The Saskatchewan Roughriders have spent the early part of this week looking in the mirror, searching for answers after a disappointing loss to the Calgary Stampeders left them with little room for error heading into the final stretch of the CFL regular season.
Saskatchewan fell 37-23 to Calgary on Friday night, extending its losing streak to three games. All three losses came against West Division opponents, meaning the Roughriders also surrendered the season series to each of those rivals.
For a team with championship aspirations, the timing could hardly be worse.
The Roughriders enter this week with an 8-7 record and a road date with the Montreal Alouettes, who have clinched first place in the East Division at 12-3. With the playoffs approaching, Saskatchewan needs to rediscover the consistency that helped it establish itself as one of the CFL's top teams earlier in the season.
After Friday's loss, head coach Corey Mace didn't hide his frustration when speaking with the Rider Broadcast Network.
“Three games there with those important head-to-head matchups and right now, we don't have that killer instinct to go ahead and take advantage of those,” Mace said. “We've got to figure out the whys of what's happening. I mean, there's some obvious things, but we can't come out there and play like that, specifically this time of year.”
Mace also accepted responsibility for finding a solution, pointing to execution and the need to put his players in better positions to succeed.
“We didn't execute throughout the game. So, that's me as a coach, whether that's getting the other coaches rolling or fine-tuning the details for the players. But ultimately we have opportunities like this.”
Those comments set the tone for the work that followed. Offensive coordinator Marc Mueller said the coaching staff went back to the film to identify what went wrong against Calgary and determine how to make the necessary adjustments before heading to Montreal.
“You get back, you try to figure out what didn't go the way we thought it would and why,” Mueller told the SportsCage. “And then you try to improve ourselves and get ready for a tough game this week in Montreal.”
Mueller said those difficult postgame reviews can provide some of the best opportunities for improvement, regardless of the result.
“It's not ever fun going into a rundown or a film session where you don't win,” Mueller said. “But that's where you get better. I think after the games is when you get the most improvement, whether you win or lose. And I think we took advantage of that.”
While the offensive performance against Calgary had positives, Mueller knows the bottom line has to be better.
“There was enough that was good there,” he said. “We didn't punt a whole bunch. But at the end of the day, we're in charge of when we score, so we've got to make sure that we're scoring more.”
Defensive coordinator Joshua Bell said the process starts with coaches examining their own performance and figuring out how they can better serve the players.
“You first look in the mirror,” Bell told SportsCage.com. “You look at yourself and see, what can I do to help? What can we do to help our players, our teammates, to be better?”
Bell said the coaching staff has examined whether it needs to simplify its approach rather than trying to do too much schematically.
“Maybe coaches, you may be calling too many plays. Maybe trying to be so smart with some things is not the right idea,” Bell said. “So keep it simple for success. It's something that we've been looking at.”
He also emphasized the importance of setting the right tone for the players, particularly when a team is trying to emerge from a difficult stretch.
“Making sure that we emit the right energy to our players because their attitude truly reflects leadership,” Bell said. “We believed in it when we played, and we believe in it even more now.”
The challenge only gets tougher in Montreal. The Alouettes have been one of the CFL's most consistent teams this season, and Bell expects them to test Saskatchewan in every phase of the game.
“Oh, the king of the mountain, that type of challenge,” Bell said when asked about facing Montreal. “They're going to pose a challenge to us schematically. They're going to challenge us mentally and physically, and they're going to test our camaraderie. You have to be good at all those intangibles. They're truly a team.”
Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander presents a particularly difficult assignment for the Roughriders defence. Bell praised Alexander's ability to create plays outside the structure of the offence but said Saskatchewan must remain disciplined and force him to make decisions from the pocket.
“He loves to play sandlot,” Bell said. “He makes a lot of amazing plays off platform. But he also, according to the film that we've seen, makes some bonehead plays as well.”
The Roughriders will look to limit explosive plays and make Alexander work for four quarters. The potential return of defensive back Tevaughn Campbell would also boost the defence against a Montreal receiving corps featuring Tyson Philpot.
Bell said Campbell's presence would add confidence to the secondary alongside players such as Marcus Sayles, Nelson Lokombo, and James Burgess Jr.
“When TC's there, regardless of what the coverage is, TC's there,” Bell said.
However, the Roughriders need more than a strong defensive performance. They need a complete effort after struggling to close out games against divisional opponents.
Saskatchewan's magic number to clinch a playoff berth is three, meaning any combination of Roughriders wins and Winnipeg Blue Bombers losses adding up to three would secure a postseason spot. The path could also be simplified to two Calgary losses and a Saskatchewan win.
But the Roughriders would prefer not to leave their postseason fate to other results.
A win in Montreal would provide a much-needed response to the three-game slide, restore some confidence and give Saskatchewan momentum heading toward the playoffs. Another loss would only increase pressure on a team that has struggled to deliver when the stakes are highest.
Mace challenged himself and his coaching staff to find answers after Friday's defeat. Early work has focused on accountability, simplifying where necessary, and improving the details that have been costing the Roughriders.
Now, the challenge is to turn those discussions into results.
The Roughriders and Alouettes on Thanksgiving Monday can be heard across the Rider Broadcast Network starting at 8 a.m.
