THE CANADIAN PRESS
REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Michael Bishop blamed himself for Saturday’s 33-12 loss to the B.C. Lions in the West Division semifinal.
A quick look at the numbers, and it’s easy to see why.
Making just his second career CFL playoff start, Bishop fumbled twice and threw three interceptions — one of which was returned 54 yards for a touchdown. Overall, Saskatchewan had seven turnovers compared to just one for B.C.
"It’s all on me," said Bishop. "I didn’t play well and I’m not going to put the blame on anybody. If I play well, make those throws, instead of kicking those field goals, we get touchdowns."
The ghosts of playoffs past may have haunted Bishop, who turned in a sub-par performance for Toronto in last year’s East Division final, which the Argos lost 19-9 to Winnipeg at Rogers Centre. Bishop was 21-of-45 passing for 376 yards against the Bombers.
He headed into this year’s playoff game on a low note, throwing four interceptions in last week’s 45-38 win over Toronto. Saturday, Bishop was 14-of-27 passing for 172 yards against the Lions.
"You gotta give them credit. They came and they played well. The end result, you know they made more plays than we made," said Bishop. "We fought hard on offence. We just couldn’t get it to click."
As the third quarter wound down, the fans appear to turn on Bishop and called for quarterback Darian Durant to step in. Chants of "We want Durant!" echoed through Mosaic Stadium.
Durant came in late in the fourth quarter and threw a 40-yard pass to bring the Riders close to the end zone, but it was a case of too-little, too-late for the Roughriders.
Durant, who is in the last year of his contract, stood by Bishop.
"As I quarterback I know that every possession, in every series, everything is not going to be positive," said Durant. "If you watched Michael throughout the year, he’s had a subpar first half and came back second half and just lit up the scoreboard. Me, just like coach, assumed that that was going to happen tonight.
"Unfortunately the game kind of got out of hand."
Riders head coach Ken Miller said spread around the blame on Saturday, saying some receivers ran incorrect routes and that the Lions’ defence played well. Miller backed his decision to keep Bishop in the game.
"Some of the things that occurred with Michael tonight, the bad things weren’t all his fault," said Rider head coach Ken Miller. "I felt like he gave us the best opportunity to win."
"It’s really a bitter disappointment right now to know that the season is over," said Miller.
It was a heartbreaking loss in a province where football fans live and breathe green and white. Saskatchewan started the season 6-0 and many held high hopes of a second consecutive Grey Cup.
But the team was plagued by injury problems. At one point as many as 20 players were down various injuries, including Matt Dominguez, Andy Fantuz and D.J. Flick. Of those three, Fantuz was the only one to suit up Saturday.
Saskatchewan finished the season 12-6.
