{"id":128794,"date":"2025-09-08T12:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128794\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:33:20","slug":"b-c-lions-condemned-by-crumback-in-loss-to-ottawa-13-other-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128794\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. Lions condemned by Crumback in loss to Ottawa (& 13 other thoughts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy: B.C. Lions<\/p>\n

The B.C. Lions had every reason to be optimistic heading into Friday\u2019s matchup with Ottawa, but suffered the most embarrassing form of CFL defeat: death by Crumback. A 14-point fourth-quarter lead went up in smoke on the arms and legs of the mobile backup, as the Redblacks eked out a 34-33 victory in the final minute.<\/p>\n

Here are my thoughts on the game.<\/p>\n

Turn off the tap<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to categorize this latest collapse amongst a growing list of devastating B.C. Lions\u2019 losses in 2025. On one hand, for as much as the defence will be tarred and feathered, it was far from their worst performance, lacking the same degree of late-game passivity as they showed against Hamilton or the utter incompetence of their loss to Toronto. At the same time, coming out of the bye week against a league-worst Ottawa team starting a highly-limited backup pivot in Dustin Crum was supposed to be a gift-wrapped get-right game.<\/p>\n

Instead, Crum joins an inauspicious list of second-stringers who have beaten up on the Leos, which already included Nick Arbuckle, Jake Maier, and Chris Streveler. Three of those four have looked like all-stars in their outing against B.C., not least of whom Crum, who completed 75 percent of his passes for 301 yards and a major, while rushing for 69 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

The Lions controlled the pace of a relatively boring game for almost three full quarters and led 27-10 at their peak. Even so, it never seemed like they were willing or able to put it away. Unlike the sudden late breaking of the levee experience against the Ticats or the instant flash flood that surged forth against the Argos, this felt like a team that forgot to turn the faucet off all the way. A subtle drip that was allowed to persist throughout the night due to a mix of chronic conservatism, undisciplined play, and pre-existing defensive flaws slowly filled the basin while B.C. wasn\u2019t paying attention, and suddenly spilled over the edge in the dying moments.<\/p>\n

By all rights, this game should have been over the moment that Crum was forced to throw incomplete on third-and-19 after a Kalil Pimpleton blindside block penalty. However, head coach Buck Pierce played it safe with back-to-back run calls, knowing he was already at the edge of Sean Whyte\u2019s somewhat-limited range. Nitpicking that decision seems harsh when a successful kick would have sealed the game, though a first down would have been just as good or better. Nevertheless, the field goal sailed wide, and a major penalty on the ensuing return set the stage for heartbreak.<\/p>\n

Even in a prevent defence, Jalon Edwards-Cooper was caught napping on a double move by Pimpleton for a 52-yard bomb on the next play. The 28-year-old was a liability at times in his return to the lineup \u2014 both in terms of his play and his continuing penalty problems \u2014 and I don\u2019t know how you justify continuing to put him on the field after he committed such a cardinal sin. That set up Eugene Lewis to beat Robert Carter Jr. on a slant for the touchdown, allowing Lewis Ward to seal the one-point victory.<\/p>\n

There was far more to this defeat than that final drive. Penalties and self-inflicted wounds on offence loomed large, while a failure to properly adjust to Crum\u2019s rushing threat as the night went on will haunt the team. Even so, fans will rightfully focus on the trend that has vexed them all year: a defence that continues to roll over in the biggest moments and constantly cedes momentum.<\/p>\n

Non va Bene<\/p>\n

As previously stated, this was far from B.C.\u2019s worst defensive outing of the year, but compounding losses forces us to talk about the pitchforks and torches gathered outside the gate. A growing segment of the fan base wants Mike Benevides\u2019 head on a spike outside the castle wall, and giving him the benefit of the doubt has become harder and harder.<\/p>\n

To be clear, I have had nothing but positive personal interactions with Benevides, and I\u2019m not calling for anybody\u2019s job. With that said, it would be a dereliction of duty not to frankly discuss his future. Even if B.C. remains middle of the road in many defensive categories, the inconsistencies and repeated rock-bottom collapses hint at a unit in need of a change.<\/p>\n

The question is, does that change need to be leadership, scheme, or personnel? It\u2019s a refrain that we\u2019ve been humming in B.C. for several years now, and I\u2019ve often been most convinced of the latter. The unit that Benevides has been forced to field has significant structural flaws, and an offseason emphasis by the front office on toughness and grit hasn\u2019t had the desired effect at all. Look no further than the linebacker tandem of Micah Awe and Josh Woods on Friday, who notched eight total tackles apiece but were hardly noticeable despite that level of activity. Deontai Williams is another who brings the physicality the team sought, but hasn\u2019t been worth his price tag in coverage. This defence can yap with the best of them and carries a big stick, but they are scarce on actual playmakers.<\/p>\n

Even so, it does not yet appear that their coordinator has figured out how to effectively deploy the misfit toys at his disposal, despite repeatedly re-shuffling the deck. The players continue to claim that it is their errors, rather than the coaching, that is to blame for the collapses, but the buck has to stop somewhere.<\/p>\n

Mid-year coaching changes are almost always a disaster, and under normal circumstances, I wouldn\u2019t even raise the possibility. However, B.C. is in the bizarre situation of having last year\u2019s defensive coordinator, Ryan Phillips, already on staff, after they demoted, rather than fired him, to save on the operations cap. That awkward dynamic was explored and largely dismissed over the course of the offseason, but it is worth paying attention to again now.<\/p>\n

I have gotten no sense that there is a rift in the locker room between disciples of Phillips and Benevides, but that was also the case with the quarterbacks last year\u2026 until it wasn\u2019t. As the team continues to flounder on one side of the ball more than the other, switching back to the defensive playcaller who looked so promising in 2022 and 2023 could become increasingly enticing.<\/p>\n

With that said, Phillips\u2019 defensive back group is the one that has struggled the most this year. They haven\u2019t generated takeaways and are playing with none of the legitimate swagger that he once imbued them with. Again, the question becomes whether that is a personnel problem or the side effect of a potentially lame duck coach, but you have to know the answer before you even consider a change.<\/p>\n

Numerical fibs<\/p>\n

B.C.\u2019s offence didn\u2019t light the world on fire in this game, but they certainly weren\u2019t responsible for the loss either.<\/p>\n

In rapidly changing and often difficult weather conditions, Nathan Rourke was a relatively efficient 22-of-32 for 284 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Neither of those turnovers was on his shoulders, as the first came on a perfect throw to Keon Hatcher that the receiver bobbled up in the air of his own accord to gift Ottawa scoring position. The second came on the game\u2019s final play, a desperate Hail Mary heave that could only ever have two outcomes.<\/p>\n

The Canadian QB\u2019s stat line was also influenced by a couple of outright drops, most notably a shot over the deep middle to Justin McInnis on the last play of the first quarter. Hatcher also let one bounce directly off his chest in uncharacteristic fashion, further fudging the box score.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that Rourke should be fully content with his performance. It would have been nice to see him take over against a weak Redblacks defence, but he never truly did. The elements likely contributed to that, especially on two key misses that will give him nightmares all week.<\/p>\n

An early throw to McInnis in the end zone sailed far too high for the receiver to corral, forcing a field goal, and an early fourth-quarter shot to Stanley Berryhill III with a step on his defender wasn\u2019t properly placed, hand-cuffing the receiver and creating another dropped ball. If either of those passes had been completed, this might have been a different ball game.<\/p>\n

Quarters for the laundromat<\/p>\n

At this stage, the referees ought to start outsourcing their laundry duties to the B.C. Lions\u2019 equipment staff, given how dirty the team is making their flags.<\/p>\n

The Leos were already the second-most penalized team in the league entering Friday, and nine infractions for 105 yards isn\u2019t going to help matters, especially given that five were majors. Worst of all, the team was dinged five times in the fourth quarter for avoidable penalties, contributing to their collapse.<\/p>\n

First, it was Jalon Edwards-Cooper, who already took a bad illegal contact penalty in the first quarter to erase a sack, getting into it with Drew Desjarlais. Cristophe Beaulieu also lost his cool in a battle with Bralon Addison, and noted good guy Andrew Peirson uncharacteristically took a bad unnecessary roughness penalty to put Rourke in second-and-24. B.C. players weren\u2019t the instigators in any of those situations, but they were the ones who got caught, which is frankly worse.<\/p>\n

Add in a Kory Woodruff holding penalty that forced a field goal and a late hit by punter Carl Meyer that set the stage for the winning drive, and you have one of the worst disciplined quarters I\u2019ve seen all year.<\/p>\n

Buck Pierce has been everything that was promised as an offensive guru, but his failure to impose discipline has been a black mark on his first season as head coach. Either he hasn\u2019t properly sent the message, or players aren\u2019t responding to how it\u2019s been sent, because bad penalties are a weekly problem. After too much surrendered yardage, plus a bevy of fines, an ejection, and a suspension this year, enough is enough. Either swing the hammer now, or write off the season at the zebras\u2019 discretion.<\/p>\n

The sickest man in Canada<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard not to feel bad for Sean Whyte after his critical late-game miss. The veteran kicker has been the most accurate leg in the CFL this season \u2014 and one of the most accurate of all-time \u2014 but he simply mishit the 45-yard deciding field goal after making four in a row earlier.<\/p>\n

Whyte has always been clutch in those moments for B.C., even if his leg strength has sent more winners squeaking past the crossbar than flying into the back net. He looked like he was about ready to puke afterwards, and sadly made his way to the locker room alone immediately at the final whistle.<\/p>\n

The Lions made too many other mistakes to pin this loss on him. Here\u2019s hoping he\u2019ll get a shot at redemption next week.<\/p>\n

Dodging a bullet<\/p>\n

I was briefly afraid for the state of the Lions\u2019 Canadian receiver depth, as Justin McInnis looked to be favouring one leg after his early drop, and Jevon Cottoy had a knee injury scare. Both players returned to the game, and the former lit it up from that point on.<\/p>\n

McInnis finished with seven catches for 148 yards, including a stunning contested high ball in the second quarter and an impactful spin-and-run for a long gain on a scoring drive. His 51-yard touchdown might have been the easiest play of the day, as nobody picked him up in coverage and he streaked wide open for the easy pitch-and-catch. It\u2019s reassuring to know that B.C.\u2019s defence isn\u2019t the only one guilty of blowing assignments, but I\u2019ll leave that to Santino Filoso to dissect.<\/p>\n

Biblical reversal<\/p>\n

The silver lining on Friday was the play of the B.C. Lions\u2019 defensive line, which generated consistent pressure and effectively used slants to shut down William Stanback despite the absences of Sione Teuhema, Christian Covington, and DeWayne Hendrix. Tomasi Laulile, Marcus Moore, and Kemoko Turay all had their moments, but defensive tackle Jonah Tavai was the star, and I\u2019d argue he was the best player on the field for either team.<\/p>\n

In the biblical story, Jonah gets swallowed by a whale, but it was Tavai who was doing the swallowing in Ottawa, as he amassed six tackles and a sack. Things kicked off on the very first series, when he caved in Parker Moorer for a beautiful sack that was erased by penalty. Fortunately, he ended that drive with decisive inside penetration against the run to force a punt.<\/p>\n

Drive after drive, it was Tavai who generated the key plays and big moments. He stuffed Bralon Addison like a Build-A-Bear on one inside run, then turned around to make a highlight reel tackle for loss later that drive. His bull-rushing led directly to sacks by Turay and Laulile, although the first was erased by a facemask. He also got to Crum for one himself, tossing Jacob Ruby aside like a dirty shirt.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this will be the game when people across the league finally clue into how good Tavai is, because he rarely gets the headlines as an interior run stuffer. Only Calgary\u2019s Jaylon Hutchings \u2014 my front-runner for Most Outstanding Defensive Player \u2014 and Saskatchewan\u2019s Caleb Sanders have graded out better at the position this season.<\/p>\n

Seventh heaven<\/p>\n

Be still, my beating heart. The B.C. Lions have finally scored a return touchdown.<\/p>\n

Seven McGee, who had a punt return score called back against Edmonton earlier this year, was virtually untouched on a 93-yard romp in the third quarter, which gave B.C. a 17-point lead. His cuts were sudden and decisive, shredding through a struggling Ottawa cover team. Even without the major, I thought Friday was the most dangerous he\u2019s looked all season.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere on special teams, Kalil Pimpleton always looked a millisecond away from breaking loose, but the Lions didn\u2019t allow the big bust. The punt return unit also deserves some love for sniffing out an onside punt attempt early on and spoiling Ottawa\u2019s best laid plans.<\/p>\n

My guys<\/p>\n

Friday marked the debut of a couple of Lions prospects that I\u2019m extremely high on, though neither made much of an impression.<\/p>\n

Levi Bell, a wrecking ball from Texas State, stepped in as a rotational defensive end and played sparingly, which isn\u2019t surprising since he was signed last week. I\u2019ll give him the grace to learn the Canadian game before solving B.C.\u2019s edge rush issues.<\/p>\n

Cam Stone, a lockdown prospect out of Hawaii, started at cornerback after Garry Peters was scratched late due to a knee injury and made two tackles. He didn\u2019t look out of place and did well to break up a trick pass from Justin Hardy to Eugene Lewis, but still has more to show.<\/p>\n

In the case of both players, they would be in the NFL based on their college production and athleticism, if not for their size. Guys like Tavai and Robert Carter Jr. are a similar story, and I expect Bell and Stone to have that type of impact in the long run.<\/p>\n

Artificially unintelligent<\/p>\n

TSN has made some much-needed tweaks and improvements to their broadcast product this year \u2014 and yes, the refreshingly informative sideline hits from the wild-haired and sometimes abrasive Luke Willson are a very big part of that. However, I can\u2019t be the only one who isn\u2019t vibing with their AI-generated graphics packages.<\/p>\n

At first glance, those admittedly infrequent interludes look extremely impressive, but they are like a trick image that gets more distorted the longer you stare. It all seems slick until you realize that the player running across the screen has a blurry orange blob on the side of his helmet instead of a logo, plays for the \u201cLHHY\u201d according to the writing on his jersey, and doesn\u2019t have the correct number of fingers. And don\u2019t even get me started on the bizarre amalgamation of Micah Awe and wildebeest that began to take shape as that graphic played out.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m wary of artificial intelligence in the creative process at the best of times, and, to me, the quality of the juice just isn\u2019t worth the squeeze here. Longtime TSN producer Chris Edwards wrote on X earlier this season that the AI segments have actually added cost and workload to their production team rather than reduced it, so why not invest that in custom graphics that don\u2019t make your head spin when you look closely? Obviously, I\u2019m the ultimate uninformed layman when it comes to this topic, but it remains a pet peeve that takes me out of the game.<\/p>\n

The Dumb<\/p>\n

My Regina-based colleague, Joel Gasson, has made a career out of listing the good, the bad, and the dumb for every game he covers. This contest would have provided him plenty of fodder for the final category.<\/p>\n

On the positive side, there was Stanley Berryhill screeching to a halt at the line of scrimmage to stop from going offside ahead of McInnis\u2019 big catch-and-run. He looked like the Road Runner stopping at a cliff\u2019s edge in a Looney Tunes cartoon, but it proved effective.<\/p>\n

Less amusing for Lions\u2019 fans was the fact that Deontai Williams missed Dustin Crum on his first of two touchdown runs and instead tackled defensive end Mathieu Betts as he chased the play from behind. It was one of the worst cases of friendly fire I\u2019ve ever seen and appeared to shake Betts up, though he did return.<\/p>\n

Finally, for radio listeners, the roof above Bob \u2018The Moj\u2019 Marjanovich and Giulio Caravatta\u2019s broadcast booth caught on fire due to a fireworks incident and had to be doused. That has to be a CFL first, and fans of the duo are grateful that their accommodations didn\u2019t go up in flames as quickly as the team they were providing commentary for.<\/p>\n

Homegrown talent<\/p>\n

Apologies to my regular readers, as today\u2019s column was considerably delayed due to my high school coaching responsibilities. A trip to Vancouver Island for our opener \u2014 please don\u2019t ask how it went \u2014 didn\u2019t allow me to finish watching the game until after 2 a.m., and apparently the human body needs sleep. Who knew?<\/p>\n

These minor delays will happen occasionally for the rest of the year, depending on the schedule, and they provide me with a great opportunity to remind you to support your local high school program in any way you can. Chances are, they don\u2019t have enough volunteers, resources, or people willing to cheer them on, so get in on the ground floor with these amazing athletes.<\/p>\n

For anyone wondering, the Lions have a whopping six players on their roster who come from BC High School Football programs: Jacob Bond (South Kamloops), Michael Couture (Centennial), Jackson Findlay (Vancouver College), Ben Hladik (Vernon), Adam Konar (Vancouver College), and Christian Covington (Vancouver College).<\/p>\n

Knocking on death\u2019s door<\/p>\n

The Lions have now dropped to 5-7 on the season, and panic should be starting to set in. Through consecutive losses, they\u2019ve allowed both the Argos and Redblacks to creep within one game of taking away their crossover spot, while Edmonton could theoretically tie them for fourth in the West with an upset win on Saturday.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the product of bad injury luck or bad bounces. B.C. has nobody to blame but themselves \u2014 and that applies to the players, coaches, and front office staff. They need to figure it out quickly, because the stretch run includes matchups with all three of the teams chasing them, as well as two against Calgary and another against Saskatchewan. You can\u2019t miss on any more gimmes with those games on the slate, and next Friday\u2019s rematch with Ottawa could determine how the season is remembered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy: B.C. Lions The B.C. Lions had every reason to be optimistic heading into Friday\u2019s matchup with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-128794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}