Ottawa Redblacks win whilst losing Aston Whiteside, their sacks leader

The hush that enveloped TD Place after Aston Whiteside was carted off with a left leg injury was out of sight, out of mind for most by the end of the Ottawa Redblacks' 35-13 win over the the shambolic Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Injuries are an inevitably large part of the equation across the 18-game meat grinder that is the CFL regular season. In spite of seeing the team sack leader's knee bend in a way it is not designed to, the secondyearv Redblacks (5-4) didn't break on Sunday. They wound up with 10 sacks, which was a decent way to end a two-game skid on an afternoon where defensive line coach Leroy Blugh was recognized at halftime for his recent Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction.

Successful teams find a way to keep injuries from being a convenient excuse. Ottawa (5-4), which put away the reeling' Riders (0-9) with three touchdowns in a three-minute, 44-second span of the second half, will have to do so up front in order to make the playoffs in its second season.

"We definitely wanted to go into the bye week with a feeling of some momentum," said Redblacks linebacker Damaso Munoz, who tallied two sacks and a forced fumble that set up the last of running back Jeremiah Johnson's three touchdowns. "We played well. We lost Whiteside tonight but we played for him. We gave up some pass plays here and there but collectively we were strong.

"We're going to miss him. He's a great talent. The good thing is we have a week to figure it out."

Ottawa led just 14-10 late in the second quarter when Whiteside, who already had his seventh sack of the season, had his knee buckle after engaging with 'Riders rookie tackle Randy Richards, who received an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play for a blow to the head. After intermission, though, Ottawa teed off on backup QB Tino Sunseri, who came in after starter Brett Smith threw a dreadful end-zone interception. Sunseri absorbed eight sacks.

"Aston getting injured, it's brutal for us," said Justin Capicciotti, who had three sacks from his rush end spot while Moton Hopkins and Keith Shologan each notched a pair. "But the way our D-line is that we have a lot of depth and we play for each other and play as a good group. The next guy is going to step in, even though someone as good as Aston is down. He's super-fast, super-athletic. We're going to miss him but we have the depth."

Indeed, Ottawa, whose next action is Sept. 13 against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver, listed 10 D-linemen on Sunday, including seven Canadians. Marlon Smith stepped into Whiteside's place over the final two quarters.

"We're fortunate, particularly, with our Canadian depth on our D-line," Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said. "Those guys roll through and they have all played before. While it was disappointing, Whiteside getting hurt, we felt okay.

"It didn't look very good," Campbell said of Whiteside's injury. "But I've learned in this business that you wait until you talk to the doctor."

The injury and having 14 penalties for 121 yards (to 18 flags for 135 for the 'Riders) were the only blights for Ottawa. Moreover, the result was a channel-changer for Campbell and Co. after a lead-up that included releasing starting defensive back Brandon McDonald after his costly penalty in the Aug. 23 loss at Toronto, as well as cutting ties to high-cap-hit running back Chevon Walker, who had been rendered superfluous by Johnson (12 rushes for 92 yards Sunday). They moved a game up on the Montreal Alouettes (4-5) for third place in the East Division.

"It's a great feeling to win going into a bye week," Shologan said. "It's an important thing. It [the 10 sacks] just means our offence played well and our defensive backs played well. When you get a team behind they have to gamble and we took advantage of it."

A path to the playoffs is by no means clear for Ottawa, even with the possibility of — grab the handrails — the possiblity of an East team earning a cross-over berth over the third-place team in the West. The Redblacks got by despite a major loss and didn't beat themselves.

"That's the identity you want — somebody who can take the punches and get back up," Munoz said. "That happens in football.

"They're a good offensive group," Munoz said of the winless 'Riders. "They've been having some bad luck. Credit to Saskatchewan. We were just better tonight."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.