Joshua Bell’s ‘blood boiling’ for Riders rematch with Edmonton Elks

Photo: Matt Johnson/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive coordinator Joshua Bell paused for seven seconds when asked what he saw from the coaches film after his unit allowed Cody Fajardo to pass for 510 yards in a 36-34 loss to Edmonton in Week 8.

“I saw the Elks,” Bell said.

The 41-year-old former NFL and CFL defensive back confirmed what Rolan Milligan Jr. said post-game about explosive pass plays happening due to miscommunication in the backend.

Austin Mack scored 57-yard and 81-yard touchdowns, while Kaion Julien-Grant recorded a 68-yard catch, TJ Luther posted a 37-yarder, and Brendan O’Leary-Orange a 23-yarder.

“It looks bad when you look at the stats and you say he throws for 500 yards, but for the majority of he game, I feel like we played well. We had a couple busts,” said defensive back Marcus Sayles.

“That’s unlike us and we got to get those things cleaned up. In our defence, we all gotta see the same thing and when one person doesn’t see the same thing, it can mess up the whole defence. That’s one of the little things that we have to clean up.”

According to TSN’s Jon Perlberg, Fajardo’s 510-yard passing performance was the first 500-yard game from a CFL QB since Ricky Ray recorded 506 with the Toronto Argonauts on June 25, 2017 in a 32-15 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren Moon holds Edmonton’s single-game passing yards record at 555.

Sayles explained how the Riders can prevent Fajardo from passing for 500 yards again.

“We talk about it in film. We go over some of the things that they like to do and we figure out what’s the best way to approach it. I personally don’t feel like they did anything that was too crazy or things that we haven’t seen, it was miscommunication and we have to get those things cleaned up,” the 31-year-old said.

“We can put a lot of things to bed quickly. I don’t think they did anything that messed up our system or our defensive schemes, we had bad communication. When we’re able to watch it on film, it makes everything so much easier when we already have a bunch of vets that have seen these things already. We gotta lock down on the little things that we messed up on.”

The two-time CFL all-star nearly came down with Saskatchewan’s first interception by a defensive back in 2026 off Fajardo at Mosaic Stadium. Weak-side linebacker Josh Woods has two picks in his first season with the Green and White. The Roughriders are tied for last in the three-down league with two interceptions on defence.

“If I could tell you when an interception is coming for the backend guys, I might need to go to the casino,” Bell said. “I would bet a loonie or a toonie on Josh Woods getting another one. Not having interceptions on the board is something we haven’t seen for a six-game stretch, ever. They’ll be coming soon.”

The Riders worked on improving technical and foundational aspects with regard to the team’s defence leading into the rematch with the Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Bell and his group will try to prove Fajardo’s 510 passing yards were an anomaly. Entering Week 8, Saskatchewan allowed a league-low three 30-plus-yard completions, but gave up four to Edmonton.

“It gets your blood boiling a little bit to go see a guy that punched you in the mouth the last time. It’ll be fun for us to go outside and play with these guys again,” Bell said.

“They did what they were supposed to do. They came in, they chopped our head off at home. We get to go on the road and return the favour. We’d like to go do that emphatically.”