Ottawa Redblacks’ mistakes add up & 12 other thoughts on season-opening loss to Saskatchewan

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Santino Filoso
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Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders/Liam Richards

A lot went wrong for the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday night in Regina as they dropped their season-opener by a score of 31-26 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Here are my thoughts on the game.

1) In 2024, quarterback Dru Brown proved he was very good. In the first game of 2025, the 28-year-old showed he can be great.

The second-year starter started off hot, completing his first seven attempts for 84 yards while marching the Redblacks down the field for the game’s opening score. As a unit, the offence stalled until the fourth quarter, but Brown kept completing passes.

 When it was all said and done, Brown completed 83 percent of his throws for 413 yards and two touchdowns. He was decisive in his reads and showed excellent precision on a number of throws, threading tight passes across the middle when necessary but also feathering balls over the outstretched arms of defenders when the occasion called for it, including on a touchdown pass to Justin Hardy.

 As well as he played, Brown can be even better. There were a handful of throws forced into coverage that were fortunate not to result in interceptions. It’s not a stretch to say he could’ve been picked off three times. There were also open receivers not seen, like when Kalil Pimpleton was wide open in the end zone in the third quarter, and Hardy on the two-point convert attempt late in the fourth.

Finally, Brown was unable to take advantage of two opportunities at the end of the game to grab his sixth career game-winning drive. Yes, the sacks put the offence in a hole, but regardless of that, on third-and-27 with the game on the line, Brown can’t check the ball down to his running back in the flat. That’s a pass that has to be tossed up to give one of his dangerous receivers a chance, or to fish for a flag.

2) Head coach Bob Dyce has forgotten more about football than I’ll ever know, but that won’t stop me from questioning some of his decision-making.

Right before the half, the Redblacks got the ball back trailing 17-7. They moved the ball to Saskatchewan’s 53-yard line with eight seconds left. Given that Ottawa had two timeouts left, you would have thought one would be called to save some clock. It wasn’t.

Brown ended up connecting with Hardy and got the ball down to the 27 — well within field goal range — but time had expired. Again, in a five-point loss, the three-point kick that was never attempted proved to be haunting.

The decision not to use one of his timeouts is even more baffling because on literally the first play of the game, the Redblacks took a time-count violation, theoretically to preserve their timeouts for when they might need them.

The other situation came late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 31-26 (five points) and facing third-and-12 with 2:02 left on the clock and the ball on Saskatchewan’s 54-yard line, Dyce chose to punt. Given that his quarterback was averaging 12 yards per completion and completing 83 percent of his passes, why not go for it?

If the Redblacks had gone for it and failed to move the chains, they would’ve needed a two-and-out from their defence, which is what they needed anyway since there was so little time left.

One could argue that punting was the right call given that Ottawa got another possession, but that’s deceiving as Saskatchewan only went two-and-out thanks to a drop by an open receiver that would have otherwise moved the sticks and allowed them to run out the clock. It was poor process bailed out by luck.

Dyce is a good coach and neither of the above-mentioned game management decisions are single-handedly responsible for the loss, but to me at least, they are tough to understand.

3) As he breaks down film, new defensive coordinator William Fields will be wondering if his group is the team that was picked apart and pushed around for the game’s opening 45 minutes, or if it’s the one that shut down Saskatchewan in the final 15 minutes of play.

Saskatchewan’s offensive line seemed vulnerable with three projected starters out due to injury, but pressure from Ottawa’s front seven was non-existent.

Aside from one pressure by defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin IV in the second quarter, which led to an interception, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris was untouched. The pocket was never collapsed, he wasn’t hit, and was allowed to sit back and pick apart Ottawa’s secondary. As bad as the lack of pressure was, Ottawa’s tackling was worse.

 Of Harris’ 277 passing yards, 142 — more than half — came after the catch. Not only were receivers frequently running open, when defenders closed in, they took poor angles, tried for shoulder hits instead of wrapping up, or just bounced off and missed. That’s a large reason why Saskatchewan averaged 8.1 yards per play and went four-for-five in the red zone. Soft coverage and poor tackling is not a formula for winning football.

It must be acknowledged that Harris is a savvy veteran and a tough matchup for a secondary with four new players, but the group simply has to be better.

If you’re looking for positives, the unit forced three turnovers and a switch seemed to flip in the fourth quarter as Ottawa forced four punts and a fumble, and none of Saskatchewan’s five possessions gained more than seven yards.

Standout individual performances included a healthy Adarius Pickett, who made six hits and recovered a fumble, and Adrian Frye, who made five tackles and forced a pair of fumbles.

 4) Ottawa’s offensive numbers look great largely due to Brown’s big day passing the ball, but what that hides is a serious lack of production in the ground game. At the half, Ottawa had a total of three rushing yards. They had 14 heading into the game’s final 15 minutes and by the end of it had amassed merely 30.

The final numbers are flattering — 24 first downs, 398 yards of net offence, and an average of 6.7 yards per play — but they don’t tell the whole story. What’s more relevant is that of Ottawa’s 13 drives, eight picked up one first down or less.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell did a great job on second down — the Redblacks converted 15 of 25 opportunities — and in the red zone, where they went three-for-three, but calling 41 passes and 10 handoffs when you’re down two starting linemen against one of the league’s best defences is far from ideal. Speaking of less than ideal, getting no points off three turnovers looms large in a five-point loss.

The Redblacks are clearly blessed with a bevy of talent at receiver and there will be days when certain stars aren’t as involved in the action. However, Kalil Pimpleton finishing the game with exactly two targets is baffling. The play-caller can’t control who his quarterback sees and throws to, but if you’re running fly sweeps, as Ottawa did a few times, why are they going to Justin Hardy instead of a 26-year-old speedster who set the league on fire as a rookie?

All in all, while the Redblacks were productive moving the ball, it still felt like they lacked consistency.

5) It’s not uncommon for sloppy play to prevail early in a season and to call Ottawa undisciplined would be putting it kindly. The Redblacks were flagged 12 times for 126 yards and it’s not as if one unit in particular was guilty.

The offence was flagged four times, the defence three times, and special teams five times. With the margin between winning and losing so thin, gifting your opponents an entire length of the field — let alone ignoring the positive plays that were wiped out — is always going to be costly.

6) It’s one thing to say that on paper, the Redblacks have the best receiving corps in the league. It’s another to see the group on the field giving a defence fits.

Saskatchewan’s defence is littered with playmakers, yet every play, someone was running open. Eugene Lewis was Ottawa’s biggest offseason acquisition, and he comes as advertised. Lewis not only stretched his streak of consecutive touchdowns to nine games (one off the all-time CFL record), but he made five catches for 57 yards.

 Veterans Justin Hardy and Bralon Addison continued where they left off in 2024, both making eight catches for 133 and 112 yards, respectively. They both showcased their trademark shiftiness, each picking up 48 yards after catching the ball. Hardy also scored a touchdown.

As for the rest of the receiving corps, rookie Keelan White looked polished, confident, and ran crisp routes. This year’s third-overall draft pick finished with four catches for 41 yards, with two of his receptions moving the chains on second down.

 Finally, as mentioned above Pimpleton was an afterthought for most of the game, and finished with one reception for six yards and a flag drawn on the lone deep shot to him.

7) Injuries to centre Peter Godber and right tackle Zack Pelehos meant the Redblacks went into the game with a shuffled offensive line.

Godber missed a good chunk of training camp with a hand injury and the hope had been that he would be ready for the regular season. Instead, he’s now on the six-game injured list. Pelehos injured his foot towards the end of camp and despite being listed on the one-game injured list, is expect to miss anywhere from four to six weeks. Their absences meant veteran Jacob Ruby got the start at centre and American Darta Lee made his CFL debut at right tackle.

I have to start with a tip of the cap to Ruby. The six-foot-seven, 315-pounder is worth his weight in gold, if only for his versatility. In 2024, he played in 17 games, making seven starts: four at left tackle and three at right tackle. Now he’s playing centre. The ability to move around and be solid at multiple positions speaks to his talent.

As is often the case with offensive linemen, they’re invisible (which means they’re doing their jobs well) until they’re not (which means they made a mistake). Overall, the group did a good job in pass protection, but individual mistakes at crucial moments loomed large.

 Ruby appeared to miss a block on the team’s second-last possession, which led not only to a sack but Brown being shaken up. Lee struggled at times and was bailed out by his quarterback getting rid of the ball quickly and ultimately gave up one sack. Dino Boyd was solid for the majority of the game but completely whiffed on the second play of the game’s final drive, which set up third-and-27.

Ottawa didn’t run the ball often, but when they did, the offensive line failed to open up holes. 2.1 yards per carry isn’t good enough.

Sam Carson, Ottawa’s second-round pick in the 2025 CFL draft, dressed as the sixth offensive lineman and got some snaps when the jumbo package was on the field.

8) While his numbers weren’t flashy, veteran running back William Stanback still showed why the Redblacks moved quickly in the offseason to acquire him when he became available. The 30-year-old was limited to just 2.8 yards per carry and a long of six yards, but he did manage a touchdown.

Stanback was also very good in the passing game, both in terms of being an outlet for checkdowns, catching four passes for 38 yards, and in blitz pickup. Stanback’s physicality was noticeable and he runs with the kind of violence you want from your running back.

Canadian Daniel Adeboboye was technically listed as the starter, but didn’t register a carry. He caught three passes for 20 yards and was also good in pass protection.

9) Lewis Ward’s 100th career game was one he’ll be looking to forget. Not only did Ward miss from 46 yards out, he also missed a convert — that’s four points he didn’t score in a five-point loss.

Richie Leone punted six times averaging 44.3 yards per kick, good for average field flip of 36.8 yards per kick. His botched hold on the convert at the start of the fourth quarter as he tried to spin the laces away from Ward wound up influencing the game in a big way down the stretch.

After missing the preseason with an injury, long snapper Peter Adjey returned to action and was his usual reliable self.

As for the rest of the special teams, Global linebacker Tyrone Vrede led the way with three special teams tackles and he also forced a fumble that Ottawa failed to recover. Canadian Lucas Cormier chipped in with two special teams tackles.

In terms of the return game, DeVonte Dedmon was held in check, with his longest punt return of the night going for eight yards and longest kickoff 21. On the flip side, Mario Alford gouged Ottawa a couple of times. There was a 60-yard return on Ward’s missed field goal and a 34-yard return on a kickoff.

10) A season isn’t defined by if a team wins or loses their first game, but this is one that should sting, because it was right there for the taking.

Zero points off three turnovers, a missed field goal, not attempting a field goal when in range, a missed convert, a failed two-point convert, and netting minus-4 yards on the game’s final two possessions when you trailed by five is a tough way to lose.

2025 needs to be about building off 2024’s success, yet when presented with a great opportunity to establish an early positive tone and get this group off on the right foot, Ottawa instead shot itself in the foot, time after time.

11) The last time the Redblacks won a football game in Regina was September 15, 2018. Their quarterback? Trevor Harris.

12) With the loss, Ottawa drops to 0-1 on the season and will be keeping a close eye on the rest of Week 1’s games to see who jumps ahead in the East Division. There’s no need to panic and the sky isn’t falling, but for a team with Grey Cup aspirations, the Redblacks have plenty to clean up before Friday night’s home-opener at TD Place against the visiting Montreal Alouettes.

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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