The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0) hosted the Toronto Argonauts (2-2) on Thursday night from Mosaic Stadium. Saskatchewan quarterback Shea Patterson made his first career CFL start.
With Saskatchewan starter Trevor Harris out, many came into this game not knowing what to expect except for a Toronto win. The game looked to be headed that way but the Roughriders’ defense put on a show in front of the home crowd.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Saskatchewan punter Adam Korsak punted the ball 51 yards to punt returner Janarion Grant. Grant broke a tackle before sprinting toward the endzone for an 84-yard touchdown. It was the first special teams’ touchdown in the CFL this season.
The Argos had initially made a two-point conversion but a holding penalty backed them up ten yards. They were unable to get the two-point conversion and led 6-0 with 11:39 left of the first quarter.
Saskatchewan’s defense made a big play with 6:02 left of the first quarter when linebacker C.J. Avery punched the ball out of Toronto running back Ka’Deem Carey’s arm and Jameer Thurman was there for the recovery on the Argos’ 47-yard line. Three plays later, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther kicked a 48-yard field goal and the Roughriders trailed the Argonauts 6-3 with 4:09 left of the first quarter.
Toronto had the ball for the final 3:07 left of the first quarter. They went on a seven-play drive for 46 yards but lost 10 yards due to an offsides penalty. The Argonauts led the Roughriders 6-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 4 of 9 passes for 23 yards, and two carries for six yards, while Saskatchewan quarterback Shea Patterson got off to a slow start completing 1 of 4 passes for 12 yards, and two carries for one yard. Patterson improved as the game went along.
Second Quarter:
On the first play of the second quarter, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 48-yard field goal extending the Argos lead to 9-3 with 14:46 left. On Saskatchewan’s drive, they went on an eight-play drive for 94 yards ending when quarterback Shea Patterson spotted Toronto’s blitz before completing a pass to Samuel Emilus. Emilus broke one tackle before scoring a 34-yard touchdown putting the Roughriders up 10-9 with 5:20 left of the second quarter.
Toronto had a chance to regain the lead on their next drive but kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a 47-yard field goal wide left with 2:47 left before halftime. Saskatchewan’s defense came up with another big play late in the second quarter when Deontai Williams intercepted Cameron Dukes’s pass intended for Damonte Coxie.
The Roughriders had a chance to add to their lead with no time left but kicker Brett Lauther missed a 57-yard field goal that hit off the crossbar so they were not able to get a single point. The Roughriders led the Argonauts 10-9 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Saskatchewan had 130 yards on offense (108 passing yards, 36 rushing yards, 14 yards lost). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 8 of 13 passes (62%) for 108 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for one yard. Running back A.J. Ouellette had seven carries for 27 yards and made one catch for six yards.
Wide receiver Samuel Emilus made one catch for 34 yards, and one touchdown, while Kian Schaffer-Baker made three catches for 30 yards. The defense made two turnovers, one sack, and two tackles for loss. The team was penalized four times for 40 yards.
Toronto had 128 yards on offense (98 passing yards, 31 rushing yards, seven yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 10 of 19 passes (53%) for 98 yards, one interception, and four carries for 22 yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had six carries for nine yards and made one catch for 10 yards.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made three catches for 54 yards, and Rasheed Bailey made two catches for 19 yards. Toronto’s defense made one sack. The team was penalized four times for 35 yards.
Third Quarter:
The game picked up in the second half. In the third quarter, Saskatchewan went on a five-play drive for 36 yards resulting in kicker Brett Lauther making a 28-yard field goal for a 13-9 lead with 10:50 left.
Next, Toronto went on a four-play drive for 54 yards but was called for a holding penalty for 10 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 40-yard field goal and the score was now 13-12 Saskatchewan with 7:13 left of the third quarter.
When Toronto got the ball back with six minutes left, they gave it right back to Saskatchewan. On the third play from scrimmage, Cameron Dukes was eying DaVaris Daniels and when he threw the ball, defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. was there for the interception. He returned it for four yards before stepping out of the bounds on the Argos’ 45-yard line. Five plays later, Toronto attempted to blitz Shea Patterson at the nine-yard line. He escaped the blitz before running in for a nine-yard touchdown extending Saskatchewan’s lead 20-12 with 1:02 left of the third quarter. On the final play of the third quarter, Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes threw an incomplete pass to DaVaris Daniels. The Roughriders led the Argonauts 20-12 with one-quarter left to go.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Toronto marched down the field for a nine-play drive for 45 yards ending when Ka’Deem Carey scored a three-yard touchdown. The Argonauts went for another two-point conversion and got it. The game was tied 20-20 with 10:06 left.
The turning point of this game happened with 6:36 left when Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes tried to complete a pass to Damonte Coxie but he overthrew him and Saskatchewan defensive back Marcus Sayles was there for the interception taking it to the house for a pick-six 46-yard touchdown. The score was now 27-20 Saskatchewan with 6:11 left in the game.
When Toronto got the ball back, quarterback Cameron Dukes made another mistake attempting to throw the ball toward DaVaris Daniels but Rolan Milligan Jr. was there for his second interception of the game. Saskatchewan took advantage when kicker Brett Lauther kicked an 11-yard field goal for a 30-20 lead with 3:12 left in the game. The Roughriders scored 13 points off turnovers. For Cameron Dukes, his night was over.
Nick Arbuckle was the new Toronto quarterback. He led the Argos to a four-play drive for 35 yards before kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 42-yard field goal. The score was now 30-23 with 1:54 left of the fourth quarter.
Saskatchewan was able to get two first downs before taking a knee to end the game. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Toronto Argonauts by the final score of 30-23.
Final Stats:
Saskatchewan had 270 yards on offense. (192 passing yards, 93 rushing yards, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 15 of 23 passes (65.2%) for 192 yards, one touchdown, four carries for 18 yards, and one touchdown. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 19 carries for 69 yards, and made one catch for six yards.
Wide receiver Samuel Emilus made three catches for 54 yards, and one touchdown, while Kian Schaffer-Baker made four catches for 43 yards. Kicker Brett Lauther made 3 of 4 field goals with a long of 48 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense made 39 tackles, four tackles for loss, nine tackles on special teams, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and four interceptions.
Toronto had 318 yards on offense (241 passing yards, 86 rushing yards, 9 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 19 of 33 passes (58%) for 206 yards, four interceptions, and six carries for 47 yards.
Backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 4 of 6 passes (66%) for 35 yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 11 carries for 39 yards, one touchdown, and made one catch for 10 yards.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made five catches for 76 yards, while Rasheed Bailey made seven catches for 66 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu 3 of 4 field goals with a long of 48 yards. Toronto’s defense made 43 tackles, six tackles on special teams, and one sack.
Final Thoughts:
Shea Patterson did a nice job. He struggled in the beginning and got better as the game went along. He was making smart decisions with the football using his legs to extend plays and find guys wide open. Both defenses blitzed a lot in the game and Patterson was ready for Toronto’s attack. He kept his composure and the team remains undefeated. Saskatchewan’s defense was lights out creating five turnovers and played well. If they can continue to create turnovers, Saskatchewan’s defense is going to cause problems in the CFL.
For Toronto, this was not a good game for Cameron Dukes. I will say this, in this game, he was looking at one player to throw the ball to and Saskatchewan’s defense knew where he was going.
Quarterbacks do not see the entire field. When you watch older games with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers, those guys were observing the field looking to see where the defense was at. If they did not like what they saw, they called an audible. In the case of Dukes, he picked one guy, had his eyes on him the whole time, so the defense knew where he was going and the result was four interceptions.
If Dukes had looked around the field, he would’ve found other guys wide open to throw the ball to. After all, he played in the indoor league. If you know anything about indoor football, you have to know who’s there and where they are located before having to get rid of the ball in three seconds or less.
For Dukes and the rest of the quarterbacks, they need to watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Kurt Warner’s arena football days to learn the quarterback position. If they would just look at the entire field before snapping the ball, they would not be throwing tons of interceptions.
Next Thursday, the Toronto Argonauts visit the Montreal Alouettes at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
