The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to avoid doing something they have not done in two years: lose three-straight games. Saskatchewan enters Week 13 with a 6-4 record after back-to-back losses to Hamilton and B.C. “It’s been a couple tough weeks,” Riders’ analyst Wes Cates said on this week’s edition of X’s and O’s. “Then you think about the way the Riders have been losing – with teams that have had their own struggles – [they’ve] been sitting back and letting the Riders play into their hands.” Inside the locker room, the sense of urgency is high but the panic level is low. “That’s what I feel like we need,” head coach Corey Mace told reporters Friday. “Let’s put urgency in how we approach everything – whether it’s how we start the game, how we approach every day, each meeting, each practice, each rep; let’s be urgent to try to fix the things we need to fix.” The last time the Riders went winless in three games was 2024, when they went 0-5-1 over a six-game stretch between Week 8 and Week 14 – including losses on Labour Day and in the Banjo Bowl against Winnipeg. Since then, Saskatchewan is 5-3 in the eight games following a loss, never losing three-straight. They average 26.25 points per game in those games; allowing 25.25 points per game. The offense has averaged over 391 yards, and the defense has taken the ball away just under two times per game. “It’s a results-driven business and we haven’t gotten the results we like the last two weeks,” said Mace. “Nobody likes that feeling, so there’s only one way to fix it and that’s to be focused and dialed in with a sense of urgency.” Ahead of them this week are the .500 Toronto Argonauts (5-5) and Chad Kelly. Toronto is 2-1 in their last three games, including a win last week over the Tiger-Cats. Penalties and Turnovers Over this two-game losing streak, Saskatchewan has committed 15 penalties totaling 134 yards. In response, there was an increased importance placed on discipline at practice. “The more and more people who are on board with that, you see the progressions a fix has been corrected,” added Mace. “That, as a unit, usually puts you in good favour.” Historically, teams have enacted an internal fine or ‘penalty board’ system to highlight and limit infractions in game. Quarterback Trevor Harris says penalties are not always the fault of the player who commits them, but each player is more aware. “We’ve had certain systems in place and kind of been some suggestions here and there. The penalty board is a little bit different,” he explained. “For certain quarterbacks, if you escape the pocket horizontally, the defensive lineman goes one way and your instincts are to [hold on]. If the jersey flashes, there’s a holding call that’s on the quarterback.” “But penalties are a team thing and that’s something we’ve tried to emphasize,” Harris added. Saskatchewan has also been on the losing side of the turnover battle each of its last two games. In the past two games, the Riders have given the ball away six times – including four interceptions by Harris. “We’ve seen Trevor Harris have a couple of untimely turnovers, uncharacteristic picks, and it just kind of feels like the offense has kind of been running kind of that same stuff,” Cates said about the Riders’ turnovers. “Everybody’s hurt. [Saskatchewan’s] hoping Trevor can just win it on his arm and it’s just not going to happen: teams are expecting it.” In back-to-back games now, Harris has thrown two interceptions – something he had not done since 2022 when he was a Montreal Alouette. The 14-year veteran pivot was quick to bear the responsibility of getting the offense back into sync. “We’ve got to play better; I’ve got to play better, and we will,” Harris reiterated to reporters Thursday. “We’ve made great strides in practice; great strides in meetings, in discussions, in what we’re doing.” “I’m excited to see the version of us tomorrow and see how we’ve progressed. And I think you’ll see an improved version [of us] and I’m very excited about tomorrow,” He added. Bridges called on to make immediate impact Despite having his first practice in Green and White just Wednesday, newly-signed receiver Shemar Bridges will start at wide receiver for Saskatchewan on Saturday. “It’s a good little bit of learning,” he told reporters earlier this week. “But I’ve been around the block; a couple years in the CFL with Hamilton. I definitely think in my younger years it would have been more complicated, but I’m older now and I can plug in concepts and compare to what I’ve learned in the past.” Bridges joined the Riders after spending two full seasons with the Ti-Cats. Between 2024 and 2025 in Hamilton, the Fort Valley State University product had 1,294 receiving yards on 117 catches and six touchdowns in 33 games. His rookie season, the Florida-born Bridges recorded 933 yards on 83 receptions and four touchdowns and was named the East Division’s 2024 most outstanding rookie. He began the 2026 campaign on the Ti-Cats practice roster but was released Aug. 19. “If you were to have said at the beginning of the week this new guy was going to start for [us], I would have been like, ‘There’s now way,” Harris said about his new pass catcher. “Once you get to talk to him, it didn’t surprise me.” Two more recognizable names for the Rider fans are slotting into the lineup with other changes at receiver this week. Daniel Wiebe gets the start over Dylan Djete at the other wideout position and D’Sean Mimbs is back in the lineup with injuries to Sam Emilus and Johnny Johnson III. “The opportunities are not always there,” Wiebe said Friday. “When you’re out there, you’ve got to make the best of it; honestly, the mindset doesn’t change.” “There’s going to be new guys in, the standard stays the same, it doesn’t matter who’s in – doesn’t matter who’s playing. You’re expected to go make that play whether it’s offense, defense, or special teams,” he added. On defense, Jaxon Ford was moved to the one-game injured list with an ankle injury. In his free safety role, Nelson Lokombo has moved from the boundary with rookie James Burgess Jr. taking over at cornerback. “We’re ready to get some picks,” Burgess said Thursday. “We haven’t really gotten the ball, but we’re emphasizing getting the ball.” At linebacker, Antoine Brooks Jr. benched; getting moved to the reserve roster. At his strong side position, Seyi Oladipo Jr. will make his first CFL start. “Not many rookies get opportunities like this,” he said. “You have to earn the trust of the guys around you – which I feel like I’ve been preparing like that for weeks on end.” “You’ve got to move things around,” added Cates. “Let guys have opportunities and wake guys up a little bit, ‘Hey, whoever wants to make some plays has a chance to be on the field.” Kelly’s success against Saskatchewan Argos’ quarterback Chad Kelly has four previous meetings with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in his career. Not one time has he come out on the losing end of the game. “I didn’t know that,” Mace said with a chuckle. “He’s a heck of a quarterback. Obviously we’re taking about a former MOP of the league, he’s got a live arm and he’s not afraid to use it … another tall task. They’re well coached and with his understanding of the offense, it’s going to be at a high level.” “We’ve got to combat that,” he added. In a Week 4 40-34 win over Saskatchewan at Mosaic Stadium, Kelly was 23/30 passing for 321 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Saskatchewan defense has held opponents to the fewest TD drives (25) and the lowest second down conversion rate (44.4 per cent). It has also allowed the fewest big plays this season (18) and the fewest 30-yard+ completions (11). Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium Saturday night is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST.
