Weston Dressler and the Roughriders narrowly survive against the Redblacks in double overtime

The Saskatchewan Roughriders came oh-so-close to losing Sunday and having the West Division go 0-4 against the East this week, but they recovered in the end to beat the Ottawa Redblacks 35-32 in double overtime. For most of this game, the Redblacks had the edge, and much of that was thanks to Henry Burris having much more CFL quarterbacking experience than Tino Sunseri. Sunseri and the Riders rebounded from a 29-17 deficit after the third quarter, though, winning in the second overtime after a crazy finish to the first one, and the play of recently-returned slotback Weston Dressler was a huge part of that.

Dressler did everything for the Roughriders on the day, collecting a team-high 125 receiving yards and one touchdown on seven catches, adding 103 yards and a touchdown on five punt returns (including a 78-yarder for the score), and even picking up five yards on a carry. (He also attempted one pass, but that fell incomplete.) It's particularly ironic that this kind of performance came from him against Ottawa, as the Redblacks were heavily involved in the bidding war for his services after his NFL return, and they reportedly even offered more than Saskatchewan did. Dressler chose to stick with the environment he knew, though, and you can bet Riders' fans are happy he did after Sunday. He was critical to Saskatchewan's survival when the rest of the offence wasn't clicking, which was largely the case until the fourth quarter.

Even when the Riders' offence finally fell into gear, though, they still needed a lot of help from the Redblacks to pull off this victory. First, there was the sequence near the end of regulation; Sunseri managed to drive the Roughriders down the field with less than three minutes left and score not only a touchdown but the needed two-point conversion to tie the game, but he was aided by a wave of Ottawa injuries in the secondary, an incredibly stupid pass-interference penalty that gave Saskatchewan the ball on the one, and the Redblacks' bizarre decision to not cover Dressler on the two-point conversion attempt.

Moreover, after that, the Redblacks had 51 seconds left and could have won with just a short drive and a punt through the end zone. The odds of that aren't bad at all. Ottawa failed to get anywhere, though, resulting in a punt that wound up well up short of the end zone, and that's why this went to overtime in the first place. In that overtime, Burris brought out his "Bad Hank" side and threw a bomb down the field directly to Saskatchewan defensive back Marshay Green. Yes, he was under pressure there, but he should have either thrown it away or tried a shorter pass; going for the end zone was completely unnecessary, and that's the main reason this went to overtime in the first place. The Riders did well, as they needed to, but they also got incredibly lucky.

Of course, the Redblacks got some luck of their own once the Riders took the ball in the first overtime. Saskatchewan went conservative with the play-calling, not getting too far on their first two downs, but that still led to what should have been a relatively easy field goal for Chris Milo. Even if he missed, most kicks would likely have been high enough to sail through the end zone for a game-ending rouge. The snap was bad and Dressler didn't get a great hold, though, leading to a low, wide kick that Ottawa receiver Jamill Smith was able to snare just inside the back of the end zone. Even after that, Saskatchewan's cover team did a great job of getting downfield, and they could have potentially tackled him in the end zone for a game-ending rouge, but Smith had the presence of mind to keep his feet inbounds and punt the ball clear. That still could have led to a Riders' point, but Saskatchewan opted to recover it and run it forward rather than punt it through the end zone, and the Riders were stopped short, sending the game to double overtime.

Things turned out better for Saskatchewan in the second overtime, though. Yes, they didn't get far on their first two downs, but Milo made no mistake on his field goal this time, and the Riders' defence held firm, sacking Burris for a big loss and then stopping the Redblacks on second down. Ottawa could have still tried to convert a third and five and go for the win, but head coach Rick Campbell opted to conservatively play for the tie, sending Brett Maher out to try another field goal. That kick was blocked, though, and that meant Saskatchewan emerged with a win.

On the whole, this was a good win for the Riders, and one that should give them a little more confidence in Sunseri going forward. While he struggled early on, his overall stats weren't bad at all; he finished the game with 20 completions on 32 attempts (62.5 per cent) for 260 passing yards and two touchdowns, a quite respectable line. He also showed great fortitude on their late regulation drive and two-point conversion to tie the game. The game also illustrated just how important Dressler's return is to this team; without him, they'd never have made it to overtime.

For the Redblacks, there are positive takeaways here as well. They hung with Saskatchewan for 60 minutes, and while that was aided by their superior quarterbacking experience, they played a solid team game. They looked like a squad that could potentially play with the league's best, not a team that's only won one game this season. Yes, the loss means they fall behind further in the East, especially considering that all of their divisonal rivals won this weekend, but the leaders all only have four wins, so they're not out of the playoff picture yet. On the day, though, Dressler and the Riders just proved too much for them.