The Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-1) hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4) on Friday night from Mosaic Stadium in their first meeting of the season.
The Roughriders have not been beaten at home this season while the Blue Bombers came into this game on a two-game winning streak. This game was a defensive battle filled with lots of two-and-out plays and dropped passes.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, the Blue Bombers went on a five-play drive for 51 yards before kicker Sergio Castillo made a 35-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 11:36 left.
In Saskatchewan’s second series of the game, quarterback Shea Patterson led the team on a six-play drive for 65 yards ending when kicker Brett Lauther made a 28-yard field goal and the game was tied 3-3 with 4:53 left of the first quarter.
On the final play of the first quarter, Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveria rushed up the middle for a gain of 10 yards to their 36-yard line. The game remained tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Winnipeg had 62 yards on offense (51 yards passing, 11 yards rushing). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 4 of 8 passes for 51 yards. Saskatchewan had 84 yards on offense (52 yards passing, 32 yards rushing). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 3 of 7 passes for 52 yards, and three carries for 14 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Winnipeg continued to march down the field on a seven-play drive for 26 yards before kicker Sergio Castillo made a 56-yard field goal giving the Blue Bombers a 6-3 lead with 10:25 left.
Saskatchewan responded by going on a four-play drive for 38 yards ending with kicker Brett Lauther making a 41-yard field goal and the game was tied again 6-6 with 7:47 left of the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, Winnipeg had a chance to take the lead but kicker Sergio Castillo missed a 61-yard field goal, and the game remained tied 6-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 120 yards on offense (91 yards passing, 29 yards rushing). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 10 of 16 passes (63%) for 91 yards. Running back Brady Oliveria had six carries for 27 yards and made five catches for 37 yards.
Wide receiver Josh Johnson made two catches for 32 yards, while Kevens Clercius made two catches for 21 yards. Winnipeg was penalized two times for 20 yards.
Saskatchewan had 157 yards on offense (102 yards passing, 55 yards rushing). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 102 yards, and three carries for 14 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 8 carries for 41 yards.
Wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker made four catches for 60 yards before leaving the game with an upper-body injury in the second quarter and did not return. Shawn Bane Jr. made two catches for 23 yards. Saskatchewan was penalized four times for 35 yards.
Third Quarter:
On the second series for Saskatchewan in the third quarter, quarterback Shea Patterson led the team to a six-play drive for 74 yards before spotting Winnipeg’s busted coverage and throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Clint Ratkovich. The Roughriders led 13-6 with 7:49 left of the third quarter.
Saskatchewan’s defense came up with a nice play as Adam Auclair intercepted Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Nic Demski with 2:56 left. Collaros was careless with the football throwing it into coverage instead of throwing it out of bounds.
Saskatchewan was moving the ball down the field until Winnipeg defensive lineman Willie Jefferson sacked Shea Patterson for a 16-yard loss on the Blue Bombers’ 34-yard line. On the final play of the third quarter, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette rushed for a gain of 11 yards putting the team in field goal range. The Roughriders led the Blue Bombers 13-6 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther kicked a 31-yard field goal for a 16-6 lead with 14:44 left. On the second series for Winnipeg, they went on a five-play drive for 64 yards before kicker Sergio Castillo made a 39-yard field goal and trailed the Roughriders 16-9 with 5:49 left in the game.
When Winnipeg went back out for their next drive, things seemed to be going in the right direction until Collaros threw a pass to Nic Demski for 50 yards. Saskatchewan linebacker Jameer Thurman punched the ball out of Demski’s arm causing a fumble and Marcus Sayles was there for the recovery returning it for 14 yards before getting tackled on their 29-yard line.
The Roughriders took advantage of the turnover when kicker Brett Lauther made a 32-yard field goal for a 19-9 lead with 1:31 left in the game. The drive went for four plays for 57 yards.
Winnipeg had one more chance to get close to Saskatchewan. However, on third down, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Malik Carney stripped the ball out of Zach Collaros’s hand and Brady Oliveria recovered it but the Roughriders took over. Saskatchewan ran out the final 50 seconds to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 19-9. These two teams will meet again on Labour Day Weekend.
Final Stats:
Saskatchewan had 377 yards on offense (261 yards passing, 132 yards rushing, 16 yards lost). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 17 of 25 passes (68%) for 261 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 35 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 17 carries for 88 yards.
Wide receiver Ajou Ajou made four catches for 110 yards, while Samuel Emilus made six catches for 53 yards. Kicker Brett Lauther made four field goals with a long of 51 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense made 34 tackles, 10 tackles on special teams, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Saskatchewan was penalized five times for 50 yards.
Winnipeg had 322 yards on offense (266 yards passing, 65 yards rushing, 9 yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 20 of 31 passes (65%) for 266 yards, one interception, and two carries for 9 yards. Running back Brady Oliveria had 9 carries for 49 yards and made 9 catches for 80 yards.
Wide receiver Nic Demski made three catches for 56 yards, while Ontaria Wilson made two catches for 48 yards. Kicker Sergio Castillo made 3 of 4 field goals with a long of 56 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 43 tackles, three tackles for loss, six tackles on special teams, and one sack. Winnipeg was penalized six times for 81 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Both defenses played well keeping this a low-scoring game. Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace and his staff were able to make adjustments to help them win the game. Saskatchewan’s offense mixed in some plays that Winnipeg’s defense was not ready for. The breakdown in coverage that led to the Roughriders touchdown was the difference in this game.
On the other side, Winnipeg did not adjust at all. The coaching staff did not adjust accordingly. When Saskatchewan was mixing in different plays, the Blue Bombers stood firm and did nothing. They kept calling the same plays over and over again to the point where the Roughriders knew what play was coming next. The Blue Bombers need to create new plays or else this season is going to get worse.
Both quarterbacks did not play badly. At times, they were hitting their open targets right between the numbers but the receivers could not catch the ball. Both quarterback’s stats would have been better had their guys made the catches.
Saskatchewan Quarterback Shea Patterson still has a lot of work to do but you can see he is improving as a quarterback. The Roughriders are now 5-1 and one win away from matching their total wins from 2023.
Next Thursday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Montreal Alouettes at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the Toronto Argonauts 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.
