{"id":782513,"date":"2026-07-05T21:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782513\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T21:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:11:08","slug":"davis-next-three-cfl-games-will-reveal-roughriders-as-contenders-or-pretenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782513\/","title":{"rendered":"Davis: Next three CFL games will reveal Roughriders as contenders or pretenders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe it\u2019s comforting for the Saskatchewan Roughriders to know this:<\/p>\n

Even on their worst day they can defeat the CFL\u2019s worst team.<\/p>\n

They showed that Friday by beating the winless, feckless Ottawa Redblacks 27-22<\/a> while getting impressive performances from only a handful of Roughriders like newcomer Mathew Sexton, receiver KeeSean Johnson, safety Jaxon Ford and short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a crazy week,\u201d said Sexton, who scored a game-turning punt return touchdown in his first CFL game, during a postgame interview with TSN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we prepare. You come in every day. We set a standard as a team, from a receiver standpoint, quarterback, special teams. There\u2019s a standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although that less-than-awesome showing may beat the 0-4, self-destructing Redblacks, it won\u2019t work against the stronger opponents appearing next on Saskatchewan\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n

The explosive Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, followed by another scheduling bye and a home-and-home set against the Edmonton Elks. Edmonton had been the CFL\u2019s last unbeaten team before falling 36-24 to the previously winless B.C. Lions on Saturday.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of time to prepare, to get better, to meet their standards as the 3-1 Roughriders head into a three-game, early season stretch that will ultimately show where the reigning Grey Cup champions sit in the CFL hierarchy.<\/p>\n

Have the Roughriders taken a step backwards since hoisting the trophy or can they really win back-to-back championships for the first time in franchise history?<\/p>\n

Judging by their two recent performances, which includes a 40-34 setback against the Toronto Argonauts in Regina<\/a>, it\u2019s still a mystery. The champs started quickly in their first two games before surrendering leads and rallying to beat B.C. and the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n

Then came successive shoddy performances, emphasized by not scoring any first-quarter points while falling behind 13-0 and 10-0 respectively against the Argos and Redblacks.<\/p>\n

Of course there are always midseason blips, perfect seasons are virtually impossible and the Roughriders can be happy they salvaged a road victory.<\/p>\n

But they need quicker starts. Head coach Corey Mace said last week his players need to have more fun. And there are some other areas that need improvement.<\/p>\n

Since losing three of their four starting defensive linemen from last season, <\/a>the Roughriders haven\u2019t been able to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks. That results in fewer turnovers.<\/p>\n

Through four games the Roughriders have forced only three turnovers. The Redblacks demonstrated the importance of turnovers, converting a first-quarter interception and blocked punt into a 10-0 lead.<\/p>\n

There were moments early in Friday\u2019s game when Redblacks pivot Jake Maier, one of five Cup-winning Riders who joined Ottawa in the off-season, looked more proficient than Saskatchewan starter Trevor Harris, who he backed up in 2025.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s unfathomable. And it didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

It certainly wasn\u2019t Harris\u2019 best game. Quite the opposite, he admitted during a postgame interview with TSN.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just came out a little flat offensively,\u201d said Harris. \u201cWe didn\u2019t execute early on and I played my worst game of the year so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s the worst I\u2019ll play this year. So it was a good job by our defence, good job by our special teams picking us up.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that star receivers Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker dropped numerous passes, until Harris connected with the former for a crucial first down in the dying minutes.<\/p>\n

Starting the season red hot, Emilus and Schaffer-Baker had totalled 41 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns before getting injured and missing practices during this past week, which may explain their sub-par performances.<\/p>\n

Johnson compensated brilliantly for them, grabbing nine passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

Sexton, a backup receiver playing his first CFL game, ran through Ottawa punter Noah Gettman\u2019s comical tackle attempt for a 101-yard return touchdown that put the Roughriders ahead 20-13 early in the second half.<\/p>\n

Ford, starting at safety in a defensive backfield trying to overcome the losses of injured compatriots Rolan Milligan and Nelson Lokombo, stopped a third-down, fourth-quarter gamble by Redblacks short-yardage QB Bryson Barnes.<\/p>\n

Stevens, Saskatchewan\u2019s unstoppable short-yardage QB, steamrolled tacklers while killing the fourth-quarter clock.<\/p>\n

Those were the highlights.<\/p>\n

There were some other successes, such as rookie kicker Alex Hale making both field goals and three converts plus the Roughriders ending a horrifying two-game streak of surrendering special-teams touchdowns.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t really up to the standard expected by the reigning Grey Cup champions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maybe it\u2019s comforting for the Saskatchewan Roughriders to know this: Even on their worst day they can defeat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[276911,49,48,521,522,276177,276912,276178,158032,520,276176,82],"class_list":["post-782513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-276911","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-category-cfl","tag-category-football","tag-category-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-category-sports","tag-cfl","tag-leader-post","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782513","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=782513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}