“I don’t think they like coming to Ottawa as much this year and that’s what we want to continue to build here.”

They will need to continue this momentum next season by improving their performance on the road, where they have struggled with a 2-7-0 record.

A key factor in Ottawa’s success this year was the stability provided by quarterback Dru Brown, who finished third in the league with 3,959 passing yards in his first season as a starter.

After years of searching for a reliable QB, Brown’s season gave Ottawa a much-needed anchor on offense. The 27-year-old showed composure under pressure and laid the foundations for an attack that had become increasingly difficult to defend.

“It was exactly as advertised,” general manager Sean Burke said. “He comes to work every day, knows the areas he needs to develop in and is not willing to rest on his laurels.

“He’s young, can lead and is really excited to see him take a step next year with our organization.”

Saturday’s loss clearly still weighed on Brown, but he plans to take a few weeks off and allow himself to regroup after focusing so much on football in recent months.

“I think you learn every season,” he said. “It’s a process, as we talked about, of kind of stepping back and thinking about what I need to do better.”

Brown credited his receiving corps led by Justin Hardy, who has become one of the league’s explosive playmakers. Hardy led the league with 97 receptions and was second in receiving yards with 1,343.

Hardy is set to become a free agent and Burke made it clear he would be interested in re-signing the 32-year-old, something Hardy liked to hear.

“It means a lot,” Hardy said of the support. “You know, you want to go where people want you, you know, that’s in life. You want to be where people want you to be, so having that love here, you know, it doesn’t go unrecognized.

The Redblacks will likely look to strengthen their running game this offseason. They finished last in the league averaging just 83.7 rushing yards per game.

“The reality is obviously that position will be looked at,” Burke explained.

On the defensive side, Ottawa showed strength and consistency, thanks to a powerful forward line. Lorenzo Mauldin IV, Michael Wakefield, Bryce Carter and Cleyon Laing combined for 24 of the team’s 39 sacks, but the secondary will need some work. Blown coverages cost the Redblacks dearly throughout the season and will need to be corrected.

Burke has one clear priority for his team this offseason: consistency, both from players and staff. He called the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a model of success, citing their ability to perform at a high level season after season.

“It’s day-to-day consistency of what we want to be,” Burke said. “If we are a consistent football team with talent that we can attract, with the resources that the owners provide us, we can be an organization that achieves that level of consistency, but we have to do it every day.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 4, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press