The first half of the CFL contest between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night did not go well for the home team’s defence.
Argos quarterback Chad Kelly seemed to be able to move the ball at will at times, with the standout pivot throwing for 277 yards in the opening 30 minutes and striking for three touchdowns through the air.
That translated into a 22-12 Toronto lead at the break, and meant one thing — Saskatchewan was going to need to make adjustments to get back in the game, especially when the Argos had the ball.
So how did defensive coordinator Joshua Bell and crew do?
A second-half shutout, with the only points Toronto picked up coming from the fourth-quarter safety, and that led to a 28-24 victory for the Roughriders at a sold-out Mosaic Stadium.
As solid a turnaround as Saskatchewan has had all season, and one that coach Corey Mace was impressed with. Different packages helped get some key two-and-outs as well as a couple of second-half sacks.
“I thought Bell did a good job switching up (the game plan) a little bit with some of the calls, and we were able to get pressure with four,” Mace said postgame on the Rider Broadcast Network. “It was just a great job by the coaches to adjust there at halftime and keep those guys accountable on the other side.”
Defensive back Marcus Sayles was a standout on defence for the Riders, as he finished the game with seven tackles, a special teams tackle and — in a huge momentum-changing play — a two-point convert scoop and score late in the first half.
He felt there weren’t any huge changes on defence at the half, but the small adjustments they did make had a tangible difference.
“We always got our rules and we always got our keys to our defence that we just got to lock in on,” Sayles said. “Pretty much, we just had to play a little bit tighter on the receivers and just challenge them a little bit.”
That came from plenty of conversations on the sidelines and in the dressing room at halftime, and the realization that there was no reason for Toronto to be dominating offensively.
“We feel like we can run with anybody. We got speed all over the place,” Sayles said. “When we challenge receivers, we take away the quarterback's first read and he's got to go through his whole progression. Then when our D line gets to eat and the way they are, it's going to be hard to beat us.”
Sayles admitted that Kelly was a problem out there, but he was confident in his teammates in the defensive secondary coming up in the key moments.
“We have great players all over the place and if we play a little bit tighter and we don't give up explosives, it's going to be hard to beat us every time,” he said.
The Riders will look for more of the same in their next contest on Sunday, as they’ll face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic. Kick-off is at 5 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.
