third as the Crows again threatened, but the pattern of the first half held true.
Again the Dons were able to muster a replying goal and looked to be poised to run away with it after Mark McVeigh and Lovett put their side 21 points up.
Tippett was the man for Adelaide again with a contested mark leading to his fifth and when Taylor Walker, who was unsighted in the first half, bobbed up for two the Crows could smell a lead.
But two points was as close as they could get with an Alwyn Davey set shot sailing through the middle with just 10 seconds left in the quarter to set up an eight-point lead.
The first goal was vital in the last and Richard Douglas provided it for Adelaide. The Crows finally took the lead three minutes in when Jason Porplyzia produced a bit of magic and despite being made to work for hard, looked the better side for the rest of the game.
Essendon 5.3 10.4 16.4 18.6 (114)
Adelaide 3.0 9.0 15.2 21.4 (130)
GOALS
Essendon: Lucas 4, Watson 3, Monfries 2, Skipworth 2, Davey, Dyson, Lovett, McPhee, McVeigh, Ryder, Reimers
Adelaide: Tippett 7, Knights 5, Walker 2, Douglas 2, Dangerfield, Maric, McLeod, Porplyzia, Vince.
BEST
Essendon: Stanton, Lovett, Watson, Skipworth, Dyson, Prismall, Houli.
Adelaide: Edwards, Tippett, Knights, Vince, Bock, Johncock, Thompson.
INJURIES
Essendon: TBC
Adelaide: Goodwin (knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Kennedy, Grun, Findlay
Official crowd: 39,451 at Docklands
The views contained in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
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