The Saskatchewan Roughriders are enjoying quite a run when it comes to rushing the passer.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one of the CFL team\u2019s league-leading 33 sacks have been registered over the past five games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way we get those sacks is to stop the run,\u201d Defensive Line Coach Phillip Daniels said after Wednesday\u2019s practice at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI preach stopping the run game over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mission accomplished.<\/p>\n
The 9-2 Roughriders have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league (an average of 71.6 yards per game) heading into Saturday\u2019s Labour Day Rematch against the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan\u2019s opponents have gained 4.69 yards per running play. That is the second-best average in the league, just behind the Ottawa REDBLACKS (4.64).<\/p>\n
The importance of repelling the run was underlined on Sunday, when the Roughriders defeated the visiting Blue Bombers 34-30.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg was held to 25 rushing yards \u2014\u00a0the 25th-lowest post-Second World War total by a Saskatchewan opponent.<\/p>\n
The Blue Bombers averaged only 3.1 yards per run. Brady Oliveira, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher and the CFL\u2019s reigning Most Outstanding Player, was limited to 24 yards on five carries.<\/p>\n
As well, the Roughriders sacked Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros five times. One of those sacks, by Malik Carney, forced a fumble on Winnipeg\u2019s seven-yard line and led to Saskatchewan\u2019s first TD.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell my guys, \u2018Let\u2019s stop the run on first down and get them in second-and-long. Then let\u2019s pin our ears back and go get \u2019em,\u2019 \u201d Daniels said. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to be able to do that on second-and-four. Now you\u2019re worried about run or pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve learned as a coach is that when you get second-and-long, that playbook gets real small for the offence, especially when you get to second-and-15 or second-and-20.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always say the most important down in football is first down. Stop them on first down, get them in second-and-long, and let\u2019s go eat. Let\u2019s go get some sacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malik Carney had two of the Roughriders\u2019 sacks on Sunday, when he also forced and recovered the aforementioned fumble and added a tackle for a loss.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Carney had hurried Collaros into a six-yard completion on second-and-12.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople see sacks as a beautiful thing \u2014\u00a0getting to the quarterback, hitting the quarterback,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cI also count all the things, like batted balls at the line of scrimmage and putting pressure on the quarterback so he throws an interception to us. All of that matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sack can be over-rated sometimes if you aren\u2019t stopping the run game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels\u2019 point about interceptions is illustrated by the Blue Bombers\u2019 final offensive play of the 60th Labour Day Classic.<\/p>\n
Trailing 32-30, Winnipeg attempted a game-tying two-point convert. With defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado closing in, Collaros floated a pass that was picked off by Tevaughn Campbell and returned 112 yards to the south end zone. The two points, as it turned out, were awarded to Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral times we\u2019ve been near the quarterback and he has had to lean or throw it from an awkward angle,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cIt gives us a chance to get an incompletion or an interception in the secondary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always teach guys, \u2018Get the quarterback off the spot.\u2019 When you do that, good things happen. Our guys just have to keep rushing, get him off the spot and make him nervous. He\u2019s going to throw the ball to us or we\u2019re going to get sacks. That\u2019s just how it goes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve got to stop the run first.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 21 sacks, the Roughriders boast their highest total over a five-game span since 2022. That season, Saskatchewan registered 21 sacks en route to a 4-1 start.<\/p>\n
Defensive linemen have 25 of the Roughriders\u2019 33 sacks so far in the 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
Carney and Micah Johnson lead the way with six each. Shane Ray and Mike Rose have five and four, respectively. Baldonado has two sacks. Ali Saad and Caleb Sanders each have one.<\/p>\n
Linebackers have contributed eight sacks \u2014\u00a0three each by A.J. Allen and Jameer Thurman, plus two by C.J. Reavis.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan is five sacks ahead of last season\u2019s 11-game pace.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the coin, the Roughriders have allowed only 16 sacks \u2014 six fewer than last year at this juncture.<\/p>\n
HONOUR ROLL<\/p>\n
Carney made the CFL\u2019s Week 13 Honour Roll for earning the top grade (91.6) of any defensive player, according to Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n
He previously received that honour for Week 8 after grading out at 88.7 in a 21-18 victory over the visiting Edmonton Elks on July 25.<\/p>\n
Carney\u2019s latest grade (91.6) is the fifth-highest of any CFL player this season.<\/p>\n
Three of his teammates earned top positional grades for Week 13 \u2014\u00a0Campbell (who topped all defensive backs at 84.5), A.J. Ouellette (first among running backs at 72.0) and Jayden Dalke (special teams, 90.3).<\/p>\n
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