The Saskatchewan Roughriders will have to wait at least another week for their next shot at clinching a playoff spot after falling 37-31 to the Calgary Stampeders at home Friday. It was the second straight game in which the Riders had an opportunity to improve their playoff chances with a win but let it slip away. Saskatchewan needed only a win over Calgary to clinch at least a crossover berth. Instead, the Riders dropped their third straight game to fall to 8-7. “It’s a matter of finding whatever that one per cent is,” quarterback Trevor Harris said. “Once you turn the corner and make something happen and win a game, things turn.” This is the Riders’ first three-game losing streak in two years. The last time Saskatchewan went winless in three straight games was 2024, when they went 0-5-1 over a six-game stretch between Week 8 and Week 14. “There’s only one way to go,” head coach Corey Mace told reporters after the loss. “We just talked about it out there in the locker room, we have had three games here where there was a lot at stake. We haven’t really developed that killer instinct for ourselves to go ahead and put our foot down.” Now on a three-game win streak, Calgary improves to 8-8 after previously falling to last place in the West Division. The six-point margin of victory for Calgary also earns them the tiebreaker over Saskatchewan in the event the two teams finish with the same number of points at the end of the regular season. Despite the recent skid and with a playoff spot still not secured, Harris said he remains confident. “I’ve been on teams where we’ve been 9-9, got hot and won at all,” the veteran quarterback noted. “Those teams were similar in terms of talent wise [to this one].” “It’s about getting hot late and finding some momentum. But for us to do that, we can’t be talking about [playoffs] right now. We’ve got to talk about, what we need to do to fix what is going on right now,” Harris added. One of Calgary’s biggest plays came in the second quarter, when Vernon Adams Jr. connected with Damien Alford for a 48-yard touchdown to give the Stampeders a 13-7 lead. “[Big plays] are detrimental,” Riders’ defensive back DaMarcus Fields said. “People expect us do our job and that’s what we need to do. Especially when it comes down to the when we need to make the play: we need to make the play. Before, that’s what we were doing, making those plays and winning. So we need to get back to that.” Harris completed 36 of 50 passes for 453 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The performance is a season-high and his fourth 400-plus yard passing game of 2026. Harris’ most-targeted receiver was Kian Schaffer-Baker, who was playing in his second game since returning from a knee injury. Schaffer-Baker made nine catches on 12 targets for 120 yards – his fourth 100-plus-yard receiving game of the season. He added a touchdown reception as well. Adams Jr. completed 22 of 29 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns. Saskatchewan now looks ahead to a Thanksgiving Monday matchup with the top-seeded Montreal Alouettes Oct. 12 in Montreal. “Looking ahead, we’ve got two teams, three games; very good opponents,” said Mace. “One of which we haven’t played and then a team we’ve beaten before. This is an opportunity for us to find the fixes, first as a coaching staff, then as players and attack these three weeks.” “It’s building momentum and hopefully pushing ourselves into the playoff race, beating some quality teams,” he added. Injury to insult The Riders’ loss hurt even more after leading receiver KeeSean Johnson left the game in the third quarter with a lower-body injury and did not return. He was seen limping on the sideline, favouring his left leg. After being checked by team medical staff, he remained on the bench and did not play a snap in the fourth quarter. He had six catches for 65 yards before leaving the game. “I talked with [KeeSean] on the sidelines a little bit,” Mace said. “He didn’t seem like it was anything crazy, but until I talk with the docs here after this, I’ll get a little bit more. Hopefully not anything long term.” Kicking woes return Two days after acquiring veteran kicker Brett Lauther in a trade with Ottawa, Saskatchewan’s kicking struggles from 40-plus yards returned. Despite the addition of Lauther, the Riders called upon the leg of Dawson Hodge for a third straight game. Hodge was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts in his first two CFL starts but had yet to attempt a try from 40-or more yards. The rookie out of Wilfrid Laurier University remained perfect after his first kick of the night, splitting the uprights from 38 yards. His next attempt was the longest of his young career. However, the 53-yard attempt toward Pil Country missed wide right. A couple of drives later, Hodge was given a chance for redemption but missed to the left, this time from 45 yards. Head coach Corey Mace showed confidence in the rookie at the beginning of the second half, when he sent Hodge out again for a 44-yard attempt. This time Hodge was good, sending it through the uprights – a career long. Hodge finished the game 2-for-4. Johnson 100 Prior to his injury, Johnson reached a major milestone, recording his 100th reception of the season. He became just the fifth player in Saskatchewan Roughriders history to record 100 catches in a single season, joining Joey Walters (102 in 1982), Craig Ellis (102 in 1985), Curtis Marsh (102 in 2000) and Don Narcisse (123 in 1995). Reaching the mark in his 15th game of the season, Johnson becomes the fastest Rider to cross the century mark. Earlier this year, the third-year receiver reached 1,000 yards receiving for a second-straight season. After Friday’s game, Johnson has 101 catches for 1,243 yards - both career highs. Johnson is on pace for 121 catches this season – which would be good enough for second most in a single season for a Saskatchewan receiver.
