Argonauts look to hand Roughriders third consecutive loss

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are heading into what could be a defining moment for the defending Grey Cup champions.

The 6-4 Roughriders host the 5-5 Toronto Argonauts on Saturday in a match that could keep the Riders in a dogfight for first-place in the CFL's West Division or drop them into a logjam at the bottom of the standings.

Saskatchewan's usually high-scoring attack is coming off back-to-back losses in which it failed to score 20 points. It's the first time that's happened under Corey Mace, now into his third year as Roughrider head coach.

He says his team needs to show in this game that recent struggles aren't becoming a trend.

"I think so. Going back to the last two weeks we haven't met the standard of what we've been and who we want to be", Mace said. "Whether it's the third game that we're looking for, it's just the next one. We're always looking to improve. And that honestly goes even if we have a good game."

Saskatchewan's mini funk has included moments where their usually unflappable quarterback Trevor Harris and star receiver KeeSean Johnson have not looked like they were on the same page. Harris has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes in two straight games for the first time since 2018.

The Roughriders have missed two other star receivers, Canadians Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus, over that time and will be without them on Saturday. But Johnson insists nobody is trying to do too much in their absence.

"I wouldn't say that", Johnson said. "It's been team mistakes out there and those team mistakes can lead to some of the slow starts that we've had and missed opportunities."

Rookie receiver Daniel Wiebe has been freed up from the punt return chores he's been handling for much of the season and he is likely to play an important role in Saskatchewan's offence. He scored his first, and so far only, touchdown catch, against Toronto earlier this year.

"The standard is the standard, regardless of who's in", Wiebe said. "When you're called, you’ve got to be able to do your job well and execute. So, I think our team's very good at that, and we have a lot of great players, a lot of great leaders who are good at helping the younger guys. So, I think we'll be ready."

Mace hopes avoid having his squad become answer to a CFL trivia question as the only West Division team to lose at home to the same East opponent twice in the same season. While the FIFA World Cup was being played at BMO Field in Toronto earlier this summer, the Argos played one of their "home" games earlier in Regina, a contest in which they beat the Riders 40-34 largely on special teams including a 68-yard punt return touchdown by Janarion Grant.

James Letcher Jr. missed six games with injury but returned last week and is back to return kicks for Saskatchewan.

"I feel like we owe them one as a team", Letcher said. "We came up short last time we played them, so we're looking to have a different outcome this week."