Riders win Banjo Bowl, but lose Darian Durant

The Saskatchewan Roughriders might emphathize with Pyrrhus of Epirus Sunday, as one more such victory might utterly undo them. The Roughriders beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30-24 Sunday in the Banjo Bowl, but quarterback Darian Durant suffered an elbow injury in the second half, and if it's serious, that could wind up severely hurting Saskatchewan down the stretch. The victory improves the Roughriders to 8-2 on the year and keeps them in the hunt for the top playoff berth in the West Division, but you can bet they'd probably trade that result for the continued health of their starting quarterback.

It's notable that this game didn't go particularly well for Saskatchewan once Durant exited early in the second half. Although he threw for only 79 yards on the day before leaving, he completed eight of his nine passes, or 88.9 per cent. That kind of passing efficiency didn't continue with replacement Tino Sunseri, who connected on just two of his five passing attempts and threw for just 30 yards. Sunseri, a former NCAA star at Pitt, has shown some potential, but he's in just his second CFL season and has barely seen action. Thanks to the offseason departure of Rider backup Drew Willy for a starting job in Winnipeg, though, Sunseri is probably Saskatchewan's main replacement if Durant's out, though. That should be worrying for Rider fans.

Speaking of Willy, he did reasonably well here despite his team's loss. On the day, he threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns with a 68.4 per cent completion rate. Of course, much of that production only came once Saskatchewan's offence began to struggle without Durant, giving Winnipeg the ball more often. Willy also threw two bad interceptions late in the game, ending the Bombers' comeback and giving the Riders a win. Still, with Durant potentially hurt, you can bet the Roughriders are wishing he was still on their depth chart.

The solution for Saskatchewan if Durant's out for any length of time may be to lean on running the ball even more heavily, and that could work. It's not as if Durant was having a great season anyway; the Riders' average of 204.1 passing yards per game heading into last week was second-worst in the league, and Durant didn't improve that any with a 204-yard performance last Sunday against Winnipeg. This team's been winning thanks to their defence and their ground game, and both units did well Sunday; Saskatchewan recorded five sacks and two interceptions against the Bombers, and Anthony Allen picked up 115 yards on 18 carries (6.4 yards per carry), with Jerome Messam and Will Ford adding 51 further combined rushing yards on 10 combined carries.

Still, the Riders will need at least a partial passing game to keep up their winning streak, which has now reached seven straight games. Perhaps Durant won't be hurt that badly, or perhaps Sunseri will be able to step up. If Durant's injury proves serious and Sunseri doesn't look ready for prime time, though, the Banjo Bowl may be remembered as the day Saskatchewan's season took a turn for the worse despite their victory. Pyrrhus knows that feeling.