Darrell Davis
Regina Leader-Post
Maybe it’s comforting for the Saskatchewan Roughriders to know this:
Even on their worst day they can defeat the CFL’s worst team.
They showed that Friday by beating the winless, feckless Ottawa Redblacks 27-22 while getting impressive performances from only a handful of Roughriders like newcomer Mathew Sexton, receiver KeeSean Johnson, safety Jaxon Ford and short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens.
“It’s been a crazy week,” said Sexton, who scored a game-turning punt return touchdown in his first CFL game, during a postgame interview with TSN.
“That’s how we prepare. You come in every day. We set a standard as a team, from a receiver standpoint, quarterback, special teams. There’s a standard.”
Although that less-than-awesome showing may beat the 0-4, self-destructing Redblacks, it won’t work against the stronger opponents appearing next on Saskatchewan’s schedule.
The explosive Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, followed by another scheduling bye and a home-and-home set against the Edmonton Elks. Edmonton had been the CFL’s last unbeaten team before falling 36-24 to the previously winless B.C. Lions on Saturday.
There’s plenty of time to prepare, to get better, to meet their standards as the 3-1 Roughriders head into a three-game, early season stretch that will ultimately show where the reigning Grey Cup champions sit in the CFL hierarchy.
Have the Roughriders taken a step backwards since hoisting the trophy or can they really win back-to-back championships for the first time in franchise history?
Judging by their two recent performances, which includes a 40-34 setback against the Toronto Argonauts in Regina, it’s still a mystery. The champs started quickly in their first two games before surrendering leads and rallying to beat B.C. and the Calgary Stampeders.
Then came successive shoddy performances, emphasized by not scoring any first-quarter points while falling behind 13-0 and 10-0 respectively against the Argos and Redblacks.
Of course there are always midseason blips, perfect seasons are virtually impossible and the Roughriders can be happy they salvaged a road victory.
But they need quicker starts. Head coach Corey Mace said last week his players need to have more fun. And there are some other areas that need improvement.
Since losing three of their four starting defensive linemen from last season, the Roughriders haven’t been able to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks. That results in fewer turnovers.
Through four games the Roughriders have forced only three turnovers. The Redblacks demonstrated the importance of turnovers, converting a first-quarter interception and blocked punt into a 10-0 lead.
There were moments early in Friday’s game when Redblacks pivot Jake Maier, one of five Cup-winning Riders who joined Ottawa in the off-season, looked more proficient than Saskatchewan starter Trevor Harris, who he backed up in 2025.
That’s unfathomable. And it didn’t last long.
It certainly wasn’t Harris’ best game. Quite the opposite, he admitted during a postgame interview with TSN.
“We just came out a little flat offensively,” said Harris. “We didn’t execute early on and I played my worst game of the year so far.
“I think it’s the worst I’ll play this year. So it was a good job by our defence, good job by our special teams picking us up.”
It didn’t help that star receivers Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker dropped numerous passes, until Harris connected with the former for a crucial first down in the dying minutes.
Starting the season red hot, Emilus and Schaffer-Baker had totalled 41 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns before getting injured and missing practices during this past week, which may explain their sub-par performances.
Johnson compensated brilliantly for them, grabbing nine passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in Ottawa.
Sexton, a backup receiver playing his first CFL game, ran through Ottawa punter Noah Gettman’s comical tackle attempt for a 101-yard return touchdown that put the Roughriders ahead 20-13 early in the second half.
Ford, starting at safety in a defensive backfield trying to overcome the losses of injured compatriots Rolan Milligan and Nelson Lokombo, stopped a third-down, fourth-quarter gamble by Redblacks short-yardage QB Bryson Barnes.
Stevens, Saskatchewan’s unstoppable short-yardage QB, steamrolled tacklers while killing the fourth-quarter clock.
Those were the highlights.
There were some other successes, such as rookie kicker Alex Hale making both field goals and three converts plus the Roughriders ending a horrifying two-game streak of surrendering special-teams touchdowns.
But it wasn’t really up to the standard expected by the reigning Grey Cup champions.
