REGINA — During every Rider Broadcast Network pregame show, former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman and current live game analyst Luc Mullinder offers his Three Keys to the Game. In a recurring segment this season, we’ll take a look at how the Riders met or missed when it came to those metrics and how big of an effect they had on the outcome.
As for the Week 4 match-up in against the Toronto Argonauts, well, let’s be charitable and say things didn’t go quite as well on any of the Keys compared to Saskatchewan’s winning efforts in the weeks prior.
1 – Take away the big plays from Toronto’s offence. Toronto has a boom or bust offence, and making sure to limit their yardage and opportunities to move the ball down the field will be crucial.
How did the Riders do? The very first play of the game said it all.
Toronto running back Samuel Hicks took a handoff from Chad Kelly and went 61 yards down to the Saskatchewan 18.
And while that drive ended in an interception, the Argos were able to get off more than a few long range passes on the day, including a pair at the end of the first half that led to an utterly demoralizing touchdown and a 20-17 lead for the Argos at the break.
None of this was unexpected, of course, as Kelly had come into the game with 400-plus yards passing over two games.
And while the Riders didn’t give up an inordinate number of deep balls and long runs, the ones the Argos did get were painful and crucial to their victory.
2 – Win the turnover battle. Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly likes to force passes on occasion, as part of the aforementioned boom or bust offence, and that makes him liable to interceptions. The Riders have made life miserable for risk-taking quarterbacks in the past, doing that could limit the Argos offence.
How did the Riders do? Nope.
Other than the pick on the opening drive, Kelly was pretty much perfect when it came to passing, eventually completing 23-of-30 for 321 yards, including more than a few high-risk throws that went for big plays.
Saskatchewan, on the other hand, had an end zone interception in the first half and then an incredibly untimely fumble deep in their own half in the fourth quarter that led to Toronto immediately scoring a major.
The Roughriders take immense pride in their ability to win the turnover battle, and not only did they not do so against an Argos offence that’s prone to giving up the ball, they were badly hurt both times they gave the ball away.
3 – Finish the game. Even though the Roughriders are 2-0 on the season, they’ve had a chance to put away teams in the second half and failed to do so, resulting in big comebacks for their opponents on both occasions. Put the hammer down in the second half and get the job done, comfortably this time.
How did the Riders do? Mixed bag tending toward the negative.
Saskatchewan did put up 17 points and were a single drive away from potentially winning the game, but Toronto had an answer for everything the Riders did all night, and that included the final 30 minutes.
It's a small body of work so early in the CFL season, but Saskatchewan’s tendency to let teams put up points in the second half while struggling to move the ball themselves was going to bite them, and Saturday was that time.
Maybe it’s halftime adjustments, maybe it’s the big plays to close out the first half giving the opposition all the momentum, but something is causing the Riders to struggle after the halftime break. Hopefully that changes, and soon.
The Riders are back in action next Friday night when they travel to Ottawa to face the Redblacks.
