Most teams go through adversity in a season and that time appears to be now for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
After losing to the Montreal Alouettes two weeks ago, the Riders came back from the bye week and dropped their second straight game — a 27-25 decision against the Edmonton Elks in Week 17 of the CFL season.
While the Riders are still a CFL-best 10-4 on the year, they are clearly not playing their best football with four games left in the season. Can they turn it around before the playoffs?
Here are the top takeaways from Saturday’s game in Edmonton:
10 Thoughts
1. Quite a bizarre start to the game for the Roughriders offence as quarterback Trevor Harris was intercepted twice on the opening drive of the game. How many times has that happened before? After a phenomenal start to the year, Harris hasn’t been his best lately — especially early in games — although he still managed to put up 351 yards and put his team in a position to tie the game on a two-point convert attempt, which is a throw/play they’d like to have back.
2. I said it on the Rider Rumblings podcast but every time Harris takes a hit, he gets up emphatically, proving he’s no worse for wear. Saturday’s game was no different after Harris took a high hit as he was sliding — a yard too far. There was a moment of suspense after the hit before Harris popped quickly to signal he’s fine. The last thing he wants is someone questioning his health.
3. There was clearly a big emphasis to run on first down for the Riders. Offensive coordinator Marc Mueller dialed up several first down runs and A.J. Ouellette had 115 yards on the night to put him over 1,000 yards on the season. Ouellette’s performance was one positive for the Riders on Saturday no doubt.
4. It was a surprise when Mario Alford was left off the roster for this game. Alford logged a full week of practice, but the Riders opted to let Shawn Bane Jr. handle return duties on Saturday and he averaged 12 yards per punt return which is comparable to Alford’s numbers this season. Bane has been healthy for several weeks now but there just wasn’t an opening to get him into the lineup. No injury news was provided on Alford and it almost feels like a “load management” situation while also giving Bane a chance to get some action if he’s needed in the final stretch. We’ll find out more when the teams return to practice on Tuesday.
5. Not blaming the game on the officials by any means but the Riders got robbed of a touchdown as Kosi Onyeka should have had a fumble return TD in the fourth quarter. Instead, early whistles went after what appeared to be a clear fumble and the Riders even had to challenge to get the right call. It was clearly a blunder from the officials, who have been instructed to let everything play out before any whistle is blown. Not saying that call lost Saskatchewan the game but it would have changed how the rest played out.
6. Jake Julien is a great punter. Since returning to Elks after an NFL stint, Julien has been the league’s best punter as he averaged 52.2 yards per punt. Meanwhile the Riders made a change at punter this week as Jesse Mirco replaced Joe Couch, who averaged 46.7 yards per punt in 13 games this season. On Saturday, Mirco had a great debut with a 52.3-yard average on four punts. He’ll be staying in the lineup.
7. With Shane Ray out with an injury, Riders defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado made the most of his opportunity. The Italian recorded a sack, a tackle for loss and two more tackles in his first start this year. He’s certainly capable of being more than just a rotational player.
8. Second-year receiver KeeSean Johnson has been exceptional this year for the Riders. On Saturday, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with a 115-yard performance and two of those catches were the only reason Saskatchewan had a chance to tie the game.
9. As well, Samuel Emilus was a nice addition back to the lineup for the Riders. Emilus, who had been out since Week 8, made a nice 23-yard sliding catch in the third quarter as part of a 63-yard game. He won’t reach 1,000 yards for a third straight season, but he’ll be an important target for Harris down the stretch into the playoffs.
10. So now the Riders visit Ottawa on Friday night in Week 18 with the Redblacks having a CFL-worst 4-10 record. Saskatchewan is still four points up on Calgary, B.C. and Winnipeg — who are all at eight wins — but B.C. and Winnipeg both have just three games left while Calgary and Saskatchewan have four. The Riders have secured the head-to-head tiebreaker over B.C. and Winnipeg but not Calgary. The West Division playoff race — which will likely include one of those four teams going East in the crossover — is going to come right down to the wire and the Roughriders, who play Winnipeg and B.C. in the final two weeks, are still in control of their fate. Can they take advantage? Let’s find out.
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