The B.C. Lions came away with a much-needed win on Saturday evening, defeating the reeling Toronto Argonauts 26-23 at B.C. Place.
Here are the three main takeaways.
Battle of the Run Game
In the CFL, 40 combined rushes from running backs is a rare sight.
But between the Lions and Argos, that was the exact number. Jeremiah Johnson surpassed 100 yards on the ground for the first time all season. With Terell Sutton getting first-team reps at practice last week, help is on its way too.
For the Argos, Brandon Burks rushed for 92 yards on eight carries. One of them was a 68-yard dash in the second quarter that eventually set up a touchdown for Toronto.
Additionally, speedy former NFL’er Dexter McCluster ran 10 times, averaging 5.3 yards a carry.
Pick Party
Mcleod Bethel-Thompson has had quite the drop-off since his honeymoon phase at the beginning of the year, taking over for the injured Ricky Ray.
Bethel-Thompson has thrown picks in five consecutive games now. On Saturday, he threw four. Two of them to defensive tackle Davon Coleman. Emphasis on defensive tackle!
I was surprised James Franklin didn’t get action earlier on in the game, after taking over at the start of the 4th quarter. Bethel-Thompson was inaccurate for the majority of the game and didn’t seem to have much confidence every time he stepped out onto the field.
GM/QB Drama?
On Friday, BC Lions GM Ed Hervey spoke to Ed Willes of The Province and seemed to question Jonathon Jennings’ work habits.
“I’ve been around some good quarterbacks and they lived around the facility. The good ones usually do. No knock on Jonathon, but you rarely see him around the facility enough to give you any indication that he’s ready to take it to that level.”
No knock? Sure seems like one Ed.
All you need to know after reading that quote is that Jennings may not be in the Lions’ future plans like we initially thought. And as far as this year goes, once Lulay’s shoulder is right, he’s Hervey’s guy.
The Lions can get above .500 for the first time since their Week 1 win when they travel to Calgary to take on the class of the West.
Main image credit: Embed from Getty Images
