Willie Jefferson wasted no time wasting time Monday.
Late in the fourth quarter of a CFL game at Mosaic Stadium, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive end intercepted a pass by Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly at the Edmonton 49-yard line and took off toward the Eskimos’ end zone.
At the 10-yard line, Jefferson started veering to his right, ventured all the way across the field to take seconds off the clock and eventually crossed the goal line. A play that had started with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter ended with 1:37 remaining.
“He has got his timing just right…”
The touchdown and Brett Lauther’s subsequent convert turned a 12-9 Edmonton lead into a 16-12 Roughriders advantage. A Lauther field goal with nine seconds left completed the scoring in Saskatchewan’s 19-12 victory.
“It was just a good instinctual play,” defensive back Ed Gainey said of Jefferson’s pick-six. “He’s the type of guy who’s going to get that pressure on the quarterback and, if not, he’s going to drop back and try to get his hands on the football.
“That’s not the first time he has done that. Credit to Willie stepping up in a big-time moment and making that play.”
In fact, it’s the second time Jefferson has done it this season. On Sept. 8 in Winnipeg, he snared a pass by Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols at the Saskatchewan 13-yard line and took off on a long jaunt.
Jefferson also took his time getting into the end zone on that occasion, but he eventually completed the 97-yard pick-six to cut the Bombers’ lead to 10-6. The momentum shift allowed Saskatchewan to rally en route to a 32-27 victory.
“Most of the time when I catch interceptions, it’s mostly just linemen and quarterbacks chasing me,” said Jefferson, who noted after his interception in Winnipeg that he was trying to take time off the clock — even though it was just the second quarter.
“I already have my momentum going down the field, so I don’t really think any of them are going to catch me. So it was just cross the field, take a little time off the clock and, at the end of the day, get in the end zone.”
“He has got his timing just right,” Gainey added. “He might take the scenic route, but just as long as he makes it into the end zone, he’s good with me.”
After the game in Winnipeg, Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said he would have a word with Jefferson about his sightseeing tour. On Monday, Jones didn’t have any concerns about the play at all.
“I was saying, ‘Get in the end zone,’ but then I took a peek back and (the clock) was clicking down to 1:37 and I looked and there wasn’t anybody forcing him,” Jones said. “It was a big play by Willie, but I just wish that he would put the ball up and secure the football a little better.”
The victory — Saskatchewan’s seventh in an eight-game span — improved the Roughriders’ record to 10-5-0 and moved them four points ahead of the Bombers (8-7-0) in the race for second place in the West Division.
The Eskimos fell to 7-8-0 and now are tied with the B.C. Lions (7-7-0) for fourth in the West.
The Roughriders also kept pace with the first-place Calgary Stampeders, who moved to 12-2-0 on Monday with 12-6 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
Saskatchewan’s final three regular-season games are in Winnipeg (next Saturday), in Calgary (on Oct. 20) and in Regina against B.C. (on Oct. 27). In Jones’ mind, the race for second place is not over.
“Have you looked at our schedule over the next three weeks?” he asked. “We’re going against a Winnipeg team that is a very good football team at their place on a short week with a travel … We’ve certainly got our hands full there and they’re fighting for just the ability to be in the playoffs along with B.C., and then Calgary wants to win the division.
“It’s a very tough road. We can’t worry about anything but five days from now.”
In Monday’s game, Lauther (23 yards at 6:51) and Edmonton’s Sean Whyte (32 yards at 9:30) traded three-pointers in the first quarter before Whyte gave the Eskimos a 6-3 lead with an 18-yard field goal 33 seconds into the second frame.
The Roughriders tied the contest at 12:29 when Lauther kicked a 39-yard field goal, but Whyte restored the lead at 13:54 with a 42-yard field goal.
After Lauther tied the contest again at 2:51 of the third quarter with a 43-yard field goal, Whyte replied with a 45-yarder at 7:20. That was the score until Jefferson’s big play.
The Roughriders’ defence recorded three interceptions. While Jefferson’s theft resulted in points, Gainey and Nick Marshall both picked off passes to snuff out Edmonton drives.
Gainey snared a Reilly pass at the Saskatchewan 20-yard line in the second quarter and Marshall got his pick at the Roughriders’ 10-yard line late in the third frame.
Reilly was just 13-for-27 passing for 222 yards — 71 of which came on a last-play Hail Mary to the Roughriders’ eight-yard line — and was held without a TD pass for the second straight game.
Zach Collaros was 25-for-38 passing for 259 yards with one interception for the Roughriders, who had 281 yards of net offence.
“From an offensive standpoint, we moved the ball well all night; we just didn’t finish enough drives,” Collaros said. “I don’t feel like we had a poor night. There were a lot of things we left out there, but I do feel like we’re getting better.
“It was just a total team win for us.”
