During every Rider Broadcast Network pregame show, former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman and current live game analyst Luc Mullinder offers his Three Keys to the Game. In a recurring segment this season, we’ll take a look at how the Riders met or missed when it came to those metrics and how big of an effect they had on the outcome.
This time around, two of the keys turned out very well and the other was the biggest factor in the Riders’ 31-24 loss at B.C. Place
1 – Lions are running, be run stoppers. The defensive line and linebackers have to be solid and continue with their run-stopping abilities. Get the stop on first down and force second and long.
How did the Riders do? Solid once again.
At this point, teams attempt to grind out a run game against Saskatchewan at their own peril. B.C. running back Zander Horvath had 10 carries for only 28 yards and teammate James Butler touched the ball only twice for four yards. The Lions did boost their overall total to 88 yards thanks to quarterback Nathan Rourke getting free a couple of times for 37, but for the most part, B.C.’s run game was stymied.
Now, that led to Rourke having to do a whole lot more passing, and that didn’t turn out so well for Saskatchewan in the end.
If the defence can find a way in future games to do a better job of locking down the opponents’ receivers while still doing what they do at the line of scrimmage, good times could be ahead for the Green and White.
2 – Make the Lions have a long field. Return teams for B.C. have been struggling, so take advantage of them and make them have to go as far as possible on every drive.
How did the Riders do? Really well.
The Lions came into the game with one of the worst overall return games in the CFL, and that didn’t change at all in Week 17.
All told, B.C. had three punt returns for 30 yards total and three kickoff returns for 48 yards. That was evident on the field, as the Riders managed to get to the Lions returners quickly and efficiently any time their special teams were out there..
Things went especially well in the second half, where Rourke found himself with a handful of long fields to contend with and on other than a couple of occasions could do little with it, leading to good field position for the Riders.
Unfortunately, Saskatchewan couldn’t take advantage of most of those short-range opportunities and B.C. would do just enough to grab the win.
3 – Rourke has to throw the football. Have to have a balanced pass rush, keep Rourke in the pocket and force him to use his second and third reads. Force him to make mistakes.
How did the Riders do? Oh boy.
Not only did Rourke not stay in the pocket, he made it his business to scramble as much as he could, which will come as absolutely no surprise for anyone who has watched the reigning CFL MOP over the years. And there were a few occasions where he escaped absolute disaster to make a big play and continue drives.
Rourke’s ability to extend plays with his legs is legendary at this point, and while he only had the aforementioned 37 yards on the ground, just evading the rush and rolling outside the tackles did enough to escape whatever the Riders defence threw at him.
All told, Rourke had 375 yards passing and four touchdowns through the air on the day and was THE deciding factor in the contest.
Saskatchewan is back in action on Friday, Oct. 2 when they host the Calgary Stampeders.
