Don’t take much credence in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 0-1-1 record during the preseason.

That was the message from Head Coach Chris Jones after the Riders dropped their preseason finale, 42-10, to the B.C. Lions on Friday night in Vancouver.

“We’re a better team than the score indicated, we’re more physical, we’re faster, so we just can’t take penalties and turn the ball over,” said Jones.

“I don’t remember a Grey Cup ever being won in the preseason, so we’re going to go back to work and we’re going to pick the best football players that we possibly can and go to work against Montreal.”

Lions quarterback Jonathan Jennings had a field day against the Riders’ defence, completing 10-of-14 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns in just about two quarters of work.

Saskatchewan struggled with penalties throughout the game, which made it tough for them to evaluate their offensive players as they were forced into first-and-long on a number of occasions.

Jones said that made it especially hard on the quarterbacks, like Brandon Bridge who finished the game 6-for-12 for 32 yards with an interception.

“We were trying to give him a little bit more time and hoping that we wouldn’t always be in first and extra long or second-and-long, but unfortunately that’s the way it ended up,” said Jones.

Bridge is expected to start the season as the Riders’ back-up behind veteran Kevin Glenn, who finished 5-of-7 for 81 yards passing in his only game action of the preseason on Friday.

The Riders managed just 15 yards rushing on five attempts in the loss and Jones said they’d be looking at film to evaluate their running back situation.

“We didn’t run the ball very effectively, so they didn’t get a lot of touches and we’ll have to look at the film and decide,” said Jones.

Saskatchewan’s defence finished with five sacks in total, including Davis Tull with a two-sack game, which was one of the bright spots in the contest for the Riders.

“I think that they can still do more, they’ve got to be a bit more stout against the run,” said Jones.

70 players hit the field for the Riders during the game as the team looked to get some final evaluations of players before trimming the roster down to 46 players on Saturday.

“There was a couple of guys that played their way on and there was a couple of guys that played their way off,” said Jones.

Saskatchewan ended up releasing 20 players on Saturday night, including quarterback Vince Young, who missed both preseason games and most of training camp with a torn hamstring that will keep him on the sidelines for at least four weeks.

Bryan Bennett was also a casualty in the quarterback battle as he was let go on Saturday.

Offensively, the Riders released: running backs Anthony Allen and Quincy Walden; offensive linemen Terrence Campbell and Jarriel King; wide receivers Thomas Mayo, Joe Craig, Desmond Reece and Jenson Stoshak.

On defence, the Riders parted ways with defensive backs Royce Adams, Zavian Bingham, Crezdon Butler, Warren Gatewood and Mark Roberts; defensive linemen Ivan Brown, Greg Milehouse Jr and Jordan Reeves; as well as national linebackers Alexander Gagne and Dillon Grondin.

Seven players were added to the Riders’ practice roster, including wide receivers Antwane Grant and Joshua Stanford; defensive linemen Makana Henry and D.J. Pettway; offensive lineman Eddie Meredith; and linebacker Myke Tavarres.

The Riders also signed international linebacker Jordan Burton and defensive Jovon Johnson, as well as Grondin to their practice roster on Monday.

National offensive lineman Emmauel Adusei, linebacker Alexandre Chevrier, wide receiver Mitchell Picton and international defensive back Ahmad Fulwood were suspended.

The Riders have a short week before opening the regular season on Thursday in Montreal.