Redblacks rock Nathan Rourke, beat the B.C. Lions (& 13 other thoughts)

By
Santino Filoso
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Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

The Ottawa Redblacks defeated the visiting B.C. Lions by a score of 34-27 in front of 18,761 fans at TD Place on Saturday night.

Not only did the victory extend the Redblacks’ undefeated streak to six games, it also marked the best start for any Ottawa football team since 1978 when the Rough Riders started 7-2.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

1) It took exactly one play for Dru Brown to remind R-Naiton why — when healthy — he is this team’s QB1.

The 27-year-old started off hot against the Lions and never slowed down. Brown spread the ball around to seven different receivers as he shredded B.C.’s secondary by completing 76 percent of his passes for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The turnover was simply a bad read and throw, but all the good more than outweighed his single mistake.

Brown was in a rhythm throughout the game and his ball placement was excellent. Time after time, he hit his receivers in stride.

The feel-good story surrounding Jeremiah Masoli following last week’s win in Calgary was nice and even led some to speculate about a potential quarterback controversy, but there’s a reason Brown was brought in and last night he proved his value yet again.

2) Kudos to offensive coordinator Tommy Condell for not being afraid to ride the hot hand. On a night when the ground game wasn’t generating much, Condell didn’t hesitate to let his quarterback carry the load. That’s not to say Ottawa abandoned the run — it didn’t, as evidenced by 16 handoffs — but it was clear that since passing was the best way to move the ball, that’s what they leaned into.

Ottawa finished the game with 451 yards of total offence and generated 23 first downs. The most telling offensive stat is that the team averaged 11.3 yards per second down play, which led to a 68 percent conversion rate. When you’re moving the chains that frequently, good things tend to happen.

One thing I wanted to highlight was that at the end of the third quarter, Ottawa had possessed the ball for just 19 minutes, yet by the end of the game finished with 31:08 of possession. That means that in the game’s final 15 minutes, the Redblacks had the ball for 11:56 seconds of it. A good chunk of that time came on a 16-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that led to the game-winning touchdown. It was a masterful drive that featured excellent play-calling and was a dominant way to close out the game.

Of Ottawa’s 13 possessions, six ended in points, three in turnovers — two fumbles and an interception — one in a missed field goal, and two in punts.

3) A week after putting up a career-high 120 rushing yards, rookie American running back Ryquell Armstead had a more subdued outing against the Lions. His 15 carries resulted in just 52 yards, which meant he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

He found a bit more space in the passing game, where he had four receptions for 34 yards, with 29 of those yards coming after the catch. Armstead also had a drop in the red zone in the first quarter that likely would have resulted in a touchdown and was stripped twice.

Despite a quieter night overall, Armstead did a wonderful job picking up the blitz and was a significant factor in allowing Brown to navigate the pocket without getting hit. He also saved his best run for last, with his longest gain of the night — just 11 yards — coming on his final carry, which effectively killed the clock and sealed the win.

4) Coming into the game, Canadian rookie Nick Mardner had 95 receiving yards on the season. He doubled that total with three catches against the Lions and also snagged a pair of touchdown catches, the first scores of his young career.

His 64-yard scamper to the end zone was a thing of beauty and as much as the second overall pick in the 2024 CFL Draft deserves credit for his catch and run, the touchdown wouldn’t have happened if not for a stellar downfield block from Jaelon Acklin.

A performance like Mardner had can do wonders for a young receiver’s confidence and if he’s able to build off this, it could unlock another level of the Redblacks’ passing attack. Not only will it boost his self-esteem, but it will show his quarterback and coaches that when given opportunities to make key plays, he’s capable of rising to the moment.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Currently, the six-foot-seven rookie isn’t drawing much attention from opposing defences. Most units are more worried about shutting down Dominique Rhymes, Justin Hardy, Bralon Addison, and Jaelon Acklin. That means more opportunities for Mardner to exploit mismatches or to create space for his veteran teammates by forcing defences to account for him on every play.

5) On a night where the entire receiving corps shone, veteran Justin Hardy continued to be the straw that stirs the drink. The 32-year-old isn’t Ottawa’s biggest, tallest or fastest receiver, but when the team simply needs a catch, he always comes up clutch. Hardy moved the chains four times and turned a dozen targets into eleven catches for 114 yards.

 Bralon Addison had a strong game too, turning six targets into five catches for 92 yards, including a beautiful over-the-shoulder grab on Ottawa’s first offensive play that set the tone for the evening. Jaelon Acklin made three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, as well as having a number of impressive downfield blocks.

Unfortunately, Acklin’s performance will likely be lost in the wake of his scary-looking fourth-quarter injury. He was hit in the end zone as he attempted to make a catch and fell hard to the turf, landing directly on his upper back. He was eventually taken off the field in an ambulance but in a positive update, the team released a statement early Sunday morning stating that he was fine and back at home resting.

Finally, Dominique Rhymes and Keaton Bruggeling each made a single catch, for nine and three yards respectively.

6) General manager Shawn Burke made a number of shrewd offseason moves, but one of the most impactful was finding a way to keep offensive lineman Jacob Ruby in the fold.

Ruby was Ottawa’s starting right guard in 2022 and 2023 but was released in early February prior to collecting a bonus. The team wound up signing Dariusz Bladek from the Argos and it seemed like there was no longer space for Ruby on the roster. Yet days later, the 31-year-old was re-signed.

It’s a move that’s paid off, as Ruby has been the team’s sixth offensive lineman, started multiple games at right tackle, and was thrust into action last night after Bladek was a late scratch on game day. The six-foot-seven, 325-pound veteran was again a steady presence on the right side of Ottawa’s line and had another excellent game.

As for the rest of the offensive line, Eric Starczala made his second start at centre and overall, the unit had another strong outing. The pass protection was phenomenal, conceding zero sacks on 37 dropbacks but the ground game left a bit to be desired. The Redblacks finished the night averaging just 3.3 yards per rush, which won’t always be good enough.

7) Barron Miles’ defence wasn’t perfect against Nathan Rourke and the Lions, but they were opportunistic.

Yes, the Lions racked up 381 yards of offence and 24 first downs, and yes, the Redblacks were uncharacteristically pushed around on the ground, conceding 165 rushing yards to the tune of 7.5 yards per carry. But when it mattered most, the defence came up with stops.

In addition to notching three sacks, Miles’ unit produced three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception.

 For as much as Ottawa struggled defending the run, they made the Lions claw for every yard in the air. Rourke was harassed every time he dropped back to throw, catches were tightly contested and even when his passes were completed, his receivers were smothered. Of Rourke’s 234 passing yards, just 58 came after the catch.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Furthermore, although the Lions had moderate success marching up and down the field, they stalled in the red zone, cashing in just two of five opportunities.

Middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox was everywhere, notching eight tackles, two pass knockdowns and a field goal block — more on that in a minute. Fellow linebacker Frankie Griffin made six tackles while Adarius Pickett had three and a knockdown of his own.

The defensive line feasted. Lorenzo Mauldin made five tackles, including one for a loss. Michael Wakefield had a tackle, sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Cleyon Laing made three sacks and had a sack. Canadian Kene Onyeka didn’t register any tackles, but was a force off the edge and recovered a fumble.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

8) Lewis Ward needs to buy Santos-Knox a beer. By blocking Sean Whyte’s 37-yard field attempt in the second quarter, Santos-Knox ensured Ward’s record consecutive kick streak is no longer in danger. Prior to Whyte’s “miss”, he had run up a streak of 47 consecutive successful field goals — good for the second-longest streak in CFL history. Ward’s pro football record of 69 should now be safe for the foreseeable future.

As for the rest of the Ottawa’s special teams, Ward nailed kicks of 24 and 54 yards but missed from 36. Punter Richie Leone was rarely called upon, punting just twice, but he did have a touchdown-saving tackle, proving that kickers can tackle people too…when they’re in the mood.

Pickett returned two kickoffs — which remains a horrible idea that will cost Ottawa at the worst possible moment — and Davion Taylor led the kick coverage units with two special teams tackles.

9) Coming into this game, Rick Campbell had been 5-0 against his former team. In fact, the Lions had won their last eight games over Ottawa. Both of those streaks are now officially dead and buried.

10) Nearly 19,000 fans on hand is nothing to turn your nose at, but 5000 empty seats is still a poor look for a fan base that has a reputation of supporting their team through thick and thin.

In recent years, R-Nation has complained that the team a) wasn’t winning at home and b) playing unexciting football. Neither of those things has been the case at all this season, yet fans have been beyond slow to trickle back to TD Place. As much as it’s easy to lay the blame on the fan base for continually asking the team to “prove it,” perhaps it’s also time to start wondering if OSEG could be doing more to market the team.

For a team to be 7-2-1, including 5-0-1 at home, to boast explosive playmakers in all three phases of the game and still have thousands of empty seats on a perfect summer night for football, means something needs to change.

11) It was great to see so many former Redblacks on hand as the organization celebrated its All-Decade Team. Fans on hand had a chance to meet the players before and after the game for pictures and autographs.

12) Here’s one for the stats nerds like myself. Last night’s match was the 6,000th regular season CFL game. The count started back in 1907, with the foundation of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The IRFU eventually merged with the Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1958, which is when the modern CFL as we know it was created.

13) With the win, Ottawa further entrenches itself into second place in the East Division, a game up on the third-place Argos and two wins back of the first-place Alouettes. A playoff spot is not yet fully guaranteed but with a few more wins, it could be.

Up next for Bob Dyce’s squad is a trip out to Victoria for the first-ever Touchdown Pacific. The Lions will surely be looking to put on a show in Rourke’s hometown and it’s tough to beat the same team two weeks in a row, but by now, people should know better than to count out the Redblacks.

Santino Filoso
Santino Filoso
Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).

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