The Saskatchewan Roughriders can no longer claim undefeated status following Saturday’s 35-20 loss to the B.C. Lions, but that might actually be a positive according to head coach Corey Mace.
“I told these guys from the first meetings in training camp, I don’t want to go undefeated. I’ve never actually seen it in this league. I’ve been a part of a team that was 16-2, that’s the closest I’ve ever been, but even then there were still two losses,” Mace told reporters post-game, referencing his time as defensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts in 2023.
“You learn a lot about yourselves and the team and how you respond and stuff like that (in a loss). You never want it to be ‘the one’ when you end up losing them. Unfortunately, I certainly didn’t want it this week but the reality is what it is and we’ve got to fix it because we’re gonna have a big game next week.”
Saskatchewan opened Mace’s first season as head coach with four consecutive victories and was the last remaining CFL team with an unblemished record heading into Saturday night — though the Alouettes had a longer winning streak before falling to Toronto on Thursday. Those early returns reinvigorated a desperate fanbase after two straight losing seasons but a trip to the new bench boss’ home province has now brought expectations back down to earth.
A pair of ex-Riders combined to torch their former team through the air, as Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 451 yards and Canadian receiver Justin McInnis hauled in 14 passes for 243 yards. Mace acknowledged that his defence is designed to surrender some yardage in favour of generating takeaways but said that a pair of interceptions wasn’t enough to turn the tide on this occasion.
“If you looked at it as a title fight, to speak from a boxing standpoint, I thought we were in that joker until the 10th and the 11th round,” he remarked.
“I thought it was back and forth, back and forth, and any time we got a little bit of momentum, they killed it. I think there was a sweet spot there right around the time we went for the surprise onside kick. We’ve got to capitalize on those situations to really push the momentum forward in our favour and we just weren’t able to do that.”
The Riders stuck around all night despite quarterback Shea Patterson making just his second career start in place of the injured Trevor Harris. The Michigan product completed 17-of-25 passes for 278 yards and an interception, with much of that production coming off of three big passes to Canadians Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker. However, the offence struggled when it mattered, going two for five in the red zone and converting just 27.8 percent of their second-down opportunities.
“We’ve got a bit of a sour taste in our mouth right now,” Patterson said at the podium. “Everybody in that locker room is pissed off but keeping our heads high. Down 22-20 in the fourth quarter against one of the best teams in the league with a chance to win it, we came up short and we’re gonna learn from it. We’re gonna come back stronger.”
After A.J. Ouellette scored early in the fourth quarter following a Deontai Williams interception, a successful onside kick self-recovered by kicker Brett Lauther seemed to swing the game in Saskatchewan’s favour. However, Patterson was sacked two plays later and Emilus was stripped from behind while attempting to convert the second-and-long. B.C. went on to score the game’s final 13 points unanswered.
“Things got carried away from us towards the end there and that’s the most disappointing thing, just seeing how we respond to adversity at the end of the game,” Mace said. “Maybe it’s something that the guys feel like the game is over with but it’s not, so we’ve got to make sure that we handle that.”
“We lost composure and we did some things that losing teams do, unfortunately. There is a lot we’ve got to look at, starting with myself and coaches and players all included. This was something I think that we needed and it was early in the season, so that’s a plus.”
The loss saw the Riders fall behind the Lions in the race for first place in the West Division. They are now 15 points down in the two-game season series, which will conclude on Saturday, October 12 with a matchup that could have serious playoff seeding implications.
Despite those ramifications, Patterson agreed with his coach’s assessment that a loss now might be a net positive for the team.
“I think it’s definitely going to reveal our character as a team, how we respond next week,” he said. “The type of work that is required to win each and every single week will go into account. This is pro football, man, everybody’s good.”
The Riders (4-1) will return home next week and host the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4) on Friday, July 19.
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