Roughriders Game 14 at Edmonton Eskimos (10/10/11):

The 4-9 Riders traveled to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Canada’s Thanksgiving Day for a date with Ricky Ray and the 7-6 Eskimos. The Riders haven’t scored a touchdown in nine quarters and have been outscored 82-8 in their last two games. Ryan Dinwiddie started at quarterback for the Riders as Darian Durant (who dressed for this game) was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. It was a glorious day for football up north as the Riders won the toss and elected to receive.

The Riders started out at the 32 and Dinwiddie hit Andy Fantuz on the left sideline at the 47. The drive stalled there and Chris Milo punted away. Ray was hauled down for a loss on first down from the 19. After a pass completion for a first down, Dario Romero was hit with a 15-yard personal foul call making it a combined gain of 28 yards. Ray was then sacked by Terrius George and the Esks punted away. Wes Cates rushed up the middle for a first down out to the 44. Weston Dressler then grabbed a pass in the right slot for a gain of 8. Dallas Baker then gained 8 more on a pass at the right sideline, On second down, Dinwiddie’s pass was intercepted by Donovan Alexander and Edmonton took over at the 35. Dinwiddie threw a pass into traffic and was burned as Alexander stepped up into the play and grabbed the pass. On second down, Ray then avoided a rush and moved the ball to the 40 where he took a hard hit and fumbled but it was recovered by Edmonton. Tristan Jackson then returned the punt out to the 48. The Riders went two n’ out on that drive and attempted a fake punt as Neal Hughes rushed right and was immediately smothered by the D-Line. The Esks faced a third and short and Jerome Messam rushed up the middle for the first down. The Esks moved the ball down to the 40 where Jason Armstead gained 5 on a reverse. Fred Stamps then picked up a first down to the 25 as the first quarter came to a close.

Damon Duval knocked in a short field goal on the first play of the second quarter. The Riders started out their next drive at the 24, Dinwiddie threw two bad passes and Milo came on to punt away. Ray was sacked by Barrin Simpson at the 50 on second down and then Duval punted away. The Riders took over at the 10 where Getzlaf was hammered down for a loss by Hill and the Riders had to punt away (again). There is no imagination at all in the Riders’ offense. After a penalty set the ball back to the 5, Milo elected to take a safety and the Esks took a 5-0 lead. Messam picked up 10 on a screen pass to the 53 and then Ray went for the downs but his pass was overthrown. Dressler picked up a first down out to the 20 and the Riders’ next drive but Dinwiddie was sacked (and had his helmet ripped off). A roughing the passer call on Reid moved the ball to the 35 but Dinwiddie was sacked by Julian Williams for a 10-yard loss. Dinwiddie was sacked again and Milo punted out. From the 49, Bowman rolled right for a short gain. On third-and –inches, Kerry Joseph came in with the short yardage package and rushed ahead for the first down. On the next play, Messam rushed right 51 yards to the house. The Riders tacklers bounced off Messam and then he broke toward the sidelines and was uncontested over the last 20 yards. Dressler then picked up 25 after grabbing a pass in the left slot and racing up the sideline. Getzlaf theb picked up another first down as they moved the ball into Edmonton territory, But Dinwiddie’s next pass over the middle was intercepted by Alexander. The Riders got the ball back late in the quarter as Hugh Charles had a decent punt return. On first down, Dinwiddie was intercepted by Weldon Brown at the left sideline as he stepped in front of a pass intended for Fantuz and grabbed it away. On the final play of the half, Cates ripped off left tackle for a long gain.

On Edmonton’s opening drive of the third quarter, Ray moved the ball down to the 15, where he was leveled by Jerrell Freeman, so Duval kicked a field goal to give the Esks a 15-0 lead. On Edmonton’s next drive, Bowman made a great leaping catch inside Riders’ territory at the 49. The drive stalled there and Duval punted away. Late in the third quarter, Durant came out to quarterback the struggling offense. On second down, Hughes ripped off left tackle for a long gain. Durant’s next pass over the middle was nearly picked off and Milo punted away and his kick rolled into the end zone for a single. On second down, Ray connected with Andrew Nowacki at the right sideline for a short gain. Hugh Charles then returned Duval’s punt out to the 29. Durant then threw two incompletions and Milo punted out. Bowman picked up 8 on a quick hitter as the third quarter came to a close.

On the Riders’ next drive Efrem Hill picked up 9 and then Cates picked up a first down. A holding call against the Riders then moved the ball back to the 21, where Fantuz dropped a pass over the middle. Kerry Joseph came in at quarterback and connected with Stamps on the right sideline for a first down. But the drive stalled at the 45 and Duval punted into the end zone for another single. After another two n’ out, Edmonton got the ball back at the 35 and Messam moved the ball out to the 49 on a well-executed screen pass. Stamps then gained 9 on a sideline pass and run. After Duval punted out, Durant’s pass on second down was nearly intercepted (again) and Edmonton took over at midfield with five minutes remaining. Stamps picked up a first down on a quick hitter. The drive stalled at midfield and Duval attempted a long field goal that went wide right but Dressler conceded the single. Duval’s kick went high above the goal post and he argued (to no avail) that the kick was good. On second down, Durant was sacked. After the three-minute warning, the Riders went for it on 3rd-and-9. A pass interference call against Edmonton gave the Riders a first down at the 53. Durant then threw two incomplete passes but a roughing the passer call against Howard gave the Riders another first down. The Eskimos front seven teed off on Durant and he had to throw away the ball on first down. On second down, Getzlaf made a tough catch in traffic. Dallas Baker then made a nice catch down to the 20. Durant took two shots into the end zone without success. On third down, Durant’s pass intended for Fantuz in the end zone was just a bit too high and the Riders turned over the ball on downs. Ray was then content to grind out the clock. The Riders had one final crack on offense with 30 seconds left but couldn’t pick up a first down on three tries. With the 17-1 final, the Riders have now been outscored 99-9 in their last three outings.

One stinking point.