If there’s one thing you can count on this year, it seems to be the Riders playing in absolutely bananas football games at home.
For the third straight game at Mosaic Stadium, the Riders treated their fans to a chaotic contest filled with twists and turns that kept everyone guessing what would happen next.
We had the infamous rouge against Edmonton, the hail-mary against Calgary, and now a 55-yard game-winning field goal from Brett Lauther — and the baffling decision from Redblacks’ head coach Bob Dyce that preceded it, but I’ll let Santino cover that one.
The Riders badly needed this win, which is a weird thing to say on August 6 but it’s true. The race between them and the Stampeders is on for third in the West is on, with a crossover seeming less likely than ever. Every win is going to matter.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the dumb of the Riders’ fourth win of the season.
The Good
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to suggest that was the best the Riders’ offence has looked all season.
Granted, that’s not a very high bar to clear, but I think they did it nonetheless.
Coming into the game, there was a lot of pressure on third-year pivot Mason Fine to perform after a couple of mostly uninspiring starts over the last two games. Granted, those games were against two of the best teams in the league, so Fine deserved to show what he could against a team that wasn’t the B.C. Lions or the Toronto Argonauts, though I would have argued with a shorter leash.
The good news for Fine is that the leash never budged. He didn’t make the big mistake, and, perhaps most importantly, he opened up and made some big plays. It was a clear step forward for the former North Texas Mean Green quarterback.
Fine finished the night with 296 yards and a touchdown, including a couple of 35+ yard bombs to Shawn Bane Jr. and Jerreth Sterns.
While the quarterback’s play was encouraging, what was more encouraging was the play of the receivers overall.
As the Riders’ offence has sputtered along over the last few years, it felt like they weren’t getting many plays out of their receivers. It wasn’t their only issue but it was something that was only making matters worse.
Against the Redblacks, not only were there the two long receptions by Bane Jr. and Sterns, but Jake Wieneke, Sam Emlius, and Tevin Jones all made some tough catches that helped Fine out, either by hanging on in a tight window, going up and getting it, or making an adjustment to an off throw.
For the first time in a while, there’s reason to be optimistic about where the offence is headed.
The Bad
While the Riders will take the win, and we’ll all take the entertainment value that this game ended up providing, it never should have been as close as it was.
Part way through the third quarter, the Riders were in control. Bane Jr. had just scored a 42-yard touchdown to extend the lead. All was well. Ottawa’s offence wasn’t moving the ball. This is where you’d like to see a team put their foot down and end it.
Instead, as they tend to do, the Riders kept the team they should have beaten pretty handily in the game. This time around, they took it a step further and opened the door wide open for them.
On top of a couple of turnovers earlier in the game producing six points for Ottawa, a fumble from quarterback Jake Dolegala ended up in the Riders’ end zone and cut their once-promising lead to just two.
Later in the game, head coach Craig Dickenson made the right call to go for it on third-and-one from his own 20-yard line. Dolegala and the short yardage unit were unable to get that yard, giving Ottawa a prime opportunity to win the game.
As they did all night, the defence stood tall and minimized the damage. That, along with a completely horrific decision by Dyce to kick a field goal at the one, gave the Riders a chance to pick up the win off the foot of Brett Lauther.
In all, the Riders turned the ball over four times, giving Ottawa 16 points. It just about cost them the game, and it probably should have. They got away with it.
The Dumb
On a night filled with controversial coaching decisions, a chaotic finish, and even Fine completing a pass to himself, half-time was the dumbest part of all.
It was the annual “Country Roots” night at Mosaic Stadium, where country music is predominately featured throughout the night — though not exclusively, which happens every year and is kind of funny.
Anyway, it made sense that at half-time, we got to witness a kid’s rodeo, where young fans had to try and stay on a sheep for as long as they could. The north end zone was fenced off in an attempt to keep the sheep confined and manageable.
The key word being attempt, because it didn’t take long for one to break free and start running down the field all the way to the south end zone for a touchdown, sending the crowd (and social media) into a frenzy.
There is a sheep loose in Mosaic Stadium… and he’s already sacked Dustin Crum 🐏#CFL #Riders #RiderNation
pic.twitter.com/QgIhb8v0Su— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 7, 2023
At the time, it was the longest and best play of the day.
I couldn’t tell you who actually won, as I stopped paying attention to the contest and instead focused on the loose sheep and the fallout on social media. I feel like I may not be alone there either.
