Riders ruin Lions’ “Guaranteed Victory Night,” knocking off B.C. 20-16 on the road Sunday

Dennis Skulsky is no Joe Namath. While the B.C. Lions' president's guarantee of a win Sunday was a smart marketing move, his team couldn't fulfill it on the field the way Namath famously did. B.C. fell 20-16 to Saskatchewan Sunday, ensuring that the Lions will be handing out a lot of free tickets to the 33,196 fans who were in attendance over the next few days, but perhaps even more importantly, giving the Riders a possibly-crucial edge down the road in the West Division's tight playoff race. What's even more worrying for B.C. fans is that the Lions turned in such a flat effort on a night they'd hyped up so much.

It's remarkable that Saskatchewan managed to pull this off despite an apparent finger injury to starting quarterback Darian Durant. Prior to his first-half exit, Durant was having one of his better games of the year, completing nine of 15 passes (60.0 per cent) for 104 yards. The Riders didn't lose a ton when he was replaced by backup Tino Sunseri, though, who impressed in relief duty, completing eight of 13 passes (61.5 per cent) for 86 yards and a touchdown. They also got great rushing performances from Will Ford (108 yards on 10 carries) and Anthony Allen (83 yards on 17 carries, including some crucial first downs late in the night). While they only scored 20 points, that's a pretty good offensive night for a team that lost its starting quarterback early on. They showed plenty of creativity, too, including a touchdown pass to 310-pound offensive lineman/tight end Dan Clark (who they also used in similar fashion last season).

It was the Roughriders' defence that really came through to ruin B.C.'s guarantee, though. They were able to generate a good pass rush against Lions' quarterbacks Kevin Glenn and Travis Lulay, recording three sacks and holding them to 146 and 27 passing yards respectively. Saskatchewan's efforts against the B.C. ground game were even more impressive; Andrew Harris collected just 11 yards on eight carries, and the team had only 52 rushing yards on the night (with 25 of those coming on a trick play from receiver Shawn Gore). Seven of the 16 points the Lions did record on the night came from a long punt return from Tim Brown, who was one of the few bright spots. When they were actually on offence, they didn't get far at all.

This one could have plenty of implications for the eventual playoff race. It moves the Riders up to 6-2 and puts them third in the close West, just one game back of both Calgary and Edmonton. Meanwhile, the Lions fall to 5-4 and last in the West, and they'd miss the playoffs if the season ended today. Of course, B.C.'s still has just one win less than both Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, so they're certainly not out of it yet. Still, such a lacklustre performance (especially from their offence) is concerning for their chances, especially on a night they hyped up so much. It was the Lions who were making the pre-game guarantees, but it was the Riders who were walking the talk on the field.