WINNIPEG — One half of football was all it took to dash the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ hopes of clinching a home playoff game Saturday.
If the CFL’s Roughriders had beaten the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the B.C. Lions had lost to the Calgary Stampeders later in the day, Saskatchewan would have guaranteed itself a playoff game at Mosaic Stadium.
Instead, the Roughriders trailed the Bombers 31-0 at halftime at Investors Group Field and never recovered. Winnipeg eventually prevailed by that score, improving to 9-7-0 and pulling to within two points of the Roughriders (10-6-0) in the race for second place in the West Division.
“Everybody knew coming in what was at stake, so it wasn’t like we weren’t prepared for what we were getting into,” Saskatchewan centre Brendon LaBatte said. “We knew what was coming, we just didn’t execute and let them start building momentum by turning the ball over to them so much in the first half.”
The Roughriders lost a fumble and threw two interceptions in the opening 30 minutes. The Bombers — who went into the week with the league lead in points off turnovers — converted two of the turnovers into 14 points.
Saskatchewan finished the game with four giveaways en route to its first shutout loss since Sept. 26, 2014, when it fell 24-0 to the hometown Edmonton Eskimos.
“It’s extremely disappointing to come out and turn the ball over the way we did,” LaBatte said.
“In terms of trying to establish momentum like we said we wanted to come out and do, it went the exact opposite of that.
“They made some good plays on defence, got their hands on a lot of balls and flipped the momentum. It was something we were unable to ever flip back in our favour.”
The Roughriders still control their own destiny in terms of a home playoff game.
They hold the tiebreaker advantage on Winnipeg, having won two of three games against the Bombers this season. Saskatchewan can still earn a home playoff game on its own — it visits the Stampeders on Oct. 20 and plays host to the Lions on Oct. 27 — but the loss Saturday still hurt the cause.
“Like I said early in the week, the West is crazy,” defensive end Willie Jefferson said. “It’s wild and you’ve just got to keep putting wins together.
“Right now, this is a setback but we’ve got to bounce back, find what we need to find and get ready for the next week.”
In fact, some players said the loss was a reality check for the Roughriders.
“That’s something that they all have to come (understand) individually,” head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “We know what our weaknesses are; we’ve just got to continue to try to work on them and show up with a little bit more of a stern will next week.”
After each team punted on its first drive, the Bombers opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first quarter — on a Saskatchewan possession.
Linebacker Adam Bighill popped the ball out of the hands of receiver Kyran Moore and it flew right into the mitts of Anthony Gaitor, who went 45 yards for a touchdown. Justin Medlock converted the major and Winnipeg led 7-0.
The Roughriders’ defence held the Bombers to minus-six yards of net offence on their first two possessions, but Winnipeg turned that around quickly with a 72-yard TD pass from Matt Nichols to Darvin Adams at 13:10 of the first quarter. Medlock’s convert gave Winnipeg a 14-0 lead.
Medlock stretched the lead to 17-0 with a 29-yard field goal at 6:11 of the second quarter. The three-pointer was set up by a Taylor Loffler interception — his second of the first half.
The Bombers’ advantage grew to 24 at 12:31 of the second quarter when Medlock converted a 31-yard touchdown pass from Chris Streveler to Weston Dressler on a second-and-inches play.
Streveler’s one-yard TD run and Medlock’s convert at 14:28 completed the scoring.
It was the Roughriders’ largest halftime deficit since Aug. 3, 2000, when they trailed the Montreal Alouettes 41-7 at the break. Montreal eventually prevailed 62-7.
Brandon Bridge replaced Zach Collaros on Saskatchewan’s second possession of the second half, but the backup failed to generate any points the rest of the way.
“It’s a tough loss,” Jones said. “You have to give a lot of credit to (Bombers head coach) Mike O’Shea and his staff and his football team. They played an outstanding game today.
“They were very opportunistic. They took advantage of our errors and it was a sound win for them.”
Collaros completed eight of 19 pass attempts for 69 yards with two interceptions before giving way to Bridge. In just under two quarters of work, Bridge was 7-for-12 passing for 59 yards.
Tre Mason led the Roughriders’ rushing attack with 50 yards on eight carries, while Shaq Evans was the leading receiver with 42 yards on three catches.
Defensively, Mike Edem had five tackles and Derrick Moncrief had four tackles, one tackle for a loss and an interception.
Nichols was 10-for-18 passing for 155 yards, while Streveler rushed seven times for 45 yards. Adams was the Bombers’ leading receiver with 72 yards on his one reception.
“Give Winnipeg credit; they did a great job,” Collaros said. “They just played better football than us.”
