FIVE THINGS TOWATCH

1 THE SCOREBOARD

It doesn’t over-dramatize the point to call this a must-win for the Lions. They’re already a game back of the Green Machine for fourth place in the CFL West and what figures to be the crossover berth for the playoffs. A loss at home would cripple the Lions’ chances at a post-season berth. The good news is the Lions have three of their next four games — and four of their next six — at B.C. Place Stadium. They’ll have to run the table at home to stay in the playoff hunt.

2 ROUGHLY SPEAKING

The Roughriders surprised the CFL with a convincing 40-27 win over the previously unbeaten Calgary Stampeders last weekend. Are they that good? We’ll find out Saturday. Before the win over the Stamps the Green Riders looked like an average team.

3 WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

Riders overlord Chris Jones, a serial lineup fiddler, has again revamped his team’s roster. The names might not be familiar to most CFL fans but, last week, Jordan Lambert-Williams caught 10 passes for 152 yards against the Stamps, Shaquelle Evans caught five more for 69 yards and DB Nick Marshall was named defensive player of the week. First-year running back Tre Mason, a former standout at Auburn who was out of football for two years, has also made an impact.

4 RUSH DELIVERY

Two weeks ago, the Lions’ pass rush turned around the game against Edmonton. Last week, it wasn’t a factor in the loss to Toronto. The Leos have invested significant resources — they started four import D-linemen against the Argos — into making their front four the strength of the defence. They have to pressure Zach Collaros.

5 MR. CLEAN

The Lions continue to be their own worst enemy. Last week, it was a series of procedure and offside penalties in the second half that disrupted their offence. In past games, discipline has been a problem. Until they clean up those details, they’ll struggle against good teams.