EDMONTON – The ending wasn’t as dramatic this time, but that doesn’t matter to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Riders made amends for their two-point loss on a last-play field goal at home to the Edmonton Elks last Thursday by running out the clock to win on the road by the same margin.
The 28-26 victory on Saturday’s lightning-delayed contest leaves them level in the season series against the Elks following the 36-34 defeat. They did it in a much different style of game, with an altered roster, and with a different quarterback getting more of the limelight.
All that’s the focus of Riders Morning After.
Why they won
Backup pivot Tommy Stevens punching in three touchdowns garners a lot of attentio, and deservedly so. But let’s put that aside for just a bit.
Their defensive play in the last outing against the Elks wasn’t anywhere close to good enough. That’s especially true of the secondary, which was demolished on several occasions. They gave up 510 yards passing to former Rider Cody Fajardo.
The defensive backs vowed repeatedly in the days leading up to kickoff that such a showing wouldn’t be repeated. Corner Marcus Sayles almost dared the Elks to try to humiliate them again.
The Riders reduced Fajardo’s passing output to 286 yards and limited the Elks to 341 yards of net offence. They did it without Rolan Milligan Jr. and losing Tevaughn Campbell midway through the contest with what appears to be a serious upper-body injury.
It was defensive effort by committee. Linebackers Antoine Brooks Jr. and Jameer Thurman led the way with six tackles. Sayles, Jaxon Ford, and James Burgess, who filled in at defensive back with the injuries, each had four.
That was more like it.
“I just feel it was two great offences, two great defences,” Sayles said. “And I feel like we were just the better team this week.”
Game ball
It’s got to be Stevens, right?
His three touchdowns on the ground came on a grand total of just three yards, but there are no flair points on the stat sheet. When a player’s responsible for 18 of a team’s 28 points, he gets the honours.
Stevens is up to eight rushing touchdowns this season. He’s got four multi-major games, which puts him in some rarefied air among quarterbacks in Roughriders history.
The Riders needed what Stevens had to offer, especially with starting running back A.J. Ouellette out due to injury. They played without receiver Sam Emilus because of a foot problem and lost fellow pass catcher Kian Schaffer-Baker during the game, too.
Stevens ended up with 29 yards on 13 carries – just one fewer than feature back Quali Conley. It’s the three trips to the end zone that stand out above all else.
Couldn’t have done it without
Derick Roberson’s start to his CFL debut wasn’t ideal as Elks running back Justin Rankin broke loose of his attempted tackle for an opening score of the game.
Roberson, who signed out of the United Football League last week, settled in nicely from there. He made one defensive tackle and two on special teams, but his signature moment came in the third quarter when he wrapped up Fajardo for a five-yard loss.
That first CFL sack forced the Elks to settle for a 13-yard field goal. Roberson went from iffy early on to borderline outstanding by the final whistle.
“He’s a great player,” Sayles said. “You can see all the potential that he has, and he’s only been here for so much time. If he gets a little bit more comfortable in the system, he’s going to be a great addition for us.”
Play of the game
Well, that’s one way to break a tackle.
Conley had just 61 yards rushing on 14 carries in place of Ouellette, but his most productive run was also his most stylish.
https://x.com/CFL/status/2083732614150783016
Conley’s backwards, rotating hurdle to elude an Elks defender was athleticism at its finest. The 12-yard gain was the opening play of a drive early in the third quarter that put the Riders in field-goal range.
The stat that matters
That Conley-led drive put the Riders in field-goal range, but they ended up with no points.
That’s because Alex Hale missed a three-point try for the third game in a row and fifth time in seven contests.
The miss came from 42 yards. Why’s that notable? Hale is now 1-for-5 on attempts from 40 yards or more this season.
Hale never got another chance to kick the ball through the uprights on Saturday.
The Riders went for two-point conversions after each of their last two touchdowns, failing on the first and succeeding on the second. They did so when leading by four points after Stevens’ third TD at the end of the third quarter, and with a seven-point advantage after Harris connected with KeeSean Johnson with 6:40 remaining in regulation.
“The last one would have been able to put us up two scores,” Riders coach Corey Mace said. “The other one would have been able to put us up six in that situation.
“That was strictly just our first strategy.”
