‘It hurts’: Riders’ season ends after 21-17 loss to Bombers

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Grey Cup hopes have come to an end at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a third straight season.

The team was beaten 21-17 by the Bombers in the CFL’s West Division final Sunday.

“It hurts,” defensive tackle Micah Johnson said after the loss. “It’s just when two teams get after each other when you play in a Western final game, it usually comes down to who makes the least mistakes and who executes a little more and it usually comes down to a couple of plays.

“We had a chance to win it at the end so those types of games were tough.”

The Riders’ defence forced six turnovers — three interceptions, two fumbles, and a turnover on downs — but it wasn’t enough to overcome the CFL’s top team.

Johnson was surprised to hear that the Bombers had turned the ball over that many times and still found a way to win.

“The football gods were on their side today. I didn’t know they had that many turnovers. There’s really no explanation for that. Usually, (with) the turnover margin, you go up plus-one and your chances are significant (to win). Plus-two and you’re supposed to win that game,” Johnson said.

Five of the turnovers came in the first half of the game.

But despite the Riders’ defence taking the ball away from the Bombers, Saskatchewan could only muster a 10-7 lead at halftime after a one-yard rushing touchdown by running back William Powell and a 16-yard field goal by kicker Brett Lauther.

“We need to score touchdowns. That was a point of emphasis for us all year — touchdowns and not field goals,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said. “It’s just two heavyweights going at it and guys find ways to make plays to keep teams out of the end zone so credit to Winnipeg.”

This was the second time in a row the Green and White fell to their Manitoban rivals in the division final.

In 2019, the Blue Bombers earned a 20-13 win to squash Rider Nation’s chances at a Grey Cup. In 2018, Winnipeg beat Saskatchewan 23-18 in the West semifinal.

“It’s tough. 2019 was pretty hard because it was in front of our home fans and being in a hostile environment and you’re against the (odds) but still the same sick stomach (feeling),” quarterback Cody Fajardo said.

“They all hurt when you get this close,” Johnson said. “You just feel like you came up short — you’re upset and you’re disappointed. You’re one game away and you feel like you let your team down (and) you let your fans down.”

Bombers quarterback Zack Collaros completed 16 of 20 pass attempts Sunday for 217 yards, with a touchdown and three interceptions.

Bombers running back Andrew Harris had 136 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

“They definitely gained the edge in the run game. There were too many seven- or eight-yard runs. We gave up too much in the running game,” Johnson said.

Harris was a game-time decision due to a knee injury but Dickenson doesn’t think it was as up in the air as the Bombers made it seem.

“We don’t believe a word we see when it comes to the injury report on Andrew Harris. A game-time decision? Did you see him out there? He was on fire, not just running the ball but he was in the end zone celebrating so he’s fine,” Dickenson said. “I think they just rested him and I think he was 100 per cent, if not more.”

Fajardo went 19-for-27 passing for 265 yards and a touchdown.

Slotback Duke Williams, who was a game-time decision due to turf toe, was another impressive presence in the game, catching four passes for 108 yards. That included a 67-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to put the Riders up 17-14.

While the Bombers went up 21-17 late after a one-yard run by Bombers backup quarterback Sean McGuire, the Riders found themselves in a familiar position in the fourth quarter. They had a chance to win the game late with a drive that started with just 3:07 left in the game.

The Riders moved the ball 58 yards, aided by a 31-yard pass to Williams.

But Williams was hurt on the play and didn’t return to the game as the Riders made their final push.

While the Riders clawed out close games all year, they ultimately came up short at IG Field, with a third-down pass to slotback Mitch Picton — who was in for the injured Williams — knocked down by Winnipeg halfback Nick Taylor.

“I’m very proud of the guys. Nobody thought it would be close and we got out to an early lead and our defence played amazing and got a bunch of turnovers and we handled the noise and we handled the conditions just to give ourselves a chance,” Fajardo said.

“That’s what you want in the West final. You want the ball in your hands with the game on the line and it’s unfortunate that it ended the way it ended.

“Losing Duke at the end there – nothing against Picton, but he has been standing on the sideline all game and all of a sudden he has to go in and make the biggest catch of the game. That’s just a tough situation for him to do that.”

After the game, Fajardo admitted the weather — high wind gusts and blowing snow — made things challenging at times in the game.

“You can’t really call the deep shots you want to call when you’re going into the wind. It’s a little bit tougher. We knew that running the football was going to be an opportunity in conditions like that. I thought Winnipeg ran the ball really well and I thought we ran the ball really well,” Fajardo said.

“They did just enough more than us.”

As the Riders reflect on another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, it presents another opportunity to try and find out what needs to happen to make the next step and get back to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2013.

“I wish I had the answer (t0 beating the Bombers) and things might be a little different for me. I’ll watch the tape. I’m in my second year as a CFL starter and to be in two West finals, I’m going to hang my hat on that but also my goal is to win a Grey Cup for this organization,” Fajardo said.

“(I’ll) take these experiences, take these hard losses, and let it drive me and motivate me for the future years.”

“I’ll have to sit back and look at our roster and talk with (general manager Jeremy O’Day). I think we’re close but close is not good enough. We still need to get a lot better in a lot of ways,” Dickenson said.

But while Winnipeg heads east to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup for a second straight season, the Riders will fly back to Regina to clean out their lockers after another disappointing end to the season.

“It’s sad and the reason it is sad is that the CFL is so unique that the team has so much turnover from year to year,” Fajardo said. “We will never be the same team again. It’s tough because there’s a lot of guys I love in that room and I know I won’t ever play another football game with them again.”