Defense leads the way to another victory, and the Redblacks are now 5-0-1 in their last six games. They have now all but cemented themselves a playoff berth in 2024 keeping pace with Toronto, and putting themselves two games up on anyone in the western division. This was a crucial victory for more than one reason, as Jaelon Acklin was hospitalized in this game. While he is conscious, and moving his extremities, it was still a terrifying play that left fans of both teams with bated breath, hoping to see any sign he was okay.

This also came just two days after former Ottawa Redblack Douglas Coleman III was hospitalized in a preseason game for the Chicago Bears. We can only hope the results for Acklin are similar to that of Coleman who was sent home after just one night in the hospital. Coleman has since been waived/injured and could be in line for a return to the CFL soon.

Rising Tide Lifts All Ships

In this case, the tide lifting the Redblacks’ “ship” is the defense’s play. This defense allowed BC to move the ball but stepped up when it mattered most. BC found their way to the red zone five times, converting just two of those attempts into touchdowns. Both teams lost two fumbles and intercepted one pass a piece in this game.

While they only produced three sacks and one tackle for a loss in this game, they produced pressure on many more snaps pressuring Rourke and making him throw the ball away or force passes into tight windows. Many of his 9 incompletions were nearly intercepted or batted away as the receiver tried to make a catch. This pressure on Rourke truly ended up being the difference in this game, as Brown was not sacked a single time.

The thing about this defensive line is the depth and talent across the roster. In this game, it was not Mauldin IV or Carter who produced the sacks for Ottawa. Cleyon Laing, Michael Wakefield, and Damon Webb stepped up for Barron Miles’ defense. Playing with a lead more often in 2024 has allowed Miles to become more aggressive in certain situations helping to put games away when needed.

Redblacks Quarterback Room As Good as it Gets for Ottawa?

The Redblacks are in a better position now at quarterback than they have been in since 2018. Call it the Dru Brown effect, as the new gunslinger has made it possible for Ottawa to relegate a player like Jeremiah Masoli to QB2, and Dustin Crum…a starter just a season ago as the QB3/Short yardage option. Brown has been everything he was billed to be in a trade with Winnipeg.

This recent winning streak has been motivated by Brown taking his play to the next level. During the last four games he has started, and finished, he has racked up 1452 yards 6 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. At times Brown has forced some passes he doesn’t need to, but this is the gunslinger in him coming to the surface. His confidence in himself has bitten him at times, like in this game when he was running left evading pressure, and threw back across his body resulting in an interception. If he can remove these few passes a game from his repertoire he could develop into one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

One Frustration

Ottawa needs to continue to get more creative in its usage of Ryquell Armstead. At times he has been stalled in the run game, and they have all but abandoned Armstead in the game plan. Other times, they have made him a strong focus in the passing game to get him into open space. It just has not been consistent enough. Last week against Calgary, they unleashed Armstead with 11 carries and 6 receptions for a total of 164 yards and 1 touchdown.

This should have been an indication of how Armstead could be utilized going forward, just like it should have been an indication in week 4 where he carried the ball 10 times for 51 yards, and targeted him 8 times with 6 receptions for 53 yards. In games where Armstead touches the ball 16 or more times, he has produced three 100-yard games. Armstead needs to be involved in the game plan on a week-in-week-out basis in this capacity. It appears that Ottawa has realized exactly this and is trying to do their best to keep him involved with 18, 17, and 19 touches over the past three games. This has to continue to for Ottawa to continue winning.

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