The Saskatchewan Roughriders were a shorthanded football team due to injuries as they went into Winnipeg to battle the Bombers.  Like the Labour Day Classic, the Riders were able to stay in the game in the first half, but they faded in the second as Winnipeg outscored them 21-0 to take a 33-9 win.

To make matters worse, the Riders lost both A.J Hendy and Garrett Marino following a second quarter skirmish after a Bombers touchdown that inexplicably saw Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris stay in the game despite ripping the helmet off of Christian Campbell and throwing him to the ground.  They then lost quarterback Cody Fajardo to a concussion and safety Mike Edem to a wrist injury in the second half.

Head Coach Craig Dickenson admitted his team has been beaten by a team over the last two weeks that is better than them.

“Right now they are a better football team than us and that’s the truth.” Dickenson said moments after the game. “They beat us by 16 in the first game and 24 in this one.  That’s two games where they have been 40 points better than us.  Winnipeg is the class of the league right now and they are by quite a bit.  They’ll be tough to catch now, but we are 3-2 and there are a lot of games to play yet.

As for Fajardo,  Dickenson believes he will be OK for Friday’s home game against Toronto, but that the reps Harker got were valuable for his experience should he be elevated into the starter’s role for that game.

NOTES:

• The Riders have not scored a touchdown since Cody Fajardo scored on a two-yard run against Ottawa with 6:30 to play in the third quarter.  They have now gone nine quarters without putting the ball into the endzone
• William Powell had his best game of the year as he ran the ball for 88 yards on 18 carries
• The Riders have had three 30+ yard receptions this season. Brayden Lenius has all three of them after a 53-yard catch in the second quarter
• Penalties continue to be problematic as Saskatchewan had 12 for 143 yards