Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The Saskatchewan Roughriders spotted the Toronto Argonauts a 15-point lead before eventually winning 28-24 in Week 13.
Entering the game on a two-game skid following losses to Hamilton and B.C., the Roughriders were on the ropes early against Toronto before Saskatchewan was able to battle back in the game to secure the win, with the Argonauts providing some assistance.
In the end, it’s a win for the Roughriders, who improved to 7-4 in the West Division playoff race, which has them one win back of first-place Edmonton and one win ahead of third-place Winnipeg, who happens to be Saskatchewan’s next opponent.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from Saturday’s game:
10 Thoughts
1- Coming off two straight losses, it wasn’t exactly an inspiring first half for the Roughriders on Saturday night. Instead, it was kind of a strange start as Argonauts Chad Kelly looked to be in quite the rhythm while Saskatchewan’s offence was ho-hum through the first 30 minutes. In the second half, the Roughriders had a much better game plan against Kelly, who took a big hit by James Vaughters early in the third quarter which maybe threw him off his game, while Saskatchewan’s offence played considerably better, but not perfect, in the second half as they erased a 15-point deficit with 16 second-half points. The Roughriders clearly made some halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball that worked.
2- The five points scored by Saskatchewan at the end of the first half were also crucial in an eventual four-point game. After Toronto scored to make it 22-7, Roughriders defensive back Marcus Sayles returned a blocked convert for two points, which is a play you don’t see every week, before the Roughriders added a 55-yard field goal on a drive that lasted less than 20 seconds. That made it a more manageable 10-point hole at halftime, while also giving Saskatchewan some momentum heading into the second half.
3- An offside penalty by the Argonauts might have been the biggest — or at least costliest — play of the game. Toronto’s defence stopped Saskatchewan on the four-yard line before the Roughriders lined up for a field goal which would have tied the game. Instead, an Argonauts defender jumped on the hard count snap and it gave Saskatchewan a fresh set of downs, and eventual touchdown as Tommy Stevens plunged into the end zone. Those are simple penalties that cannot be taken in pro football and the Roughriders benefited immensely from it. Had they tied the game instead with three minutes left, who knows what the ending would have been.
4- After throwing at least one interception in each of the last eight games, Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris protected the ball well on Saturday with no picks. He also recovered his own fumble in the end zone in the fourth quarter, which was a massive play that resulted in a safety instead of a touchdown for Toronto. That recovery was sandwiched between two massive fourth-quarter touchdown drives that obviously proved to be the difference. Harris ended the night with 313 yards and two touchdowns, including one to KeeSean Johnson, who racked up 146 yards on 10 catches as he now had 990 yards on the season. He was a feature target for Harris coming into the season but without Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker, Johnson has been even more important of a piece in the lineup.
5- While Johnson had another monster game, Canadians Dhel Duncan-Busby and Daniel Wiebe stepped up for the Roughriders who are playing without those top Canadian stars in Emilus and Schaffer-Baker. Duncan-Busby had a touchdown for a second straight game, to go along with 82 yards, while Wiebe made several clutch receptions in a six-catch, 56-yard performance. If there’s an unsung hero of the game award, Wiebe gets it. As we saw plenty of times in training camp, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound University of Saskatchewan Huskies grad is elusive with sneaky speed. The Roughriders would be wise to continue to utilize him.
6- Without injured starters Rolan Milligan and Tevaughn Campbell, Saskatchewan’s secondary has been a work in progress this year. And while the recent two-game skid wasn’t all on the defence, the Roughriders made some changes to the group this week as rookie Seyi Oladipo took over for coverage linebacker Antoine Brooks, who had been missing some tackles lately, while James Burgess came in at cornerback for Nelson Lokombo, who moved to safety for Jaxon Ford. It wasn’t the best first half for the group, as Kelly had nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns, but the group clamped down in the second half, not allowing a point before ending the night with two interceptions as Burgess recorded one in the first half before Lokombo added one in the second half.
7- Down by seven points in the third quarter, the Roughriders got the ball to Toronto’s eight-yard line before Stevens came in for a pair of rushing attempts, which got Saskatchewan down to the three-yard line. The Riders then called upon Harris to throw on third-and-three, as the pass fell incomplete. Stevens hadn’t been overly effective in the game and it felt like eight yards was a little too far away to be calling the short-yardage package in. Leave Harris in and, even if you gamble on third down, give him three throws to try and complete an eight-yard pass. Surely Johnson would have been open at some point. Instead, the Roughriders came away with no points. I’m not saying kick a field goal and leave with points, which isn’t a bad decision either, but a short-yardage package from the eight-yard line should maybe be reconsidered even if Stevens has looked to be unstoppable at times this year.
8- After being burned by Argonauts kick returner Janarion Grant the last time these two teams met back in June, the Roughriders were not allowing Grant to affect the game as they kicked it away from every chance they could. The short kickoffs gave up field position, while a punt also went out of bounds, but it didn’t allow Grant to make any magic happen. In the end, it turned out to be an effective strategy. Speaking of special teams, since the missed fourth-quarter convert didn’t cost the Roughriders a win, we’re going to save any talk about kicker Alex Hale for another week. However, credit to him for making the 55-yard field goal in the first half, which was clutch especially after missing a 50-yarder minutes prior.
9- With the Argonauts not electing to run the ball whatsoever, with only four attempts, Saskatchewan’s pass rush had more opportunity to rush the quarterback. They mixed in a few more blitzes than previous weeks with defensive tackle Caleb Sanders notching a pair of sacks, while Kelly was hit several more times. According to Roughriders historian Rob Vanstone, the four attempts are the fewest rushing attempts against in a game in Roughriders history. The previous total was five, which happened four times and not since 2008. The Argonauts didn’t abandon the run game, it never even came on the airplane to Saskatchewan.
10- In the end, it was a win but not a very convincing one. Where does that put the confidence level heading into the Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who are coming off an inspiring win over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday? At 6-5, the Bombers are nipping at the heels of the 7-4 Roughriders in the West Division playoff race, which makes the upcoming home-and-home series as crucial as ever. However, as anyone who has witnessed a Labour Day Classic over the years, the teams’ records going into the game rarely matter and it usually turns into a slugfest. Those two points up for grabs just happen to mean a little more this year.
