The three keys

1 Throw a blanket around Sheets

This isn’t difficult to break down. Stop Korey Sheets and the Lions have given themselves a big chance to win. Saskatchewan is using Sheets in a variety of ways, however, and shutting him down as a runner still doesn’t eliminate him as a threat out of the backfield. B.C. can help itself immensely by getting out to a lead, however, as in their last contest against Edmonton, the Riders went away from Sheets in the second half even though it was a close game.

2 Durant’s short game could benefit Leos

Riders QB Darian Durant had his best passing game of the season against Edmonton, but it was the type of performance that would benefit the Lions if he came up with a duplicate. Durant was a 68-per-cent passer against the Eskimos but rarely took shots deep, which is the type of defence being employed these days with success by the Lions. Edmonton got to Durant when he took sevenstep drops. B.C. might have similar success if their pass rush can force him to stay in the pocket.

3 Has special teams unit improved?

It does not take a network analyst to suggest the Lions have to do a better job on special teams than they did the last time against Saskatchewan, which prevailed thanks to a 129-yard missed field goal touchdown return by Tristan Jackson that underlined B.C.’s problems. The Lions have made some changes to their coverage units, adding DL Brandon Peguese among others, and the results have improved. Here’s a game to see how far the Lions have come in the last three weeks.