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“We just didn’t put our foot down,” said veteran defensive back Ed Gainey, who was beaten by Rogers for the touchdown.

“I told the defence that we couldn’t let them out and we had to keep that field position for the rest of the game. On the first play they went deep and I can’t fault them (for that).”

It has been a tough season for Saskatchewan’s vaunted defence, which hasn’t played to the standard that was established in 2018.

The 2018 defence was aggressive, opportunistic, relentless and physical while carrying Saskatchewan to a 12-6 record and second place in the West Division.

The 2019 defensive unit has yet to consistently exhibit those traits. It has only two interceptions — both in a 32-7 victory over the lowly Toronto Argonauts on July 1 — and hasn’t been the physical force it was, despite Charleston Hughes leading the CFL with five sacks.

“I don’t think we as a man across the board can say we did everything we could to try and win this game,” Riders head coachCraig Dickenson said. “We came out a little flat.

“We weren’t very physical and we didn’t sprint to the football like we should on defence. We can control all of those and it doesn’t have anything to do with talent.”

Missed tackles were among the issues Saturday.

“We have to get better at tackling,” Dickenson said. “We’ll drill it and emphasize it. We were shooting too low and Calgary has some big, strong guys who were running through a lot of arm tackles.”

Gainey is also concerned about the defence’s performance through the Riders’ first four games. The Riders have a 1-3 record and are tied for fourth with the B.C. Lions in the five-team West.