Pro football is all about winning and losing, so it was strange to see the Saskatchewan Roughriders not do everything they could to win a CFL game Friday against the reviled Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Winnipeg won 17-16 because the Roughriders treated it like a meaningless exhibition game inside rainy Princess Auto Stadium, dropping their record to 12-5 while stubbornly assessing numerous players who likely won’t see action during the playoffs.

“Mad,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace when asked by reporters postgame about his team. “We came in here to win a football game. We want to win every week.”

A missed 49-yard field goal by inconsistent, veteran kicker Brett Lauther could have provided winning points for the Roughriders, even though the team’s insistence on playing third-string, fledgling quarterback Jack Coan for the entire fourth quarter also reduced its chances of winning.

Perhaps the coaching staff promised Coan he would play the entire fourth quarter, but pro athletes get paid to deal with every situation. The coaches should have told Coan, “We’d like to get you some action, but it depends on the circumstances.”

First and foremost, pro athletes want to win. If that isn’t their top priority they should find another job. Surely the players — despite the family-type atmosphere espoused by the entire franchise  — would have understood sticking with experienced backup Jake Maier because he gave them a better chance to win in Winnipeg.

Maier started the game at quarterback and, after the Riders recovered the opening kickoff, used a flea-flicker pass (and pass-interference penalty) to set up an opening-drive major.

Although he completed 15 of 20 passes for only 123 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns, Maier had the Riders ahead 16-14 when he was yanked after three quarters. Coan, who scored Saskatchewan’s lone touchdown on a short-yardage run, was 2-for-8 for 38 yards as Saskatchewan’s depleted offence netted only 169 yards.

It was also a missed opportunity to get Maier some late-game playing time, in case he’s needed during the playoffs. It’s much less likely that Coan would take any postseason snaps, especially if short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens returns from the injured list.

“The expectation was to play as long as coach wanted me to,” said Maier, a former Calgary Stampeders starter who started once for Saskatchewan earlier this season. “It was a good opportunity to get reps.

“We wanted to win. We didn’t.”

Having clinched first place and hosting privileges for the West final Nov. 8, it was totally understandable for the Roughriders to rest and safeguard numerous veterans such as first-string quarterback Trevor Harris, tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, tailback A.J. Ouellette and defensive tackle Micah Johnson, replacing them with younger, less experienced players. The Roughriders still believed they could win in Winnipeg, with middle linebacker Jameer Thurman telling reporters beforehand they wanted to avenge being eliminated from last year’s playoffs by the Blue Bombers.

Winnipeg has actually eliminated the Roughriders from their last four playoff appearances.

This season looked different, with the Roughriders winning two earlier games and looking to sweep their regular-season series for the first time since 2014. With a 9-8 record the Blue Bombers remain long shots to appear in their sixth straight Grey Cup game, but the unexpected and unimpressive victory coupled with an Edmonton Elks loss earned them a postseason appearance, likely as a wild-card qualifier in the East.

The loss overshadowed a strong defensive showing by the Roughriders, who pummelled Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros and limited MVP tailback Brady Oliveira to 75 rushing yards. Linebacker A.J. Allen had eight tackles in the first half, nine overall, while Antoine Brooks Jr. recorded his first two CFL sacks in his second start at strong-side linebacker.

“We lost so it’s not good,” said Allen. “We have more work to do.”

The Roughriders have one more regular-season game to endure, Saturday at Mosaic Stadium against the red-hot B.C. Lions. While B.C. is trying to finish second in the West and extend a five-game winning streak, the Roughriders will again be determining who to play and who to rest before getting a week-long bye to await a visit from the West’s semifinal winners.

Of course the Roughriders will be trying to defeat B.C. for the third time this season, too. There was never any doubt the players and coaches wanted to defeat Winnipeg, that they worked hard for the victory while clearly not taking advantage of their circumstances.

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