Cauz: 12 things you might have missed in the Riders’ win at McMahon

I fully understand if the only thing you remember from the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 30-7 win over the Calgary Stampeders is Duron Carter picking off Bo Levi Mitchell and returning it for a touchdown.

There was so much hoopla when Chris Jones announced his intention on moving Carter from offence to defence leading up to the game, including the fun sort of Twitter trash talk between rival players you rarely see in football. Then, when it actually happened, social media naturally exploded and we have had several days of fun reading tweets and going over the video.

But what about the game itself? Be honest, you really can’t recall what happened before or after that play. Well fear not because I’m here to give you the coles notes — a cheat sheet, if you will — to what you missed.

1. Calgary’s defence is still the best in the league.

Yeah, I know, 30 points is an uncharacteristically high number for the Stamps, but two touchdowns were on returns and the Riders’ only offensive touchdown came after a Kamar Jorden fumble — and that touchdown “drive” was a whole three yards and it took Saskatchewan three plays to gain those yards.

Calgary held the Riders to 48 yards after one quarter, 135 at the half, 188 after three quarters and just 302 for the game while notching four sacks and two interceptions.

2. You should feel bad for WR Marken Michel.

The rookie receiver making his 10th consecutive start left the game early after injuring his hamstring on a deep pass pattern. The shame was that Marken was not even hit on the play but just stumbled and tripped as he was going out of bounds. He had been playing so well that the coaching staff had insisted that even when the team was fully healthy at the receiver position, Michel would not lose his starter’s job after putting up 42 catches and 784 yards.

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Duron Carter may still be smiling after his pick-six vs. the Stampeders in Week 18 (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

3. Kevin Glenn did not last long in this one.

The veteran signal caller lasted all of three passes before being pulled for Brandon Bridge with 2:32 left in the first quarter. This move felt more about his inability to get away from the Stampeders rush than about what he could do with his right arm.

Glenn was sacked twice and at 38 does not have the mobility that Bridge possesses. However, this is the second time in three weeks that Jones has pulled his starter. I’m curious to see what happens next week if Glenn struggles against the last place Alouettes.

4. Brandon Bridge was fine.

The conditions were not conducive for any quarterback to pile up gaudy fantasy numbers. Bridge’s first interception was the fault of Joshua Stanford as the ball deflected off of him right to Ciante Evans. This was a catch that Stanford has to make. However, his second pick to Brandon Smith was just a bad floater and was a throw that Bridge would have wanted back. Just an ugly night really for all four quarterbacks who played.

5. Charleston Hughes plays like he is 23, not 33.

Hughes finished tied for most tackles with Alex Singleton, flew off the edge for his first quarter takedown of Glenn and had several pressures on Bridge. But the play that stood out was his solid tackle on Trent Richardson near the goal line at the end of the game.

This was a lousy night to be playing football and Richardson had been running hard when he given the opportunity. Despite all this, Hughes was still on the field at the conclusion of a blowout, playing his ass off and keeping his opponent out of the end zone.

6. Duron Carter looked like a defensive back!

Let’s forget about the interception return and focus on the rest of the game. He closed well on DaVaris Daniels, not allowing the Calgary wideout to gain any extra yardage on a six-yard reception. Later on, he took on Jerome Messam and did the smart thing; he went low and hoped for the best. Messam went down for no yardage as the Saskatchewan sideline celebrated.

Now, Kamar Jorden did beat him deep midway in the second quarter, but he could not hold on to the ball, sparing Carter the humiliation of getting burnt deep. Overall a solid debut for Duron.

7. Hey look, DaVaris Daniels is back!

Gone since Week 12 with a lower body injury, Daniels was a non-factor on Friday, but the fact that he is back on the field is huge for a Calgary attack that has been beset with injury at the receiver position.

8. Yes you can describe a 61-yard punt return touchdown as “methodical.”

Christion Jones’ second return touchdown of the season was many things, but it wasn’t some mesmerizing, zig-zag return that will end up in a “best of” end-of-year montage. Instead it was a patient return with zero east/west to it.

Instead, Jones trusted his excellent blocking made only a couple of subtle jukes as he methodically went right through the Stampeder coverage unit.

9. Glen Suitor rocked the pink bow tie the best.

The entire CFL on TSN crew was wearing pink bowties as part of a campaign to help increase awareness for women’s cancers. In an upset win over Milt Stegall, Suitor took the prize for announcer who pulled off that look the best.

10. Hey look, there’s another receiver back. It’s Chad Owens!

Owens, coming back from a broken foot, started his first ever game for the Roughriders and ended up leading all receivers with 78 yards. Whether it was creating separation, coming back for the ball or reading Calgary’s zone defence, Owens looked great.

Owens could play an important role for the Roughriders down the stretch. I was amazed how in sync he seemed to be with Bridge.

11. Yes, an ugly field goal drive can be a thing of beauty.

After forcing Calgary to go two-and-out on the first drive of the third quarter, Brandon Bridge and his offence plodded their way on a 12-play drive that converted five second downs and gobbled up six and half minutes of time. There was nothing pretty about this drive, but it resulted in giving the Green and White a 13-4 lead and kept Bo Levi Mitchell off the field for much of the third.

In a game with little offence, this drive was sneaky important.

12. Steve Daniel gets a well-deserved shout out!

When Andrew Buckley came into the game, Chris Cuthbert credited Daniel after mentioning that this game represented the first time since Aug. 4, 1984 that two Canadian quarterbacks were on the field at the same time opposing one another (both Gerry Dattilio and Greg Vavra came off the bench for Montreal and Calgary respectively).

The lesson here: behind every great announcer there is a CFL Head Statistician sitting quietly behind them feeding them knowledge.