Redblacks mistakes prove costly against Riders (& seven other thoughts on Ottawa falling to 0-4)

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Just like last week, this was a game Ryan Dinwiddie’s squad could have — and should have — won.

Despite an overall strong effort, the Ottawa Redblacks once again found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling 27-22 to the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders, due to mistakes that proved painfully costly.

Here are all my thoughts on what I saw from section MM on the upper south side.

Settling in

Don’t look now but after a pair of subpar games to start the season, veteran quarterback Jake Maier has rounded into form and rewarded the belief Dinwiddie has placed in him.

While the yardage isn’t eye-popping, Maier had a good outing versus a strong Saskatchewan defence, completing 77 percent of his passes for 259 yards and a touchdown. A number of his passes were placed into tight windows and while there weren’t many deep shots, the 29-year-old pivot often kept drives alive by hitting receivers in stride on intermediate  routes. And when he did push the ball down the field, he found success.

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Just like last week, Maier’s connection with receiver Justin Hardy was apparent, as he once again led the team in targets (eight), receptions (five), and yardage (92).

It hasn’t translated to wins yet, but with each passing week Maier seems a bit more comfortable in Dinwiddie’s offensive system.

Back to basics

Quarterback sneaks are a fundamental part of the Canadian game. With the defence lining up one-yard off the ball, the offence has an inherent advantage at the start of each sneak. Not to mention the offence knows the snap count.

In fact, for a defence to successfully stop a quarterback sneak, it needs to not only react faster than the offence, but be so quick that it overcomes that yard disadvantage to limit a quarterback to no gain. That’s why sneaks are the go-to play for teams on the goal line. It’s not automatic but it’s the next best thing.

Which is why Ottawa’s struggles this season converting short yardage is so baffling. So far in 2026, the Redblacks have been bitten by a failure to convert on third and short multiple times, but Friday night’s turnover on downs with two minutes and 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter was the worst yet.

Trailing by five points with the ball inside the red zone on Saskatchewan’s 16-yard line, the Redblacks’ offensive line failed to generate any kind of push. Compounding the issue was that fullback Anthony Gosselin also whiffed on his block. Third-string quarterback Bryson Barnes never had a chance as he had defenders at his feet as soon as the ball was in his hands.

When the offence can’t do something as basic as getting one yard in a crucial situation with the game on the line, the team doesn’t deserve to win. If good teams find ways to win, then bad ones find ways to lose, and until the Redblacks improve upon the basics, they’ll continue to struggle.

All for naught

After being a weakness in recent weeks, William Fields’ defensive unit had arguably their best game of the season against a Saskatchewan offence that came into the game as the league’s best. Through their first three games, the Riders were averaging 472.7 yards of offence, with quarterback Trevor Harris completing nearly 76 percent of his passes and averaging over 10 yards per pass attempt.

But Harris and company struggled to sustain any kind of rhythm at TD Place. Coming into the game, Dinwiddie said he wanted his unit to be more aggressive than it had been in recent weeks, from the onset the Redblacks blitzed early and often. While it didn’t translate to many sacks, Ottawa registered one QB takedown, the pressure made life uncomfortable for Harris, who completed 58 percent of his passes for 243 yards.

Overall, the Redblacks held the Riders to 329 yards of offence, and 7.8 yards per pass. Of Saskatchewan’s 12 possessions, four ended in points and two with touchdowns. Two drives also ended with takeaways. Typically, that should be enough to result in a win.

Middle linebacker Nyles Morgan once again had an excellent showing, notching five tackles and knocking down a pass. In his return from injury, Canadian safety Alonzo Addae also made five tackles and jumped a route to pop up a pass that lead to an A.J. Allen interception.

Defensive backs Amari Henderson and Marcus Barnes each finished with five tackles as well. Canadian defensive end Luiji Vilain registered his first sack of the season while American defensive tackle Jelani Stafford was held off the stat sheet in his season debut.

Net negative

Special teams don’t have to be the reason your team wins, but it can’t be the reason it loses, as was the case for the Redblacks this week. Once again, Jeff Reinebold’s units had bright moments, but the negatives outweighed the positives.

The good was kicker Brett Lauther continuing his hot start to the season, making all three of the field goals he attempted, and linebacker Brian Cole setting up a field goal thanks to an excellent effort to block a punt in the first quarter.

The bad was returner Kalil Pimpleton fumbling in the second quarter to set up a Saskatchewan field goal and the team conceding a 101-yard punt return touchdown in third quarter. Multiple defenders failed to bring down Mathew Sexton, but nobody came away looking worse than punter Noah Gettman.

Punters aren’t paid to be physical but a few times a season, they are called upon to make a tackle as the last man back. I would say Gettman’s attempt to bring down Sexton was poor, but I’m not sure I can even call it an attempt.

Between the fumble leading to a field goal and the seven points off the punt return, Ottawa’s special teams gifted Saskatchewan 10 points. There’s more than your difference in a five-point loss.

Injury bug bites

Really tough look seeing defensive back Bennett Williams go down with what seemed like an Achilles injury. The severity of the injury was clear immediately as players from both teams took a knee to pray around Williams while he was down.

Canadian linebacker Michael Brodrique and safety Scott Hutter were also injured, while Pimpleton, Morgan and defensive lineman Michael Wakefield were shaken up at various points but returned to play.

Modest improvement

A perfect summer night was enough to give the Redblacks their best crowd of the season, but drawing 15,154 for a sunny Friday night in July against the reigning Grey Cup champions is nothing to boast about. It’s disappointing the team has failed to capitalize on an early slate of home dates because had they been able to stack a couple of wins, fans wouldn’t have hesitated to embrace the team. As I wrote last week, many in R-Nation will continue to stay home until they’re given reasons to come out.

Up next

Sitting at 0-4 and two games back of everyone else in the East Division, the Redblacks have dug themselves an early hole. Although wins have remained elusive, Dinwiddie’s squad has shown improvement in recent weeks but it hasn’t been good enough to overcome their self-inflicted wounds.

Ottawa’s next chance to break into the win column comes on Thursday night in Edmonton against the Elks.

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).