I wasn't in the Rider locker room after Sunday's 30-24 win over Winnipeg, but I heard about it.
Our CKRM Rider Radio analyst Carm Carteri does the post-game interviews live on air from the Rider locker room each road game. Unlike after the Riders' 23-17 win in August in Winnipeg when the celebratory mood was Grey Cup-like, Carteri reported the mood this time was sombre.
The reason? Although the Riders emerged with a three-game season series sweep of their prairie rivals and won their seventh game in a row for the first time since 1970, the victory came with a hefty price.
The face of the franchise, quarterback Darian Durant, left the game midway through the third quarter with an injured right elbow. He laid on the Investors Group Field turf for quite some time before slowly walking to the team's locker room, his face twisted in agony.
He would not emerge for the rest of the game and it was up to back-up Tino Sunseri to pilot the team to the victory, which he did.
On the flight home Sunday evening, Durant's eyes were hidden by sunglasses and he was bandaged up pretty much from his shoulder to his wrist and the arm was held in place by a sling. The good news is he was in great spirits, even laughing and joking with his teammates.
That lifted the mood somewhat on the 50-minute trip, but it's going to be Sunseri's team for the next while.
And the messages of support, and disappointment, were immediate from Durant's Rider comrades.
"Your heart just sinks,'' said receiver/returner Weston Dressler who returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in a 26-point second quarter. "You never want to see a guy go down on the field, especially a guy like him. He's our leader. He's our guy. He's our man that we follow."
It didn't stop there.
"Not sure about Darian right now," reported head coach Corey Chamblin after the game. "It's his throwing arm. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and we'll rally around him."
You knew the injury was bad when Chamblin came all the way onto the field and stood over Durant while he received medical attention. He is the team's heart and soul, on both sides of the ball.
"Darian's our leader," said cornerback Rod Williams who recorded his first interception of the season in the Banjo Bowl. "We feed off him, but Tino came in and we have faith in him. Hopefully Darian's back soon though."
That feeling prevails throughout the organization although, as I said, it's Tino's team now and no one knows for how long.
"We just came together after Durant went out," said running back Anthony Allen who raced for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Blue Bombers. "We talked to the defence and told them to get the ball back. They did and then it was up to Tino. We trust Tino and he did a great job."
And so the wild ride continues. The Riders are 8-2 and in second place in the West Division, exactly where they were one year ago when they were off to the best start in franchise history.
However, last year it was a loss in Winnipeg in Week 11 that sent them on a four-game losing streak and threatened to derail that monumental season. But the only other similarity between last season and this one is the long lineup in the team's medical room. The injuries are mounting at an alarming pace and the team's resolve is being put to the test.
So far they've passed with flying colours and they're doing it with good old-fashioned "grit," as Chamblin put it.
If there's a silver-lining, it's that the Riders' next two opponents are Hamilton and Ottawa, two teams who have a combined three wins in 19 games played.
Adversity shows up in a variety of forms at some point over the course of an 18-game schedule. Well, it's here now. How will the Riders deal with it?
We're about to find out.
- For daily Rider news follow Rod at @sportscage on Twitter.
