Riders’ offence not worried about second-half struggles against Lions

Jason Maas thinks a few factors played into why the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offence had two very different halves Friday.

One of those was the B.C. Lions making adjustments during the teams’ CFL game at Mosaic Stadium.

But another reason is that the Riders’ mistakes were self-inflicted.

“(Quarterback) Cody Fajardo dropped a ball in the backfield. I think we lost yardage on a play where we could have got a couple on. We had a couple drops here and there,” Maas, the Roughriders’ offensive co-ordinator, said Tuesday.

The Riders found themselves scoring early and often against the Lions, going up 31-0 before halftime.

But the offence fizzled in the second half, putting up only two points the rest of the way as the Roughriders narrowly beat the Lions 33-29.

“We started so hot that anything less than that was going to be noticed,” Maas said.

But Maas and the rest of the offence don’t appear to be worried, saying that’s how the game of football goes sometimes.

“If we would have had a normal second half — six, seven or eight first downs instead of two — and did what we did, it wouldn’t be as noticed,” Maas said.

“When I looked back on it, our second-down calls — if we would have gotten two yards on first down — are first downs. Then you’re starting to search (and try to) get something in rhythm instead of just calling the game how you want to call it and that’s what ends up happening.

“When you can see the score going the way it was and we weren’t playing well, everyone wants to make a play and they want to stay on the field and there’s a little bit of angst and not that relaxed feeling.”

Fajardo was sharp in his first game action in 628 days. The 29-year-old pivot finished with 28 completions in 38 pass attempts for 230 yards with a pair of touchdowns and one interception. He started the game by connecting on his first 15 pass attempts.

“It felt really good. Offensively, I thought we were clicking and had three incredible drives that really tired out the B.C. Lions’ defence,” Fajardo said. “Anytime you can do that as an offence, especially the first game of the year, you really see what kind of conditioning the other team is in.”

And like his co-ordinator, Fajardo feels like the offence shot itself in the foot by not performing well on first down in the second half of the clash.

“We found ourselves in too many second-and-longs and that plays to the defence’s advantage. We just have to stay on schedule and be better on first down and I think we would be a lot better in that second half,” Fajardo said.

And the offence isn’t dwelling on the struggles as it took the the field for practice Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-1) at Mosaic Stadium.

“You win your first game of the year in front of a sold-out crowd, there’s nothing to be sad about. We went out there and did what we were supposed to do — go out and try to win a football game,” Fajardo said.

“It’s a big character game when things aren’t going right, you start off so great, and nobody started pointing fingers, no one started yelling or complaining to the coaches.

“I think games like that will pay dividends towards the middle and end of the season.”

Notes: Defensive back Elie Bouka joined the team on the field for the first time this season after completing his seven-day quarantine on Tuesday … Offensive lineman Mattland Riley (illness) continues to miss practice … Linebacker Kevin Francis and defensive end Pete Robertson were both sidelined after picking up hamstring injuries in Friday’s game … Slotback Justin McInnis (hamstring) was a full participant Tuesday … Slotback Brayden Lenius, who tossed the football into the stands after scoring the first touchdown of his CFL career, says the family who caught it has contacted him and will be returning the ball to him.