As they always say, it wasn’t pretty but a win is a win. Brett Lauther continued his magnificent season going 3/3 on all of his attempts including a 56-yard game winning field goal with 1:20 left in the fourth. While the offence saw improvements from last week’s rough outing against Ottawa, the second half saw the same problems arise as seen in games past.
Zach Collaros
Collaros went 14/25 for 233 yards along with two touchdowns and interceptions apiece. The first half saw Collaros making well-timed throws while navigating the pocket with ease as he connected twice with rookie standout Jordan Williams-Lambert for touchdowns. Roosevelt was also on the receiving end of some key passes that saw the Riders push the ball downfield. Collaros also added 28 yards on the ground this game. However, as the second half came around, Collaros would only go on to put up five completions on 11 attempts for 92 yards and what could have been a back-breaking pick-six. Rider fans should be cautiously optimistic with this performance and what it means going forward. If Collaros can limit turnovers while converting first downs at key points in games, this defence can take care of the rest going forward.
Run Game
The running game has been the Riders bread and butter when the offence goes stale this season. Thigpen was able to break out another one of his signature runs again this game, rattling off an 82-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Though the run game tapered off in the second half, it was the key runs that helped keep the Roughriders offence on the field.
Defence
While James Wilder Jr. only had nine carries, he quietly averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Whether it was due to the Argos constantly being in a hole that led them to not feed him more, the Riders can say they kept him contained for 48 yards rushing. Mcleod Bethel-Thompson added 321 yards by air but was unable to connect for any points this game. The throw he’ll want back the most was with 15 seconds left when he overthrew a wide-open S.J. Green up the middle. Green was responsible for 106 of the 321 yards that Bethel-Thompson threw for. Chad Geter and Willie Jefferson had a sack apiece while Loucheiz Purifoy tacked on an interception. Finally, what was touted as the Duron Carter “revenge” game was much ado about nothing as he finished the game without a catch.
The Last Word
The Riders needed this game and no matter how ugly it was, they now find themselves in sole possession of second place after Edmonton’s loss to Ottawa dropping them to 7-6. Brett Lauther can probably take Monday off for his troubles, next up, the Riders travel to Montreal where they’ll try to avenge their Week 3 home loss.
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