The Saskatchewan Roughriders won, but did they really win in the big picture?
The Riders closed out the regular season with a 16-9 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday in a game filled with penalty flags and backups getting playing time.
The positive result means the Riders finished 10-8 and are staying in the West Division for the CFL playoffs. That’s where finishing the campaign on a high note could lead to some pessimism.
There’s little doubt the Riders are now on a more difficult path in defence of their Grey Cup championship.
Not only do the B.C. Lions – now officially Saskatchewan’s next opponent – have a better record than the Toronto Argonauts, but they crushed the Riders in their last two meetings. The Riders could have faced an Argos team with 9-9 mark that’s worse than theirs, to say nothing of how they’re dealing with an injury to risk-reward quarterback Chad Kelly.
The East side, at least to win one game, sure seems like the easier path. The Riders will now turn their attention to the Lions, which we’ll try to do, too, since there’s not much to read into this understudy-heavy affair.
The parts that matter for next week are (much of) the focus of Riders Morning After.
Why they won
Again, you can make an argument that they didn’t win given the divisional semifinal opponent is B.C. rather than Toronto.
Riders coach Corey Mace started the week declaring how important this game was to his team and he’d dress a full roster. By Wednesday, he flipped his view on things and starters began dropping like flies. Trevor Harris, KeeSean Johnson, A.J. Ouellette, James Vaughters, Jermarcus Hardrick, DaMarcus Fields, and Daniel Johnson were all ruled out by the time the depth chart was released.
Even stars like Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus, players who’ve been sidelined by injuries, received little action against the Elks.
The Elks, who’d already clinched the West Division and had even less to play for than Saskatchewan, went with the same approach.
Unsurprisingly, this game was about as sloppy as it could have been. It felt like there was a flag after every play. The two offences struggled mightily to move the ball. Wicked winds were a nightmare for the kickers as Elks’ Vincent Blanchard and Riders’ Brett Lauther each had a point-after attempt miss after taking sharp turns.
The Riders won because Tommy Stevens scored two touchdowns after penalties by Edmonton put the Riders on the one-yard line both times. The first of those scoring-drives saw 62 of the 67 yards the Riders needed gifted to them by Elks fouls. Stevens can thank the Elks for allowing him to get his 17th touchdown of the season and break George Reed’s single-season franchise record.
Yeah, this wasn’t pretty.
Game ball
The second half of the season was miserable for the Riders. They lost four straight contests and six of eight before pulling last week’s matchup against Montreal out of thin air on the last drive and then taking Saturday’s goofy game.
So, with many players sitting out or getting restricted minutes, it’s important to highlight examples from those who could actually help the cause next week – and potentially beyond.
Defensive back Jonathan Edouard, who showed some usefulness as a starter amid injuries earlier in the season, had a fine showing against the Elks. Two of the three tackles he made on special teams were thunderous hits. He brought down two opponents on defence, too. He also recovered a fumble made by Elks running back ShunDerrick Powell deep in Saskatchewan territory.
Though he got banged up in the fourth quarter, Edouard put forth the type of performance against the Elks that should give the coaching staff confidence to use him next week if needed.
Couldn’t have done it without
Running back Deon Jackson ripped off a couple energetic dashes in his CFL debut and collected 44 yards on nine carries with the a long of 23 yards. But since he was likely merely receiving spot duty, let’s zoom in on someone with the same potential-for-playoff-impact criteria.
Depth receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby had the most targets of anyone wearing green and white with eight. He caught four of those passes for 56 yards. The key was 37 of those yards came after a catch. His quickness and shiftiness were on display Saturday.
Harris, watching on the sidelines, had to feel good about watching Duncan-Busby. There’s been so much uncertainty with the receiving corps for the last three months because of all the injuries. Saturday’s showing from DDB could encourage Harris to rely on him a bit more against the Lions.
It’s worth noting Habakkuk Baldonado getting his first sack in his second stint with the Riders and Seyi Oladipo Jr. also bringing down Elks quarterback Taylor Powell in his return to the lineup are also good signs.
Play of the game
Considering it was a contest that had little in terms of offensive flair and featured six combined turnovers, we’re going outside the box with this one.
Lauther’s extra-point attempt after Stevens’ first touchdown was heading dead centre until the prairie wind hooked it violently at seemingly the last moment. The look on Lauther’s face was one of disbelief.
That was last time Lauther tried to kick the ball through the uprights. The Riders opted to go for two points after Stevens’ second trip to the end zone. They were unsuccessful.
The stat that matters
Penalties, penalties, penalties.
The Elks were flagged 14 times for 146 yards. The Riders weren’t much better. They were called for 11 infractions that resulted in 115 yards lost.
The overall play in this one was beyond undisciplined. All the more reason to focus on the individual performances that might matter.
