Saskatchewan @ BC preview
BC Place
Last Meeting ( Jul 20, 2019 ) BC 25, Saskatchewan 38
The Saskatchewan Roughriders look to beat the BC Lions for the second time in a week when they travel to Vancouver on Saturday. The Roughriders used a second-half surge to take down the Lions 38-25 in the first game of their home-and-home set, and hope for some more offensive fireworks as they aim to move back to .500 while heaping more misery on struggling BC.
"We can't go into the week having the mindset that we're going to win easily," Saskatchewan linebacker Solomon Elimimian told reporters. "When we go to BC Place it's going to be 0-0 against the same team that lost." The Lions' season has not gone to plan after they fell to 1-5 following their loss in Regina. Mike Reilly, the jewel of the 2019 free agent class, has done his part, throwing for 1,602 yards, which is the second-most in the CFL, but has been sacked a league-high 21 times. "He's one of the marquee players in this league and our success depends upon him being upright," BC coach DeVone Claybrooks told reporters. "Even my mom called me talking about the quarterback and protection."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN
ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (2-3): Cody Fajardo bounced back from a poor performance (9-of-15 passing for 89 yards and two interceptions) in the Week 5 loss to the Calgary Stampeders by throwing for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go along with another 53 yards and a score on the ground in the win over BC. Defensive end Charleston Hughes was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after he recorded 10 tackles, three sacks and a pair of forced fumbles against the Lions. Offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek is expected to step into the starting lineup in place of Philip Blake, who broke his leg against BC, while cornerback L.J. McCray looks set to make his CFL debut.
ABOUT THE LIONS (1-5): Reilly completed 31-of-40 passes for 346 yards and two total touchdowns despite a formidable Saskatchewan pass rush, which registered fours sacks. The Lions made some moves to bolster their ailing defence, which has given up 33 or more points in five of six contests, as they added defensive back Crezdon Butler, who appeared in 46 games in the NFL over a six-year period, and linebacker Kevin Haynes. BC also added offensive lineman Avery Butler with Joel Figueroa (ankle) and Sukh Chungh (arm) nursing injuries while the club released linebacker Carson Ketter and defensive back Keon Lyn from the practice squad.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Hughes leads the CFL with eight sacks, which is four more than his nearest rival.
2. BC is 0-5 against West Division rivals in 2019.
3. Saskatchewan is 0-2 on the road after going 6-3 last season.
PREDICTION: Lions 31, Roughriders 27