Big deal! The Saskatchewan Roughriders just beat the CFL’s two weakest teams. After a one-point victory against the Toronto Argonauts eight days earlier, the Roughriders dumped the Montreal Alouettes 34-29 on Sunday. And truthfully, it is a big deal.
The two-game winning streak puts the Roughriders firmly into second place in the West, with a solid grip on a home playoff game as they face four more regular-season contests against divisional opponents. The fact the Roughriders barely held onto those victories is worthy of note, but both games were played in the East, with travel and time-zone issues to overcome, so they deserve some credit.
With seven touchdowns in those two games, Saskatchewan’s offence finally appears capable of helping win games. Quarterback Zach Collaros had his finest game since joining the Roughriders, throwing for almost 400 yards with rookie receivers Kyran Moore and Shaq Evans each contributing 100-yard games.
Head coach Chris Jones has been concerned lately about his defence, which carried the Roughriders through the first half of the season. Apart from watching Als quarterback Johnny Manziel run a few times and throw for his first CFL touchdown, it wasn’t a defensive disaster. It was good enough to beat a bad team, a bad team that beat the Riders earlier this season.