To suggest avenging last week’s loss to the Edmonton Elks in Saturday’s rematch is imperative for the Saskatchewan Roughriders doesn’t do it justice. It’s more critical than that.
“You hate to say must-win so early in the season, but it’s a very, very, very important (game),” legendary Riders quarterback Darian Durant said Monday on the SportsCage. “This is the biggest game to date for the Riders. You don’t want to let Edmonton go up another two points.
“It’s as close to a must-win game as you could call it at this point in the season.”
The Riders now trail the Elks by four points for first place in the West Division standings, albeit with a game in hand, after last Thursday’s 36-34 loss.
The decisive points came courtesy of a 57-yard field goal by Elks kicker Vincent Blanchard on the last play. It’s a game the Riders could have – and probably should have – won for a variety of reasons.
That the Elks emerged victorious was an eye-opener to Durant.
“This was the test for me to see if Edmonton was for real,” he said. “They came out and showed the entire league that they’re for real.”
Durant was naturally quick to give flowers to a fellow quarterback in Cody Fajardo, deservedly so considering the former Rider threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns.
But there was more to it than that. He felt the Elks’ game plan was smart and executed to perfection.
“They wanted to make sure than they play actioned the Riders and put these linebackers in situations where they had to think,” Durant said. “They did a good job of confusing this Riders secondary and getting some big plays off and making it tough on this Riders team. Kudos to the Edmonton offence for just coming out throwing when the whole world knew that they’d be focused on (running back) Justin Rankin.”
Durant points to defensive backs Rolan Milligan Jr. and Tevaughn Campbell as the veterans who must lead the way when it comes to rethinking the group’s awareness in coverage.
“This needs to more so be a player-led meeting because these are just mistakes that the guys made themselves,” he said. “I don’t think coaching was the problem. I just think the guys had eyes in the wrong place and it’s just mental errors that caused them to give up some of these big plays.”
The Riders are behind the eight-ball in this home-and-home series given that they dropped the opener. Worse still, Durant noted, they dropped the opener at home.
A huge tilt – bigger than the last one – all with the desk stacked against them.
“It’s going to be tough for the Riders going on the road this week, especially after losing such a heartbreaking game. Edmonton’s going to be fired up,” Durant said. “It’s going to be tough to go out there and win.”
