Fans who didn’t know which quarterback was making his 119th pro start and who was making his third could be forgiven for confusing Shea Patterson with Zach Collaros in Week 7.
It was Patterson, the Riders’ first-year starter filling in for the injured Trevor Harris, out-shining Collaros in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 19-9 win over Winnipeg.
Sure, the new obsidian green jerseys probably added more sizzle to the Roughriders’ biggest and noisiest home crowd of the season so far. But it was the Michigan man who guided the winning offence in a performance that was far more entertaining than the score would indicate.
He was cool as a cucumber in rolling up nearly 300 yards of total offence himself, including a Lamar Jackson-esque 21-yard-run early in the second half that kick-started the only touchdown drive of the game. Patterson was so good, he even found fullback Clint Ratkovich of all people in the end zone. All of this without the protection of star right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, who’s probably done for the year.
Meanwhile, Collaros, who has also learned about life after Hardrick the hard way, scrambled and stumbled and bumbled his way in leading the Winnipeg offence to a grand total of zero touchdowns and one really bad interception.
Once a Roughrider killer, Collaros didn’t kill anything in what turned out to be his third loss in the last four trips to Regina, including the 109th Grey Cup.
It was that Grey Cup Sunday when then-Toronto Argonauts defensive coordinator Corey Mace managed to keep Collaros’ passing and running to a lean 190 yards with no scores and a game-losing interception. The now-Saskatchewan Roughrider head coach, Mace did it again holding him to a lacklustre 266 yards through the air plus a pick by linebacker Adam Auclair when Winnipeg was threatening to tie it late.
The so-far humble Patterson wouldn’t take the bait when asked how it felt to outplay a two-time Most Outstanding Player award winner.
“I didn’t really look at it that way. I felt like our defence played unbelievable and held him to six points,” Patterson said. “Zach is a very good quarterback. Even coming out of college, watching film on him, I had a lot of respect for him and I love watching him play too. Just glad to be on top this time.”
Mace was choosing his words carefully too, going through great pains to ensure he wouldn’t offend a legend like Collaros.
“Shea did his part in what we asked him to do. Shea is happy as ever that we walked away with a win,” Mace said.
So modest, the both of them.
Patterson’s stats weren’t eye-popping and he had terrific help from his running back, A.J. Ouellette, who after sputtering through his first two games in Riderville is showing the brilliance that made him such a popular guy in Toronto.
But Collaros had help from his running back, too. Brady Oliveira didn’t get a lot of carries but moved the ball when he did. Still, it wasn’t enough for Collaros to outlast Patterson in their first-ever head-to-head confrontation on the prairies.
In fact, Patterson’s stats were eerily similar to another QB’s third-ever start from back in 2013. Back then, Collaros was 21-of-32 for 256 yards, one touchdown, and an interception for Toronto against the Montreal Alouettes, previewing the greatness that was to come.
It wasn’t a work of art, especially at the end when Mace channelled his inner Craig Dickenson and allowed his quarterback to be lit up on the final play. But to see their quarterback out-duel one of the best in Canada has to make Rider Nation feel a whole lot better about life without Harris and Hardrick.
