Ryan Dinwiddie didn't sugarcoat it after Ottawa's latest loss. The Redblacks dropped to 0-4 on the season, and their head coach spent his postgame media session pointing the finger squarely at his own locker room.
"We're self-inflicted," Dinwiddie said. "The penalties are beyond me. Like one of our punt returns, we had a guy tackle a guy. This ain't WWE. You know what I mean? Like that is just beyond me."
Ottawa jumped out to a 10-0 lead and had control of the game before a string of mistakes let Saskatchewan back in. Dinwiddie didn't hold back on where the blame belongs.
"You could see the potential in that locker room, but we're self-inflicted... Our FBI, our football intelligence, ain't there yet. We've been in every game, but we're our worst enemy right now."
The Punt Return Controversy
The game's biggest flashpoint came on a disputed ruling that wiped out an Ottawa first down and set up a Saskatchewan punt return touchdown. Dinwiddie made clear he still doesn't buy the call.
"They said his elbow hit the ground and his knees weren't down. So, what's the difference between elbow and putting your hand down to keep yourself up?"
He pointed to a second questionable ruling on a fumble as well, where a Redblacks player appeared to go out of bounds before coming back in. "They said, well, he was forced out of bounds. Not the case," Dinwiddie said. Asked if the sequence was the turning point, he didn't fully commit to that framing, but acknowledged the pattern. "It's tough, right? When you don't get calls to go your way and how we're playing football right now, it just kind of snowballed on us."
Same Story: Penalties and Unfinished Drives
Beyond the officiating, Dinwiddie kept circling back to discipline and execution. Failed third-and-one situations, a missed gamble at the goal line, and drives that stalled instead of finishing in the end zone all added up.
"We're finding ways to hurt ourselves," Dinwiddie said, before adding later, "we got to get a win, find a way to win. Find — to do the little things it takes to win and get some momentum going. I think a win would do a lot for that locker room."
Quarterback Jake Maier echoed the diagnosis from the offensive side, saying the issue is finishing drives rather than generating them. "We just got to end those drives that we get 3 with, we got to get 6 on those. And really it just comes, ends up, we have to finish and we're just not, haven't been able to do that lately."
Maier's 'One-Game Season' Approach
While Dinwiddie's tone leaned toward frustration, Maier offered a more measured response to Ottawa's 1-4 hole, rejecting the idea that a long season buys the team any patience.
"I think we're in a mode now where it's like, hey, just treat every game like a one-game season in terms of the way you prepare and the way that you approach the week... We don't have that luxury. And with how competitive the CFL is, I don't know if any team really has that luxury, to be honest with you."
Maier also pushed back on the notion that Ottawa's record reflects its ceiling, noting the Redblacks have now played the last two Grey Cup finalists. "I don't think anybody can tell me that we don't have the ability to win either one of those games. Now, the truth of the matter is, is we didn't, and it is a very black and white league in terms of results."
Injury Report Growing
Dinwiddie confirmed a tough update on the injury front, with Bennett believed to have suffered an Achilles injury. "It looks like an Achilles, you know, that's unfortunate. He's been fighting his butt off," Dinwiddie said, adding that Broderick and Scott Hutter were also banged up. "There's going to be a bigger injury report than normal."
Anthony on the 10-Game Skid: 'We're Not Angry, We're Not Pointing Guys'
For Anthony, a veteran voice in the room, the loss extended Ottawa's losing streak to 10 games dating back to last season. He called the run "pretty frustrating," pointing to recurring details rather than a talent gap. "We put so much work in the game and I know we got a good group of guys and we got the guys to win, but it's just little details every single game."
Asked about the mood in the locker room, Anthony was clear the team is trying to stay together rather than splinter. "We try to stay positive, that's for sure. You can get angry at yourself first and look yourself in the mirror, but we're not angry, we're not pointing guys, we're just trying to find solution there."
Looking Ahead to Edmonton
Ottawa turns around quickly for a Thursday matchup against Edmonton, the third game in a 12-day stretch. Dinwiddie called Edmonton "one of the top defenses in the league" and pointed to a rematch from Week 1 that came with unusual weather conditions. "I would imagine weather get cleaned up and we'll get a much cleaner game out there against those guys."
Anthony framed the trip as a business trip with a clear goal. "Je pense vraiment qu'on s'en va là-bas et c'est un business trip. On va là pour gagner," he said — Ottawa heading west believing this is the game that turns the season around, even if the record says otherwise.