The good, the bad, and the dumb of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 37-31 loss to Calgary

Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.ca

The Saskatchewan Roughriders treated their fans to a dazzling display of light and music in their annual Lights Out game on Friday, but they should have kept the lights off for the sake of the 29,412 in attendance at Mosaic Stadium.

The Riders dropped their third in a row and fifth in their last seven games, losing 37-31 to the Calgary Stampeders. Don’t let the final score fool you; spiritually, this was at least a two-touchdown loss for the Green and White. It was ugly.

Not only does it seem unlikely that the Riders will host a playoff game this year, but there are serious doubts as to whether this team can even get it together enough to make the playoffs.

The light on the Riders’ season is slowly dimming, and it feels at its darkest right now following a loss to the previously last-place team in the division.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the dumb of the Riders’ seventh loss of the season.

The Good

No matter what happens on the field, there’s one thing the Saskatchewan Roughriders continue to do well, and that’s honouring matters of importance.

This past Wednesday was National Truth and Reconciliation Day, an important day to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, along with their families and communities. This year, the Riders tied the events of the week into their annual Lights Out game. At this time of year, the sun sets early enough to allow the entire game to be played under the lights. The in-stadium crew turned those off for some incredible scenes and entertainment.

First Nations DJs The Halluci Nation were brought in to entertain, and their show was incredible. It began with perhaps the coolest ever edition of the Riders’ run out of the tunnel, featuring the vintage gong and Bring ‘Em Out over top of electronic traditional drumming. Their halftime performance featuring traditional dancers was equally as stunning.

The entire evening off the field was a fitting dedication to First Nations culture.

The Bad

There wasn’t much to like about the Riders on the field tonight; you could find serious flaws with just about every aspect of the game. The offence put together essentially one good drive outside of garbage time. The defence wasn’t up to the task early or late. Kicker Dawson Hodge missed two kicks that could have maybe given the team a bit of a lift. Quali Conley also fumbled his first punt return attempt, which led to a Calgary touchdown and killed some early mojo for the team following a quick series for the Stamps.

However, the worst offender of the evening was head coach Corey Mace. In the first half, he didn’t challenge what appeared to be a pretty easy missed roughing-the-passer call when Trevor Harris got slapped in the helmet. If that was the biggest whiff of the night from the bench boss, it would probably have been a pretty good night. However, it was not.

With just over two minutes to go in the third quarter, Mace made a completely inexcusable decision to only try and draw the Stampeders offside on third-and-two at the Calgary 48-yard line. That is absolutely automatic go-for-it territory. Yes, Tommy Stevens hadn’t exactly been racking up the yards, relatively speaking, along the ground throughout the course of the game, but given how ineffective the offence had been, any chance to keep them on the field and try to tie up the game had to be taken. There is no good reason to not be aggressive there.

Following the five-yard delay-of-game penalty and punt, Vernon Adams Jr. led the Stampeders on a predictable 13-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that sucked life out of the Mosaic Stadium and effectively put the Riders’ season on the ropes.

Harris did throw an interception a little later that led to another touchdown against that officially flicked the light switch off on this game, but the walk toward the switch happened on that decision to punt.

The Dumb

Perhaps the most awkward but funny moment of the night came at the three-minute warning.

At this time, a song chosen by the fans based on an in-game poll is played in what’s called the Fan Jam. This time, the fans voted for Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen, which begins with the lyrics, “Tonight, I’m gonna have myself a real good time. I feel alive. And the world, I’ll turn it inside out, yeah. I’m floating around in ecstasy. So don’t stop me now. Don’t stop me. Cause I’m having a good time, having a good time.”

Except Riders fans were, in fact, not having a good time at that moment. Most of them were leaving the stadium following three straight scoring drives by Calgary, which all but officially ended the game.

It was so awkward you had to laugh.