Clinging to playoff hopes, Ottawa Redblacks set sights on Montreal ...

As far-fetched as it may seem, the Ottawa Redblacks have a path to the CFL playoffs.

It’s not an easy road; it’s a pothole-filled highway littered with debris from a team that has pissed away too many victories in 14 games this Canadian Football League season. As they showed again Friday night, nothing really ever comes easy. Nothing.

Even a 36-28 home-field victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders was a final-minute nailbiter as the visitors scored two touchdowns in a span of 27 seconds to make it a one-score game. Thankfully for RNation, the Redblacks didn’t leave them with the same sickening feeling as they did in late-minute collapses and losses of 25-24 to Montreal and 41-37 to the BC Lions in the past month.

But, here we are. Coming off their first win since July 23, breaking a seven-game losing skid, the Redblacks have four games left in the regular season. Two against Montreal. Two against Toronto.

“For us, the belief has always been there,” said Redblacks defensive back Justin Howell. “We don’t make it easy on ourselves, that’s for sure.”

In the Redblacks’ immediate sights are the Alouettes, who they play next Saturday at TD Place (4 p.m.) followed by a game in Montreal on Thanksgiving Day. Winning both games would give the Redblacks playoff hope.

So what has to happen in the final month of the season? How do the Redblacks carry forward momentum from the win over Saskatchewan?

“We have to feel like we’re the big dogs on the field … and play like that,” said defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin IV. “Over and over again, it’s game by game … the rest of the season.”

There were some big positives Friday. Let’s start with the win itself. Huge. And, necessary.

The defence forced five turnovers. There were two interceptions by DeAndre Lamont and three fumble recoveries – by Brandin Dandridge, Adam Auclair and Cleyon Laing. There were also five sacks – three by Bryce Carter and one each by Mauldin and Mike Wakefield. There was also the late first-half-surge: Bralon Addison caught a touchdown pass (his first as a Redblack) with 22 seconds left. The two-point convert attempt, a pass to Justin Hardy, was good. With five seconds left, Mauldin ripped the ball out of the hands of Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Dolegala. On the final play of the half, Michael Domagala, the former Carleton Ravens kicker playing his first game with the Redblacks, booted a field goal to make it 19-13 for the home side.

More positives: The continued improvement of running back Devonte Williams and quarterback Dustin Crum. Williams rushed 22 times for 136 yards, while Crum completed 21-of-26 passes for 243 yards, with two touchdowns, and rushed five times for 53 yards and a touchdown.

There were also the negatives. There was blown coverage by the defensive backs, too often an issue this season, when it looked like Lamont missed his assignment and Samuel Emilus had nobody near him when he caught a 54-yard touchdown pass. There was a Domagala field goal miss that nearly turned into a touchdown. Then there was the Saskatchewan surge late in the game. Mario Alford scored a touchdown on a 107-yard punt return. Saskatchewan recovered the onside kick and scored a touchdown 27 seconds later. The Riders had one last onside kick attempt, but it was grabbed by Ottawa’s Jaelon Acklin.

“When Mario took that punt back and scored, that was an ‘Oh-no moment’ for us,” said Mauldin. “We knew we had to (prevent) what happened last week.”

What’s done is done. The Redblacks can’t get caught up in the near misses from earlier this season. Ottawa is now 4-10 and in fourth place in the East, while Saskatchewan, at 6-8, is battling for third place in the West Division.

“A big part of correcting things is recognizing where you are,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce. “Those (tough losses) did happen. What we had to do was learn from those things and move forward. The fact is we won this game; that’s what we were focused on. Now, we get an opportunity to play Montreal, the team right in front of us, twice. So, we feel like we control our destiny in that regard. We’re not looking at the past. We just look to get better each week.

“You’re always talking about momentum and trying to carry it forward. But, at the same time, you have to make sure you’re doing things right throughout the week to prepare to take care of Montreal. Montreal is the biggest thing in front of us. We can’t look too far ahead.”

Crum, who started the season as the team’s fourth-string quarterback, then moved into a prominent role following season-ending injuries to Jeremiah Masoli and Tyrie Adams, continues to mature and fine tune his game. It sure looks like he has the mindset and physical tools to be a long-term starting CFL starting QB.

“There’s lots to like about Dustin,” said Dyce. “Sometimes people forget he came in as our fourth quarterback. People expect these guys just to go and turn it right around. The path is going to be up and down. But what you’ve seen over the last number of weeks is he’s rising and that’s what you would expect. You watch him drop back (to pass) and now he’s a lot more confident in making a quick decision and getting the ball out of his hands; that helps the offensive line. I expect him to get even better. He’s done a great job. He’s a great leader. He’s a courageous man and those guys in the room believe in him 100 per cent.”