Lions return to slumping ways with 31-18 loss to Redblacks, face big questions

The B.C. Lions have been one of the CFL's most inconsistent teams this season, and that pattern continued Sunday. A week after they ended a two-game losing skid with an impressive road win over the Montreal Alouettes, they fell 31-18 to the Ottawa Redblacks at home. Further evidence of their up-and-down nature comes from how they led 15-14 at the half of this one (despite a whole lot of poor first-half play), but then only scored three points after the break. With the loss, the Lions fall to 4-6 on the season. They're certainly not out of playoff contention, especially given the rest of the standings, but this loss suggests they have plenty of issues to address if they want to get anywhere this year.

B.C. was forced to start John Beck at quarterback in this one after losing Travis Lulay for three to six weeks in last week's game, and that didn't turn out too well for them. While Beck did complete 20 of his 29 passes, a respectable 69.0 per cent, he threw for just 207 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Granted, this was the first CFL start for the BYU product and former NFL journeyman, and it wasn't completely dismal; he may improve with time. Beck's already 34, though, so he's certainly not the quarterback of the future. The Lions have groomed him over the last two years with the hope of getting some immediate help from him if Lulay got hurt again, and that didn''t work out so well for them this time.

It certainly wasn't just Beck who struggled, though. B.C. had no ground game at all Sunday, producing just nine rushing yards on the day, and they only gave star running back Andrew Harris four carries. (Granted, Harris only picked up three combined yards on those, so it's not like the run was working, but the Lions still abandoned it awfully early.) The defence also played poorly, letting Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris throw for 317 yards and allowing running back Jeremiah Johnson to pick up 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries. There were plenty of dumb penalties taken as well, so there's improvement needed all around.

The question's if the Lions can find it, though. Yes, they've had sparkling moments this year. When Harris is picking up yardage and the passing game's clicking, they sometimes look like they can hang with anyone. They're not out of the playoff race, either; they're currently tied for third in the West with Winnipeg with a game in hand, and while they'll have to beware of a potential crossover (Montreal's currently fourth in the East with a 4-6 record; if they finish ahead of the West's third-place team, they would get the berth instead in the first-ever East to West crossover), they still have a solid chance of making it to the postseason. Without greater consistency and better offensive production, though, even getting that far may be tough, much less doing anything in the playoffs.