Kalil Pimpleton #83 Toronto Argonauts vs Ottawa REDBLACKS June 20, 2026 PHOTO: André Ringuette/Freestyle Photography
It’s not like the Ottawa REDBLACKS can flick a magic switch and good things start to happen.
Success in the CFL is earned; there are no gimmes. Plus, there’s always a learning curve as players and teams work through stumbles that can be the difference between winning and losing. Review what you did wrong, rinse and repeat what you did right and keep up the grind, day after day.
What’s done is done; focus on what’s ahead.
It’s an 18-game season. For the REDBLACKS, it’s a long way to go. But with early setbacks, there’s also somewhat of a sense of urgency to get into the “W” column. Soon.
In Game 4 of the REDBLACKS’ season – Friday night (7:30) at home, at TD Place against the Saskatchewan Roughriders – we’ll find out if Ottawa can carry forward some of the momentum it established during a tough 37-35 setback on Sunday in Montreal.
Winning is a tough ask – the Roughriders, led by former REDBLACKS quarterback Trevor Harris, are the defending Grey Cup champions. Yeah, they’re again a good football team. But the REDBLACKS are looking to rise to the challenge.
“We’re 0-and-3; that’s not what we thought we’d be,” said REDBLACKS head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “But that’s the situation we put ourselves in. We have to find ways to play better football this week and give us a chance to get a win at home against a good football club.”
Tidying up costly mistakes will go a long way to swinging the momentum upward.
“We can’t have self-inflicted wounds,” said Dinwiddie. “That’s happened too frequently in the first three games. It’s been preached every day since the start of training camp. At some stage, these guys have to take ownership of it. I can’t go out there and do it for them.”
Before we look ahead, let’s circle back. If not for some major blunders in the back end of Ottawa’s defence, the REDBLACKS were good enough to win against the Alouettes. An offence that seemed out of sync finally showed a spark. The ground game still wasn’t good enough (38 yards), but REDBLACKS QB Jake Maier wound up with three touchdown tosses on 336 yards in completions, with much of that success coming in a great second half.
“We didn’t start fast on offence,” said Dinwiddie. “Then, we made some plays and just couldn’t get (the Alouettes offence) off the field enough.”
Dinwiddie, also the offensive playcaller, simplified the scheme before the game in Montreal. It’s not a long-term solution, but the team needed to better execute certain elements of the playbook before overloading it with a wider branch of concepts.
During Wednesday’s media availability, Dinwiddie walked reporters through a few of the mistakes that hurt his team in Montreal – miscommunication on the back end, a double-move pass route that fooled an Ottawa defender and, on offence, a collision between Greg Bell and Justin Hardy.
Then there are the big plays (rushes of 20 yards or more, pass completions of 30 yards or more, punt returns of 30 yards or more, kickoff returns of 40 yards or more and returns on missed field goals of 30 yards or more), also called explosives by some coaches. So far in the 2026 season, Ottawa has given up 16 big plays, while making just six. The REDBLACKS have also turned the ball over 11 times, while creating just five turnovers.
“You need to have big plays,” said Dinwiddie. “It’s tough just to go boom, boom, boom, all the way down the field. We have to be able to sustain drives offensively, and get them off the field defensively.”
Any changes expected?
“I don’t want to be dying a slow death, so we might be a bit more aggressive,” said Dinwiddie. “We might give up a few more big plays being aggressive, but also we’ll get them into some more two-and-out situations and get our offence the ball.”
Are the REDBLACKS “desperate” for a win? Sure, just like every other week.
“In Week 1, we felt desperate to get into the win column,” answered Maier. “Hopefully our group realizes that you’re never really out of a game up here. We were down 21-6 (vs. Montreal); we played some of our worst ball (in the first half) and lost by two. You’re never dead, you’re never out of it. Eventually we’re going to bust the door open. I’m not going to predict when that’s going to come, but eventually it is.”
On Friday, they’ll be on opposing sides, but Maier said he learned a lot from Harris while they were teammates.
“He’s one of the best preparers I’ve ever been around,” said Maier. “He’s a great leader, he’s somebody that doesn’t cheat the game, ever. He’s one of the best in the business for a reason. To me, it’s the preparation, the leadership, and he doesn’t cheat the game. He’s just so true to himself and what he believes in.”
“He gave me all kinds of advice about how I can structure my days and how I can get the most out of my teammates. The thing about him, just to kind of like sum it all up, he never turns it off; he is always the quarterback. He’s the quarterback with his kids, he’s the quarterback with his family, he’s the quarterback with his teammates, he’s the quarterback when he’s at Costco. He just carries that with him – ‘I’m the quarterback, I’m the leader,’ and he walks with that confidence. That’s really cool to see.”
The REDBLACKS will get some key players back into their lineup Friday; among them are receiver Eugene Lewis and defensive backs Adrian Frye and Alonzo Addae
Recent addition McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who will celebrate his 38th birthday on game day, also joins the lineup. While he just joined the team after being signed a bit more than a week ago, he’s listed as the backup QB.
With two Grey Cup championships in his resume, he’s excited for the opportunity to play for his fifth CFL team.
“My job is to learn the offence and make sure that I know my job on each play, and then it’s about fitting in where I can,” he said. “There’s a thousand ways to help, there’s a thousand conversations to be had, but first it’s understanding what they have here, what the culture is, where is there a little leak in a boat, where is there a little place I can help.”
Bethel-Thompson has been training young quarterbacks, but has also stayed prepared in case another opportunity to play popped up.
Asked if he thought it was possible his playing days were over, he said, “Yeah, every year. You know that every year professional football might be over. This game is always going to be part of my life; it’s what I wanted to do since I was nine years old.”
Asked how it felt to be on the practice field Wednesday, he said: “It was kind of la-la land. You have to figure how how do I stand, how do I catch a snap. But it’s like riding a bike, it’ll come back.”
