Even in defeat, the Saskatchewan Roughriders could derive some reassurance from a “D” feat.
The Roughriders held the Calgary Stampeders to 10 first downs and 208 yards of net offence last Friday at McMahon Stadium, where the opportunistic home side won 26-19.
“I thought it was a bounce-back game (in Calgary),” Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said leading up to Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Toronto Argonauts (2 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“I thought that was the defence that we saw earlier in the season and that was the defence that was rolling when we were winning games, so I’m hoping that they can build off that performance.”
Consider these two building blocks:
- The 10 first downs were the fewest allowed by Saskatchewan since July 27, 2019, when the host B.C. Lions moved the chains a mere seven times en route to losing 45-18.
- The 208 yards recorded by Calgary was the lowest net-offence total by a Roughriders opponent since Aug. 14, 2021. That evening at Mosaic Stadium, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats emerged with 172 yards as Saskatchewan prevailed 30-8.
Now, let’s address the Stampeders’ production of 26 points — a non-stratospheric total to begin with, but one that nonetheless paints a deceiving picture of the defence’s performance.
Calgary’s first touchdown was set up by a fumble that gave the Stampeders a first down on Saskatchewan’s 15-yard line.
The Stampeders next reached the end zone on a 33-yard interception return by Cameron Judge.
Only once did the Calgary offence have to march down the field en route to the end zone. The Stampeders snapped a 19-19 fourth-quarter tie after moving 89 yards in nine plays.
Stampeders first downs on that drive: Five.
Stampeders first downs over their other 13 possessions: Five.
Over those 13 possessions, excluding a kneel-down series in the waning seconds, Calgary eked out 123 yards (or 9.5 yards per series).
Two-and-outs: Seven.
And there’s this: Calgary had a single-digit yardage total on nine of its 14 possessions.
“If you look at the stats, we really dominated them in a lot of ways, but the turnovers got us,” Dickenson said.
“That’s the focus: Try to win the turnover battle, continue to play good defence, and challenge our offence to be a little bit better and our special teams to be a little bit better this week.”
“GIVEAWAYS” is the one line on the statistical summary that screams “Advantage: Calgary.”
Whereas the Stampeders did not turn over the football, the Roughriders lost a fumble, threw an interception, and were unsuccessful on three third-down gambles.
Saskatchewan’s total of 22 first downs was more than respectable enough, considering that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are averaging a league-best 23 per game.
“It just shows that we can get it done,” Roughriders quarterback Jake Dolegala said on Friday. “I thought last week we did a really good job of moving the ball. I think we played a really good team game.
“We were getting first downs and helping our defence get off the field for a little bit. Even if we didn’t score, we were putting points up with field goals.
“This week we’re hoping to convert those into touchdowns.”
The Roughriders scored one touchdown in Calgary, on an 11-yard run by Jamal Morrow, both otherwise settled for four medium-range field goals after moving the ball to the Stampeders’ 23-, 26-, 30- and 35-yard lines.
“Teams usually play a certain way in field zone,” Dickenson explained. “Once you start getting closer to a touchdown, teams usually bow up a little bit, because they know they’ve got to start making a stand, so you’ll see a different sort of philosophy defensively.
“It usually carries over, so if you study film and you study reports, you usually have a pretty good idea of what a team wants to do in these field zones.
“Now, good coaches will change that up a little bit. They’ll start to exploit matchups throughout the course of a drive if they see that.
“We’ve just got to be a little sharper.”
There is the accompanying imperative of protecting the football, especially against a Toronto team that has forced 25 more turnovers than it has surrendered.
Toronto’s league-leading turnover ratio is 15 higher than the second-best team in that category, the Montreal Alouettes (plus-10).
At the other end of the spectrum, the Roughriders are minus-20.
A minus-5 showing in Calgary counteracted the progress Saskatchewan showed in many aspects of the game.
Crucially, there were the aforementioned turnovers, deep in Saskatchewan territory, that resulted in Calgary’s first two touchdowns.
That is where the game swung. Period. End of paragraph.
Much has been made in various forums of the safety touch Saskatchewan surrendered with 1:11 remaining in the first half.
Calgary returned the ensuing kickoff to its 48-yard line before moving into range for a field goal that chipped away at a deficit by three more points.
It has been widely suggested that the momentum shifted shortly before halftime, but there is a contrasting view.
Even after surrendering five points — not even the equivalent of an unconverted touchdown — Saskatchewan headed to the locker room with a 13-5 advantage.
After accepting the opening kickoff of the second half, the Roughriders moved 46 yards on 10 plays before another Ryan Meskell field goal gave the visitors a two-possession lead.
So it wasn’t the safety touch.
It wasn’t the defence.
It wasn’t a lack of effort.
The Roughriders expended every possible ounce of energy on the McMahon Stadium turf and, by several measures, controlled the play.
The disparity in time of possession — Saskatchewan 33:02; Calgary 26:54 — is an indication of how the field was tilted in the visitors’ favour.
Now the key is to tip the balance even further by executing more often in proximity to the end zone.
“We know what to run. We know how to run it. Now you’ve just got to do it,” Dolegala said.
“I feel like we’ve done a really good job of that, for the most part. We’ve just got to clean up those three or four plays in a game that make the difference.”
