The good, the bad, and the dumb of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 40-37 win over Calgary

Photo courtesy: Mike Spowart/CFL.

If making games far more interesting than they should have been was considered art, the Saskatchewan Roughriders produced a masterpiece on Saturday evening in Calgary.

The Riders won 40-37 in double overtime, but it was a game that had no business being that close. For Rider fans, the contest was surely anxiety-inducing. For the casual viewer, the game was another highly entertaining game to start the 2026 CFL season.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the dumb of the Riders’ second win of the season.

The Good

Mistakes happen, but what’s more important than the mistake is how you learn from them. We’ll get to Corey Mace’s decision to send Alex Hale out for a 47-yard field goal attempt just before the half in a bit. However, I believe it’s also important to mention when someone clearly learns from their mistake.

Around the mid-way point of the third quarter, the Riders found themselves in a third-and-eight at the Calgary 33-yard line. That was five yards closer than the missed attempt from Hale just before the half, but it was also still further than a PAT, which Hale also missed on the touchdown before that.

In that moment, Mace made the correct call to keep Trevor Harris and the offence on the field to try to pick up the first down. Mace was rewarded for the decision by Harris, who found Sam Emilus for a 13-yard gain. The drive would eventually end in a touchdown from KeeSean Johnson, which gave the Riders a 31-17 lead following a two-point conversion. That was also the right call.

Things went sideways for the Riders from there, but at the time, Mace showed he could learn from his mistakes. It should have been enough to give his team the win.

Bonus Good

There’s an old saying that nice guys finish last, but I don’t necessarily believe in that. Eventually, the good guys in life win. It was great to hear Winnipeg Blue Bombers radio play-by-play announcer Derek Taylor return to TSN and get to call a game on national TV. Hopefully, it’s not the last.

The Bad

The Riders were by far their own worst enemy in this game. They had the Stamps on the ropes just before the half when, as previously discussed, Mace inexplicably sent out kicker Alex Hale for a 47-yard field goal in the dying seconds of the second quarter.

Hale had just missed the PAT on a touchdown that gave the Riders a 23-7 lead, kicking into a pretty wild wind. There was virtually no chance the Aussie was going to make an even tougher kick in that situation. Instead of leading by two scores, it was suddenly a one-score game at the half.

Through two quarters, the Riders had 316 net yards of offence to Calgary’s 52. All of the Stamps’ points came from a turnover and the missed kick. It should have been a blowout.

Despite that, the Green and White were able to right the ship out of the break by holding Calgary to a field goal, before responding with a touchdown of their own to hold a 31-17 lead.

From there, the team’s inability to close out games kicked in, as the Riders punted on their final five possessions of regulation and Calgary tied the game in the final minute. Had Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson done the right thing and gone for two, Calgary probably would have won.

The defence did its part in the near collapse as well. Defensive coordinator Joshua Bell’s group largely held Calgary’s best weapon, running back Dedrick Mills, in check through three quarters before he exploded for 62 yards in the final frame, helping his team tie the game. An inexcusable first-and-20 conversion in the second overtime also forced the Riders into a touchdown to win the game instead of a field goal, though that may have been better given Hale’s night against the wind.

One of these days, playing with fire is going to get this team burned. Luckily for them, it wasn’t this time.

The Dumb

The wind played a role in just about every aspect of this game, and that includes kickoffs.

Following Kian Schaffer-Baker’s second touchdown of the night, Hale sent the kickoff high into the wind, causing it to hang up there for much longer than usual. No Stampeder was able to get under it in time, as Kerfalla Exume tracked it down and caught it on the bounce.

It’s not every day you see a kickoff recovered when it wasn’t an intentional onside attempt, but it’s always fun when you do.

Joel Gasson is a Regina-based sports writer, broadcaster and football fanatic. He is also a beer aficionado.