Riders under pressure to clinch playoff spot
With just four games left before playoffs, the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-4) are feeling the pressure when it comes to clinching a spot.
Coming off a win over a hot Calgary Stampeder (5-6) team –- the green and white are preparing for another battle on the road, this time against the Montreal Alouettes (6-4).
“I think this is going to be our toughest game in a long time I really do, I think it's going to be a tougher game than even playing Calgary,” said Craig Dickenson Riders head coach.
The Roughriders were right back to work Tuesday with the playoffs in sight.
“It is an important game I mean I think you’re going to see an electric atmosphere,” said Dickenson. “I think it's going to be an exciting place -- I mean it’s a Saturday night game in downtown Montreal against a very good team.”
The Roughriders are no strangers to playing hot teams -- having just beat the Stampeders who were on a three-game win streak.
“It is a streaking Montreal team and we still haven’t solidified anything for us in the playoffs and we have to continue to win games,” Cody Fajardo, quarterback for the Riders said. “It just always seems like were always playing the hottest team in the CFL at least the last couple times.”
Fajardo threw for 222 yards against the Stamps this weekend.
If the Riders win and the Edmonton Elks lose, along with either a BC Lions or Calgary Stampeders loss, the Riders will clinch a playoff spot. If Montreal wins, then the Alouettes clinch a spot.
“It will be a hard-fought entertaining football game with a lot of ramifications and a lot of things on the line,” Dickenson said.
The Roughriders defense will be tested this week as they face William Stanback who leads the league in rushing yards with 880.
“He is a physical runner and very patient, does a good job in finding holes,” said Micah Johnson, a defensive lineman with the Roughriders. “You got to be disciplined as a defense and as a d-line for everyone staying in the gap he will make you pay (for it) if you’re not in the gap.”
The run game is what makes Montreal a unique team to play. Something that the Roughriders will have to be ready for.
“Montreal’s willingness to stay with the run game, not a lot of CFL teams are not doing that,” said Johnson. “For us it’s just about winning first downs and stopping the run.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.