‘We’re getting hot at the right time’: Time, confidence key to B.C. Lions’ turnaround

SURREY — A shaky start to the CFL season didn’t dim the B.C. Lions’ big aspirations.

Inside the locker room, there’s always been a belief that the team could achieve great things this year, said defensive lineman Casey Sayles.

“Sometimes good things take time to kind of develop,” he said. “But we knew the team that we were and that we have. And it’s been great to have the journey.”

After starting the 2026 campaign with a 1-5 record, the Lions (10-6) have wins in nine of their last 10 games.

Defence has been a strength over the stretch, with B.C. giving up the second-fewest points (418), touchdowns (42) and net yards (5,478) in the league over the course of the season.

Sayles, a 31-year-old American, joined the Lions in free agency after three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and a Grey Cup win with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2021.

It took time for the defensive group to come together, he said.

“I think the first game of the year against Saskatchewan, I look around and realize I haven’t played with any of these guys yet,” said Sayles, who’s tallied 15 total tackles — including three for a loss — three sacks and one forced fumble this season.

“So I think that gelling point and journey along the way the last three months kind of ironed out the little details. We’ve come a long way with kind of knowing the full defence. It takes a little time but I’m glad to be where we are right now.”

Canadian receiver Jevon Cottoy watched several of the early-season losses from the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury in B.C.’s first game of the year.

From there, he saw a group of players who stuck to the process thaT head coach Buck Pierce and his staff laid out in training camp, even when the final score wasn’t in their favour.

“It’s football — there’s ups and downs. Not every game’s gonna look perfect, not every play is gonna look perfect, right?” Cottoy said.

“Guys just committing to it and not being fazed by losing one or two or three. And then when we start winning, we know how that feeling is when we were 1-5, right? So, having that in the back of our heads and making sure that we can never get back to that point.”

A decisive 41-20 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday clinched B.C.’s spot in the playoffs.

Notching yet another win over the Stampeders in Calgary on Friday would see the Lions host a post-season game. With help on the out-of-town scoreboard, the team could still leapfrog the Edmonton Elks (12-4) and take first place in the CFL’s West Division.

}I feel like we’re on the right track and we’re getting hot at the right time,” said Cottoy, who has 669 receiving yards and four touchdowns over 10 games this year. “We’re getting better at the right time. And as long as we continue to do that, come playoff time, we should be successful.”

With two games to go on the regular-season schedule, Pierce believes his team still has room for improvement.

“You look at every game in its entirety, and we focus on playing physical, playing clean and playing for each other,” the coach said. “And that’s what it is going into each week. So we believe if we do those things, then we’re going to win.”

That belief has been there all year, Pierce added, through the wins and the losses, within games and on the practice field.

“What I like the most about the group is they believe if we play to our standard and we take care of our business throughout the week and we do things the right way, that good things are going to happen for us,” he said.

“No matter what happens in the game, we’re going to be able to find a way to win.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press