Hearing the music is infinitely preferable to facing it.
I was reminded of that on Saturday afternoon, following the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 29-16 CFL victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS at Mosaic Stadium.
The atmosphere inside the Roughriders’ locker room was sombre after the previous three home games. Interviews were conducted quietly, but audibly, by reporters who sought insights into why the game unfolded as it did.
Then came Saturday, when Saskatchewan registered its first home-field victory since July 19. The tunes, at long last, were playing.
“Love to hear it,” linebacker/special-teams standout A.J. Allen said with a smile. “We’re on the right path … the right road.”
At 7-7-1, the Roughriders are now second in the West Division and once again in control of their destiny as they strive to secure a home playoff game.
Suddenly silenced are the external voices that lamented, “Here we go again,” or something to that effect.
There had been comparisons to 2022 and 2023, when the Roughriders finished at 6-12-0 and with seven consecutive losses to conclude both seasons.
A seven-game winless streak (0-6-1) had created fears of another post-Labour Day swoon, but back-to-back victories have squelched that discussion.
“It feels good to finish, especially after our past two years, unfortunately,” Allen said. “It feels like we finally got over that hump, losing six in a row or seven in a row.
“We figured it out. We figured out how to finish. It feels great. It looks great. Winning looks great. I’m just happy that it has happened.”
A close look at the seven-game stretches of 2022, 2023 and 2024 showed that this year’s slump wasn’t comparable to either of the previous two.
Consider that the seven losses in 2022 were by a combined 97 points. That total increased to 104 in 2024.
This year? The margin over seven winless games (tie included) was a mere 26 points. Four of those seven games were decided on the final play. “Everybody knew what had to be done,” Allen said. “We were so close. It wasn’t like we were getting blown out.
“It was just small things that were kicking our ass and hurting us. There were penalties that were hurting us as a team.
“It was just a matter of everybody trying to lock in and figure out what we needed to do individually to help contribute to team wins.
“Time after time, week after week, we started to fix some small things — and, as we’ve learned in this league, nothing’s small.
“Small turns into big pretty quick. If you fix the small things, it turns into big things. It turns into wins.”
When Allen said that, I was reminded of a chip in the windshield.
It may not seem like a big deal at the time but, left unattended, a crack emerges and enlarges — and that is when it becomes problematic.
“It can grow and grow and your windshield’s gone,” Allen responded. “At some point, you have to replace the whole windshield.
“That’s kind of what happened to us last year. We replaced the whole windshield. Right now, it cracked a little bit.
“I don’t know how they fix windshields, but whatever the formula for that is, that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
In so doing, the Roughriders have recaptured the formula that allowed them to sport records of 4-0-0 and 5-1-0 over the summer.
“Belief is a powerful drug and momentum is a powerful thing,” quarterback Trevor Harris said.
“If we have belief and momentum, during games when it’s tight, it just becomes, ‘We’re going to win, I just don’t know how,’ versus, ‘Hopefully we win.’
“You could feel the sense on the sidelines: ‘We’re going to find a way to win. It’s just a matter of how.’ I think we’ve kind of turned that corner, but the work is far from over.”
There is a debate, for example, as to whether two successful games constitute a winning streak. Is three the magic number?
It matters not internally. The focus is on one — one win on Saturday against the host Edmonton Elks.
At this point, the composition of the Roughriders’ lineup for that game is uncertain.
Receiver Shawn Bane Jr. and running back Ryquell Armstead left the Ottawa game due to injuries.
Entering that contest, Saskatchewan had a league-high 17 players on the six-game injured list.
If the Roughriders wanted to use injuries as an excuse, the logic would be sound. But don’t try saying that, let alone selling that, in a locker room that is once again the site of post-game merriment.
“Yes, we’ve had a lot of injuries but, honestly, no one cares,” Allen stated.
“No one’s going to look at us with pity. No one’s going to look at us with, ‘Awww, they lost this guy, so they can’t win anymore.’ No one cares anymore.
“This is a professional football league. You’re expected to win, regardless of who is on the field. The GMs are expected to bring in depth and we are expected to play at a level that produces wins.
“Really, no one cares. That’s the mentality we have. We can’t sit here and say, ‘Awww, we lost Shawn Bane. We can’t play anymore.’
“That can’t be how it is, because that’s not going to produce winning football.”
Or the sweet sounds of success.
