Riders bench Canadian QB Brandon Bridge, insert David Watford

Chris Jones made a quarterback change after just one half against the Montreal Alouettes.

Canadian Brandon Bridge completed 8-of-18 passes for 111 yards while being intercepted two times in the first half against the Als as the Riders trailed 13-3 at halftime.

“It’s not like it’s magic because if it was magic I would have already told him at halftime. We’ll look at the film and see what his issues are and try to bring Brandon along. We’ve won a lot of games with him so it’s not like he’s a bad quarterback, it just wasn’t his night,” Jones said.

“It may be good for Brandon.”

First-year CFL QB David Watford entered the game in the third quarter. He completed 8-of-17 balls for 87 yards and one interception in Saskatchewan’s first pre-season game and 9-of-17 for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception and two carries for 17 yards in the second.

“Brandon was struggling a little bit in the first half seeing the game and we decided at halftime that it would be the better option to try out David,” Jones said after the loss.

Watford hit on 10-of-22 passes for 108 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while rushing five times for 21 yards. He led the Riders to 14 points compared to Bridge’s output of three in the first half.

“Bad, bad,” Watford described his performance. “A lot to learn from, a lot to correct, but it’s a part of growing, a part of learning.”

Starter Zach Collaros is on the six-game injured list with a concussion.

After the game, Jones would not name a starting quarterback for Saskatchewan’s Week 4 matchup versus Hamilton.