5 things learned from Saskatchewan Roughriders loss to Winnipeg

It was not the start the Saskatchewan Roughriders or their fans were hoping for this season.

A home loss to their rivals from Winnipeg, injuries to key Canadian starters, and the franchise quarterback gone for the season.

Here are five things Rider fans learned from a 30-26 loss on Saturday.

1. Next man up

There was no hiding the dismay on head coach Corey Chamblin's face when speaking with the media after the game.

Quarterback Darian Durant, linebacker Shea Emry, safety Keenan MacDougall, receiver Nic Demski and defensive back Marshay Green were all injured in the loss.

Demski and MacDougall were seen wearing slings after the game, while Durant is gone for the year with a ruptured Achilles. 

"Our depth is getting tested," Chamblin said. "It's going to be a long night to sit down with Brendan and the medical staff to see where we go from here. See what we have to do as far as bringing back some guys. The roster is going to change a little. It will be a test within itself and there are some other things we have to fix, but it's a part of football."

2. Tackling 101

The Riders defence surrendered nearly 500 yards of offence, and many of those yards came after a Blue Bomber receiver or running back bounced off a tackle.

It seemed every Rider missed at least one tackle during the game, which is something coach Chamblin said needs to be fixed by next week. Expect a lot of back-to-basics tacking drills at practice this week.

"Close to the toes. Eyes on the hips," Tearrius George said. "Those types of things that we probably didn't do out there today instead of lunging or going for the big hit. We need to focus on stepping on those toes and wrapping up."

3. Flag on the play

Coach Chamblin likes an aggressive defence, but the new rule forbidding defensive backs from contacting a receiver after five yards definitely burned the Riders' defence.

Four different defensive backs were called for illegal contact on Blue Bomber receivers. It will take time for players to adjust to the new rules, but Winnipeg took advantage of a very physical Rider secondary.

"That's tough. It softens those guys up a bit and if the league wants points, there's going to be points," Chamblin said. "You're going to see some games won 32-30 and a lot of things like that. So it's going to be tough."

4. A hole to run through

Much was made in training camp of the how the Riders were going back to a pass-first offence.

Durant and Glenn did combine for 285 yards in the air, but it was the running game that helped fuel the offence.

Anthony Allen had 11 carries for 102 yards and Canadian Jerome Messam had 75 yards on four carries, including a 53-yard run for a touchdown to open the second half. Credit has to go to the offensive line for opening some big holes for Allen and Messam.

"I don't even think it was planned," Chamblin said. "It's more of a pass-first offence but we have some good backs that did some good things. It was an unusual game for us. We had to make a lot of adjustments.".

5. Winnipeg is for real

The Blue Bombers ended an 11 game losing streak at Mosaic Stadium and looked very confident doing so.

Drew Willy was nearly perfect completing 22 of 25 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Paris Cotton bounced off of tackles to collect 108 yards rushing.

And a Richie Hall designed defence was able to force the Riders into settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. It's only one game but the Bombers will gain a lot of confidence in defeating the Roughriders on the road.