Photo: Andrew Mahon/CFL.

Of all the games the Saskatchewan Roughriders have played, that was definitely the most recent one. The Green and White fell to Winnipeg 17-16 in a contest that, unless you were directly involved, you will never think about again.

Here are the rest of my thoughts on whatever that was.

This sucked (and that’s OK)

This is more of a league-wide statement than a thought on this specific game.

There’s a segment of the fan base in the CFL that gets upset when someone criticizes anything that has to do with the league. They believe that the CFL is trying to grow, and any negativity towards any aspect of the league isn’t constructive criticism, but rather an attack on its very core.

I, personally, think the league is strong enough that a couple of jokes about a bad game probably won’t be its demise. As such, before anyone comes at me for secretly hating the league, I just want to state I love this sport and this league. I wouldn’t have spent my Friday night watching this game if I didn’t.

With that out of the way allow me to declare: this game sucked. It was dull, poorly played, and largely lifeless. The only entertaining part of it was the fact that is was close despite the comedically large gap in the talent and stakes on either side. If I were a Winnipeg fan, I’d be furious at how my team played in a game that meant everything to us and nothing to our opponent.

A rough ride to the playoffs

The Riders are in an enviable position where they have everything wrapped up. I’d much rather be where Saskatchewan is compared to where Winnipeg is, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges.

The Riders are trying to keep the intensity high while also keeping everyone healthy for the next meaningful game they’ll play in three weeks. I feel they walked that tightrope very effectively in this game.

The game was not the most aesthetically pleasing, but that was the priority for the Riders. It didn’t matter who it was, everyone who played for Saskatchewan gave it everything they had and that’s all you can ask for at this time of year.

With everything clinched, the Riders are going to have a tough time matching the desperation of their opponents, but they can try to match their effort. They absolutely matched the effort of the Bombers in this game, and they may have matched their desperation as well, although that had more to do with Winnipeg than anything Saskatchewan did.

What a start

The Riders couldn’t have asked for a better start. Saskatchewan set the tone for a strong special teams day by forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff.

Then, one penalty-aided flea-flicker later, the Riders were at the goal line and plunged in for a touchdown. This set the tone for the rest of the game.

I know that after the game, Mike O’Shea said his team wasn’t waiting for a handout. Well, it didn’t look like it. They looked like they were expecting the Riders’ reserves to just go away at some point. Saskatchewan let them know on the first play of the day that they weren’t going to make life easy on Winnipeg all night.

Getting guys going

The number one thing the Riders want to see in these last couple of games is for everyone to leave the field healthy. After that, they want to see a few players get on a groove and end the season strong.

This was accomplished on Friday by a couple of players. First was Mario Alford, who got off to a fantastic start to the season before injuries slowed him down. He hasn’t looked as explosive since his return, but the Alford of old was back in this game with a few high-powered plays that helped the Riders’ starting field position. He was a weapon early in the season and if he’s back to that in the playoffs, that could be the game-changer that the team needs.

Shawn Bane Jr. was the other player who may have gotten things moving in the right direction. He only had three receptions for 20 yards, but he was never going to get back to his 1,000-yard form in one game. This was the first real action he had at receiver this year, so it’s a good start. He is exactly the type of player who can actually get a lot from these last couple of games, potentially giving Trevor Harris another weapon to work with. If nothing else, he’ll boost his stock in free agency.

Maier did what he could

Jake Maier got the call at QB for the Riders as they gave Trevor Harris a week off, and he was totally fine. The numbers won’t blow you away with just 15 completions for 123 yards, but he did what he was asked to do in this game.

One of my main criticisms of Maier in Calgary was his unwillingness to push the ball down the field, so I give him points for at least trying to do that in this game. With that said, he was certainly more effective when he turned to short and intermediate throws.

There isn’t going to be any QB controversy or anything like that, but all Maier was doing was getting reps in to stay sharp in case the Riders need him in big moments. He accomplished that.

Collar-oh no, he was hit again

The biggest story of this game from the Riders’ perspective might actually be on the defence. Again, this was a unit that was missing several regulars, but it didn’t matter.

They were constantly in Zach Collaros’ face, knocking him to the ground on several occasions. The pass rush was so effective that, late in the game, the Bombers ran a screen to Brady Oliveira, and it looked like almost every other play that Winnipeg ran.

There have been some holes in the defence this year because of injuries, but this game should give Saskatchewan confidence that if there is an injury or a problem come playoff time, the depth players should be able to step up.

Kicking it into gear

It feels like each week this year, we’ve done a kicking update. As you could see from the final score tonight, some of these games are going to come down to a kick or two.

The above note about players finding their groove certainly applies for Brett Lauther, who the Riders need to get right for the playoffs. He did miss another kick in this game, but it was a 48-yarder, so it certainly wasn’t a gimme. It also wasn’t the worst miss he’s had this season. He should continue to build confidence coming out of the past couple of weeks, which the Riders desperately hope will be the case.

On the punting side of things, Jesse Mirco was excellent, pinning Winnipeg inside their own five on a couple of occasions, which significantly helped the defence. Now, if those had bounced into the end zone, maybe this is a different game, but you’ll certainly take the field position advantage that the Riders’ punting game gave them.

Final thoughts 

Saskatchewan wasn’t going to show anything in this game that could dramatically change anyone’s opinion of them heading into the post-season.

This was nearly the best-case scenario for the Riders as they stayed largely healthy and the players who were out there competed and didn’t look like a team going through the motions. The cherry on top would have been beating your rivals in a game that meant everything to them.

We have one more dress rehearsal now before this team plays its biggest game of the year. Because of the bye in the West Semi Final, I’d anticipate we see a few more regulars at least start next week’s game against B.C. so they don’t have to go a month between games.