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    Ottawa Redblacks bullied by B.C. Lions, fall to 0-11 (& 10 other thoughts)

    News DeskBy No Comments11 Mins Read
    Ottawa Redblacks bullied by B.C. Lions, fall to 0-11 (& 10 other thoughts)




    Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca

    In their first home game in a month, the Ottawa Redblacks found themselves on the wrong side of another lopsided loss, this time a 45-24 beatdown at the hands of the visiting B.C. Lions.

    It was Ottawa’s fifth double-digit defeat in a row, and their 17th straight loss, a streak that dates nearly a full calendar year.

    Here are my thoughts on the game.

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    Not enough

    It was another monotonous performance from quarterback Jake Maier. As with several other games this season, while the loss can’t be laid directly at the 29-year-old pivot’s feet, he didn’t do nearly enough to help his team win.

    Maier missed a number of open receivers, putting passes behind, above, or short of his target. Overall, he completed 57.6 percent of his throws for 291 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception.

    Unlike previous weeks, Maier showed a willingness to actually push the ball down the field against the Lions — the only problem was he mostly failed to connect on those deeper attempts. With the loss, Maier makes CFL history becoming the only quarterback in league history to ever open a season with 11 consecutive losses.

    At this point, it’s hard to see what benefit the team gets from continuing to start their veteran quarterback. While he might not be directly responsible for losses, he is responsible for not doing enough to carry the team to wins.

    At the end of the day, CFL quarterbacks are paid to elevate the play of those around them and be positive difference makers. Through almost two-thirds of the season, Maier hasn’t done that.

    Time to pivot

    With that in mind, count me amongst those who believe it’s time to give rookie American quarterback Bryson Barnes an extended look.

    While I’m aware that there are legitimate concerns about harming the confidence of a young passer by throwing him to the wolves before he’s ready, I do think quarterback is the kind of position where you can only learn so much by sitting on the sidelines and watching. At a certain point, the best teacher is experience, which can only be gained on the field.

    Barnes was given one series at the end of the game against the Lions, and while his stats need to be taken with a grain of salt given they came against a defence playing soft with a three-score lead, he still completed all five passes he attempted for 57 yards.

    Naming the 24-year-old as the starter for the rest of the season would allow head coach and offensive coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie to tailor game plans to his mobility and skill set.

    At best, his insertion into the offence would give the unit a jolt of energy and enthusiasm. At worst, he experiences plenty of rookie growing pains. Either way, it’ll give the organization a good idea of his capabilities heading into next season.

    Back to basics

    Despite starting strong with a pair of turnovers thanks to the efforts of Canadian safety Alonzo Addae, it was another brutal outing from the Redblacks’ defence.

    Things seemed promising when the Lions only had a field goal to show for their efforts after four possessions, but then things quickly fell apart for Jeff Reinebold’s unit, as B.C. scored touchdowns on six of their next nine possessions.

    No matter what the Lions did, Ottawa had no answer. The Redblacks defence finished the game by conceding 6.8 yards per rushing attempting and a stunning 14.2 yards per pass.

    Of Nathan Rourke’s 355 passing yards, 177 (49.9 percent) came after the catch. It was tough to watch defenders repeatedly fail to make routine tackles that would’ve limited gains.

    Missing tackles wasn’t limited to receivers or running backs, either. In the first half alone, the Redblacks could’ve notched an additional three sacks, but all three times they either failed to wrap up on Rourke or simply missed him despite having him dead to rights.

    Time of possession did the unit no favours, as the Lions’ offence was on the field for 37 minutes. Not only were the Lions marching for long drives, they used up-tempo effectively, frequently going no-huddle. Perhaps part of the fatigue that set in was reflected in the multiple Ottawa defenders who were hurt during the game.

    In terms of noteworthy performances, Canadian safety Scott Hutter made eight tackles, while Canadian defensive back King Ambers had five tackles, a knockdown and a fumble recovery. Shadwel Nkuba II notched six tackles, while Nyles Morgan made five tackles and forced a fumble. In his fourth consecutive start at linebacker, Canadian Lucas Cormier made five tackles as well.

    Less than nothing

    If rushing for no yards is bad, then rushing for negative yardage is downright embarrassing. On a night when their opponent handed off the ball 34 times for 231 yards, the Redblacks’ offence had a total of seven rushing attempts for a humiliating minus-three yards.

    Ottawa’s utter failure to establish themselves on the ground has been well documented, but things reached a new low on Sunday night. Even though the Lions are the best team in the league at stopping the run — they give up just 65 rushing yards per game — there’s no justification for finishing with negative rushing yards.

    Things are in a sorry state of affairs when your team’s leading rusher is the third-string quarterback. Barnes finished with two yards on two carries and that was ahead of Greg Bell’s two carries for minus-one yard and Daniel Adeboboye’s one carry for one yard.

    Even the two changes to the starting offensive line — Sam Carson was at right guard and Julian Pearl at right tackle — isn’t an excuse.

    Either the Redblacks are the first team in the history of the CFL to have zero offensive linemen capable of run blocking, or their blocking schemes truly are that bad. Through 11 games, I’m inclined to believe the latter, because it’s not as if Ottawa has no talent or experience at the position.

    Whatever offensive line coach Mike Gibson is trying to have his guys do clearly isn’t working. Hopefully, some answers can be found during the team’s upcoming bye week. Until the Redblacks can run the ball with any semblance of competence, their offence will continue to work with one hand tied behind their back.

    Opportunistic-ish

    Dinwiddie’s offence started off hot, turning a pair of interceptions from the defence into a quick 14 points. Unfortunately for the Redblacks, that was about as good as things got.

    Of Ottawa’s 14 drives, eight gained ten yards or less, and 11 picked up two (or less) first downs. The unit also gave the ball away four times, including yet another turnover on downs when facing third-and-goal from the one-yard line. Overall, Maier and company went just two-of-four in the red zone.

    After putting up 17 points in the first half, the Redblacks managed just one score over the game’s final 30 minutes. Their lack of production with the ball is highlighted by the fact that after falling behind 14-3, B.C. went on to outscore Ottawa 42-10 the rest of the game.

    White hot

    When the season ends, there will be plenty of questions about roster turnover and who should be let go for 2027. One player whose name won’t be in those conversations is second-year pro Keelan White.

    The 24-year-old Canadian continued his strong season against the Lions, turning 12 targets into eight catchers for 127 yards, with 53 of those yards coming after the catch. It was White’s seventh game in a row with at least six receptions.

    It’s not just that White is making catches, it’s how. He’s fearlessly working the middle of the field and grinding out yards after the ball in his hands.

    As for the rest of the receiving corps, the always reliable Justin Hardy snagged seven balls for 90 yards. While Ayden Eberhardt only managed to secure two of the five passes sent his way, he made each of his catches count, turning both into touchdowns. His 49-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter was highlighted by a perfectly-timed spin move.

    The explosive Kalil Pimpleton was held without a catch, partly because the balls sent his way were off-target, but also because on a couple of plays where he beat his defender, the ball wasn’t sent his way.

    Walking wounded

    On the depth chart released the day before the game, the Redblacks had 19 players listed on the six-game injured list.

    During the game, Ottawa lost C.J. Reavis, Jessie Evans, Brian Cole, and Sam Carson, while Morgan Nyles and Lucas Cormier were also shaken up. Injuries are no excuse for a lack of execution, but the rate at which the Redblacks are losing players is insane.

    Injuries aren’t unique to Ottawa, but given the slew they’ve had in recent seasons, the organization intended to address the issue in the offseason when they added Gerry Townend and Chris Schwarz to their staff. The duo were signed from the Ottawa Senators and are widely regarded as two of the best in the business.

    Unfortunately, it’s a move that has yet to pay dividends.

    Shoutout to R-Nation

    Some will choose to kick Ottawa’s fan base when the team is down, but in the midst of the second worst losing streak in CFL history, the 13,727 members of R-Nation who bought tickets deserve praise. This is rock bottom for the organization, and while OSEG is making moves to try and turn things around, there’s no quick or easy solutions to be had.

    Those who were at Lansdowne on Sunday have gone almost a year since seeing their team win a game, but they still came out to support their team. That’s commendable, as they didn’t have much to cheer about, especially in the second half. With that said, kudos to the in-stadium DJ who did his very best to keep spirits high with some great tunes.

    A+ uniforms

    While the football might not have been pretty, at least the uniforms were. It was a matchup that featured arguably the league’s best home look against one of the best road looks. The contrast really popped.

    Reset

    With a bye week on tap, Dinwiddie and his staff have one more opportunity to try and hit the reset button on the season. Like he’s said before heading into previous bye weeks, after the game Dinwiddie talked about the need for the coaching staff to self-scout and change their schemes as necessary. It hasn’t worked so far, but hopefully third time’s the charm.

    When they return to the field in two weeks time, the Redblacks will in Toronto at BMO Field. Maybe a trip to their head coach’s old stomping grounds is what they need to finally nail down that elusive first win.



    Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).




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