Bye week solves nothing as Ottawa Redblacks fall to 0-7 (& 10 other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Chris Tanouye/CFL.ca

The Ottawa Redblacks went into their bye week as a team that struggled in short yardage — especially in the red zone– and with the league’s worst defence. Despite head coach Ryan Dinwiddie talking about how his staff would use the time off to self-scout and tweak their schemes, there was little evidence of improvement on Friday night. Those two issues were again key culprits in their blowout 34-13 loss to the visiting Montreal Alouettes.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

Goal line woes

It cannot be denied that as the season has gone on, the Redblacks’ offence has improved. They’re sustaining more drives and frequently getting into the red zone. But does that truly matter when the offence so often fails at something as basic as converting short yardage?

Against the Alouettes, Ottawa had drives that got down to Montreal’s six-yard line, two-yard line (twice) and five-yard line. With 28 potential points less than a first down away, the Redblacks scored six. It was a comedy of errors, as those four possessions resulted in an interception, a turnover on downs, and a pair of short field goals.

Some of what went wrong falls on Dinwiddie’s shoulders. Insisting on running out of shotgun in short yardage situations simply isn’t working. In theory, handing the ball to your running back out of shotgun allows them to hit the line with a full head of steam and read their blocks to pick the best lane to plunge forward. The trick with that is that you need actual blocks.

The Redblacks aren’t getting enough of them from their big men up front, so the shotgun handoffs instead lead to their backs having to dance through contact immediately while they struggle to even gain the line of scrimmage. In fact, the lone touchdown the Redblacks scored came from having Jake Maier under centre and running back Daniel Adeboboye in I formation, with defensive tackle Jelani Stafford ahead of him as a fullback.

A Canadian finds the end zone in the nation’s capital 🇨🇦

Daniel Adeboboye gets the REDBLACKS their first touchdown of the game!

🗓️: Alouettes vs. REDBLACKS LIVE NOW
📺: TSN, RDS, CBSSN and CFL+#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/cLgoJdPmmi

— CFL (@CFL) August 1, 2026

But even when Dinwiddie has dialled up good plays, his players have often let him down by failing at the most basic tasks. When you call a run in short yardage and have offensive linemen who inexplicably fail to block the player directly in front of them, there’s not much you can do other than shake your head. In his post-game comments, Dinwiddie mentioned that there were plays where players blocked the exact opposite of what was called. Those kinds of mistakes can’t be happening three months into the season.

The Redblacks didn’t lose the game just because they went one-for-five in the red zone, but it was certainly a large factor. Scoring zero points in the second half of the game certainly didn’t help either.

Quarterback play isn’t the issue

Fans can nitpick specific plays or dislike that Jake Maier doesn’t regularly generate explosive plays by pushing the ball down the field, but Ottawa’s starting quarterback is not the reason they’re losing football games.

Against Montreal, Maier completed 83 percent of his passes for 311 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. The lone turnover came on third down, at the goal line, as he faced heavy pressure and tossed a desperation pass. It actually “gained” the Redblacks four yards.

ARCHIBALD DENIES 🚫

A Montreal interception keeps Ottawa from finding the end zone.

🗓️: Alouettes vs. REDBLACKS LIVE NOW
📺: TSN, RDS, CBSSN and CFL+#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/M0JaDsogh0

— CFL (@CFL) August 1, 2026

If not for Eugene Lewis slowing down on a deep route on the first possession of the second half, Maier likely hits him for a long touchdown. If not for a couple of drops, his completion percentage is even higher.

At one point, Maier completed 13 passes in a row. His timing and anticipation were excellent, as he repeatedly hit his receivers in stride. Even if his longest completion of the night was just 21 yards, he did a good job of stringing together drives. Of the eight possessions Maier was under centre for, just two resulted in two-and-outs.

Ringing the Bell

I’m sympathetic to the fact that Ottawa immediately found themselves in a shootout due to the fact that their defence was shredded early and often, but I cannot understand only giving Greg Bell 11 touches. His six handoffs resulted in 19 yards, with the longest gain good for eight yards, and his five catches turned into 32 receiving yards.

When Bell gets a chance to plant his feet and change direction, he can make defenders look silly. But he needs a bit of space to work his magic. Thanks to the lack of blocking he’s been dealing with, he hasn’t been at his best. With that said, the Redblacks have to continue to keep him involved in their attack.

As for Canadian running back Daniel Adeboboye, his three carries went for four yards and a touchdown, and he was extremely fortunate not to be credited with a fumble when the replay centre ruled his forward progress stopped. He also made one catch for a 19-yard gain.

Something had to give

It’s not surprising that early in the morning after their loss to Montreal, the Redblacks fired defensive coordinator William Fields. While it’s always tough to see someone lose their job, Ottawa’s defence had been a glaring weakness all season long, and something had to give.

Coming into the game, the Redblacks’ defence was statistically the worst in just about every category. Compounding matters was the fact that they had only notched eight sacks all season and had yet to force a fumble. They weren’t generating pressure, and they weren’t taking the ball away.

As bad as the defence was before playing Montreal, things somehow got worse.

Again, the unit failed to record a sack. They generated no turnovers. They allowed Montreal quarterback Alexander Davis to complete 73 percent of his passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, he could’ve easily thrown for two more, but a pair of touchdowns were wiped out due to holding calls.

If Montreal averaging 14 yards per pass wasn’t bad enough, the Redblacks conceded 5.2 yards per rush. The Alouettes converted a whopping 72 percent of their second-down opportunities. Ottawa allowed two different receivers to average 20+ yards per catch. They also allowed Montreal to go four-for-five in the red zone. The Redblacks’ defence was already the unit giving up the most yards after the catch in the league, and they let the Alouettes rack up another 151 YAC.

Most teams try to double cover Tyson Philpot (@Tysonphilpot).

Ottawa is attempting the bold strategy of not covering him at all…#CFL #AlsMTL #Alouettes pic.twitter.com/8NiJ2JpTzS

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 1, 2026

Alouette receivers weren’t winning contested catches and breaking out of tackles; they were instead running wide open, with no Ottawa defenders in their vicinities. When members of the Redblacks’ secondary did arrive on the scene to attempt tackles, too many guys tried to make shoulder checks instead of wrapping up.

In a season full of poor defensive efforts, this was easily the worst.

Firing Fields isn’t going to magically make everything better. The players they put on the field each week need to be accountable for the plays they aren’t making, but perhaps having a new voice calling plays (and changing the scheme) leads to some kind of improvement.

Familiar faces

It was a shame to see kicker Brett Lauther placed on the six-game injured list, especially given the fact that he is a perfect 20-for-20 when kicking field goals so far this season. However, it did open the door for fan favourite Lewis Ward to return. In his first game back with the organization since his release shortly before training camp, Ward made both kicks he attempted, from 13 and 14 yards out.

Ward wasn’t the only familiar special teamer returning to the nation’s capital, as Montreal returner DeVonte Dedmon made his first trip back to TD Place since being allowed to leave in free agency this past offseason. The always dangerous Dedmon was effectively bottled up by Ottawa’s coverage units, managing just 11 yards on two punt returns and 19 on his only kickoff return.

In terms of special teams tackles, defensive back Marcus Barnes led the way with two.

13 is all things that suck

With their latest loss to the Alouettes, the Redblacks now have lost 13 straight games at home, lost 13 straight games to Montreal, and lost 13 straight games to Montreal IN Ottawa. That’s a kind of bullying that should be impossible in pro sports.

To find the last time Ottawa beat Montreal, you have to go all the way back to October 10, 2022, when the Redblacks won 24-18 at Percival Molson Stadium.

Looking good

If the Redblacks can’t play good, at least they can look good…when it comes to their uniforms. For the first time, Ottawa paired their black home jerseys with their new white road pants, and the result was a truly elite look. The contrast was perfect, and it harkens back to the glory days of the Rough Riders. Now if only the uniform could channel some of those 1960’s/1970’s winning ways.

Legacy Night

While the scoreboard wasn’t what anyone wanted, it was fantastic to see OSEG honour Ottawa’s rich history of football. With 70+ alumni on hand from the city’s three franchises — the Rough Riders, Renegades and Redblacks– fans had a chance to mingle with, and get autographs from, legends from various generations. Shoutout to the 17,336 members of R-Nation who were on hand to experience it.

Having so much history gathered together served as a reminder that even with the heartbreak and disappointment, eventually the highs of winning championships will come again. Ottawa’s 150 years of football have undeniably seen more losses and struggle than moments of glory, but those moments have occurred. The men who do find that ultimate success in this town achieve football immortality. Perhaps that can serve as motivation to this current group of men donning the red and black.

Honouring history

Speaking of legacies, it was nice to see Rough Rider Jim Evenson posthumously inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Evenson played running back for Ottawa in 1973 and 1974, turning 309 carries into 1,352 yards and five touchdowns while also making 26 receptions for 208 yards. He was integral to the Rough Riders’ 1973 Grey Cup win, a game in which he led Ottawa in rushing and scored the game-winning touchdown.

Over his seven seasons in the CFL, Evenson played 100 total games and was named All-CFL twice, All-CFL West four times, and All-CFL East once.

Up next

The next chance for the Redblacks to earn their first win of the season comes Friday night, in Regina. Dinwiddie’s squad will once again be underdogs and justifiably so. No other team in the Redblacks’ franchise history has started 0-7, so they truly do have themselves a deep hole to dig out of.

Ottawa is a team that has shown good things in spurts, but seemingly can’t get out of their own way at crucial moments. Until the team figures that out, they’ll continue to struggle.