SURREY, B.C. — Vernon Adams Jr. is on track to make CFL history.
The B.C. Lions quarterback, however, isn't particularly concerned about his passing numbers.
“The biggest thing is winning. Just win, baby. That’s it," he said Friday. "As long as we win, I’m OK with throwing less. Whatever it takes, that’s what I need to do to win a game.”
Five games into the campaign, Adams leads the league in passing yards with 1,752 and is on pace to throw for 6,307 yards this season. That number would put him second in the CFL record books behind the 6,619 Doug Flutie compiled for the Lions back in 1991.
The 31-year-old American will have a chance to add to the tally Saturday when the Lions (4-1) host the undefeated Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0) in a battle for top spot in the CFL's West Division.
“Great team, man. Obviously they’re the only undefeated team left," Adams said of the Riders.
“Every match is a dogfight. And we just need to come out, play our brand of football, execute at a high level, score in the redzone like we did last week. And I think that should really help us out.”
Last week, Adams connected on 26-of-36 attempts for 383 yards with four touchdown passes.
The numbers are the result of a lot of hard work by B.C.'s staff and players behind the scenes, Adams said. He spent part of the off-season working with the team's receivers and has been studiously following plans laid out by Lions offensive co-ordinator Jordan Maksymic.
“All I’m doing is doing what’s asked," Adams said. "Like we said, total team effort. So it feels good. It’s humbling and I want to keep working to try and get better.”
That attitude is part of why Lions head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell wanted to add the veteran quarterback to B.C.'s roster back in 2021.
Canadian star Nathan Rourke had just suffered a foot injury and the Lions were looking for someone to take over at quarterback, at least temporarily. Adams was playing backup for the Montreal Alouettes at the time and Campbell liked what he heard about Adams not only as a player, but a person.
"It was not an easy thing for him to come in on literally on a moment's notice and have to have a crash course on learning our playbook and learning our players and doing all that stuff and coming in and winning important games for us," the coach said.
"And then when Nathan came back, same thing, he was excellent in a backup role. Attitude didn't change. Leadership didn't change. And so we knew we had a good one.”
Roughriders defensive back Marcus Sayles has seen Adams' work first hand, having played three seasons for the Lions between 2021 and 2023.
Saturday will mark his first matchup with his former team, and Sayles said he knows stopping Adams and B.C.'s offence will be a tall task.
"(Adams) is good at so many things. He's good at throwing running, escaping the pocket, getting to his second and third reads at times," he said. "They're a big play offence, and we feel like if we're able to stop a lot of their explosive plays, get at the hands of (Justin) McInnis and (Alexander) Hollins, we feel like we have a chance."
Riders quarterback Shea Patterson is set to get his second start of the year against the Lions as Trevor Harris continues to recover from a knee injury.
Patterson made good on 15 of his 23 pass attempts for 192 yards with a touchdown in Saskatchewan's 30-23 win over the Toronto Argonauts last week.
The 27-year-old Michigan alum believes he can be better.
"I know everybody has their own opinion but nobody's expectation are going to be higher than my own for myself," he said. "There's just a few things I need to clean up. And we had a really, really good week of practice this week."
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (4-0) AT B.C. LIONS (4-1)
Saturday, BC Place
GREY STREAK?: The last time Saskatchewan started the season 5-0 was 2013. The Roughriders went on to win the Grey Cup that year.
ROLLIN' ROLAN: Saskatchewan safety Rolan Milligan Jr. leads the league in interceptions (three) and is tied with Winnipeg's Michael Ayers for most special teams tackles (nine).
WHYTE HOT: Lions kicker Sean Whyte has made all 14 of his field goal attempts this season, and is good on his last 32 tries going back to last year. His streak is a franchise record for B.C. and marks the third longest in CFL history.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
