GAME DAY: Riders hope to keep faint playoff hopes alive in B.C.
For only the second time this year, the Riders will try to win their second game in a row as they take on the Lions at B.C. Place in Vancouver.
Even though the Riders come into the game with a 2-11 record, they remain mathematically alive in the playoff chase. Thanks to the Ottawa Redblacks beating the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday and a Rider win – the talk of a “miracle” run to the playoffs could actually be on the table in Saskatchewan.
“They know this is a great opportunity because they know this is a team right in front us,” said interim head coach Bob Dyce who feels his team’s confidence is starting to grow.
“The light at the tunnel is a little bit brighter that amps it up a little bit more.”
Even with a victory over the Lions, the Riders face an incredible steep hill to reach the playoffs for the fourth-straight season. The Riders have already lost the season series to the Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, meaning both of those teams hold the tie-breaker over them should they finish with the same number of wins.
The crossover is also in play with the Alouettes sitting at five wins on the season.
Not only do the Riders need those teams to lose a lot of football games, they need to win at least four of their last five – if not all five – to have a chance. That in itself won’t be an easy task for with trips to Hamilton, Calgary and Montreal, along with a home game against Edmonton, on the horizon. That’s not an easy schedule for any team, let alone one with just two wins on the season.
However, the team isn’t looking that far down the road.
“You have to be locked in on your focusing in on this week,” said Dyce.
“I don’t think it’s that they don’t know the situation. I never say that, I never say that we don’t know the situation that we’re in. We just have to focus on the opponent we face that week.”
A NEW QB