Bombers avoid major upset as Castillo nails walk-off field goal against Roughriders’ second-stringers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers earned nothing in the way of style points but can say they got the job done.

The Bombers were presented with a rare gift by their prairie rival Saskatchewan Roughriders — who rested multiple starters on both sides of the ball and played their backup and third-string quarterbacks with the No. 1 seed in the West Division locked up. Despite the threat of a major upset for most of the contest, the Bombers found a way to capitalize on a golden opportunity in a 17-16 victory, in front of a 13th consecutive sellout crowd at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday.

The victory alone doesn’t secure Winnipeg’s seat in the CFL playoffs, but it does put the club in a prime position to reach the post-season for the ninth consecutive year. A loss by the Edmonton Elks — who, at the time of writing, were playing the B.C. Lions — or a win by the Calgary Stampeders (hosting the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday) would do the trick.

The Bombers (9-8) were plagued by a stagnant offence and several miscues for much of the game, but a 22-yard field goal by Sergio Castillo as time expired erased what was an otherwise unimpressive performance from the club.

MGK to headline Grey Cup halftime show

The CFL announced Thursday night MGK will headline the 112th Grey Cup halftime show. Along with the halftime act, JUNO award-winning, Canadian alt-rockers Our Lady Peace was announced as the performers of the Grey Cup kickoff show and Niverille-native and Manitoba Country Music Award-winner Catie St. Germain as the national anthem singer.

MGK headlined last year’s NFL halftime show in Germany and is track don’t wait, run fast is currently a featured song for ESPN’s 2025-26 college football coverage.

It was previously announced that the headliner for the Grey Cup Festival, which runs from Nov. 10-16 in the leadup to the game, is Grammy and Country Music Award-winning Brad Paisley, who was recently inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Oct. 6. Paisley plays Canada Life Centre on Nov. 14.

The 112th Grey Cup will be played at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 16, with kickoff at 5 p.m. CT. The game will air live across Canada on TSN, CTV and RDS. It will be available in the U.S. on CBS Sports Network, and internationally on the league’s free livestreaming platform, CFL+. A limited number of tickets are available at Ticketmaster.

Bombers’ post-season push starts with rumble against Riders

The opportunity is there for the seizing, and there is no better time for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to make their biggest push for a spot in the CFL playoffs.

Having already secured the No. 1 seed in the West Division, the Roughriders (12-4) will sit several of their key players when they travel to Winnipeg to face the Bombers at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday (7 p.m.). It’s as great a gift as the Riders could give their prairie rivals, who will be fighting to maintain control of their destiny.

The time needs to be now for the Bombers. Failing to take advantage on Friday could set them up for a must-win date in Week 21 against the Montreal Alouettes, who could have plenty left to play for and would give Winnipeg their best shot.

“Both teams are going out, trying to win every game. That’s nothing new,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

No shortage of characters on Blue Bombers offensive line

In the early days of the 2024 regular season, Chris Kolankowski was up to his old tricks.

Blue Bombers players are given crop tops to wear around the facility, and the team’s centre, known to be one of the pranksters of the locker room, decided to target quarterback Chris Streveler for an early-season gag.

Once a week, Kolankowski would trim a small piece of fabric off the bottom of the shirt. Slowly but surely, the crop top, which started at Streveler’s stomach, ended up only covering his chest by Week 4.

“He was like, ‘Man, this must be shrinking in the dryer and it was just me. Every week, I just stayed a little later and I’d cut an inch all the way around,” Kolankowski said through a few laughs.

Regular season coming down to the wire

Will the Winnipeg Blue Bombers make the playoffs this year?

Don’t count Demski out just yet

Call it Nic Demski watch week.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ star receiver is undoubtedly the player under the most watchful of eyes in the penultimate week of the regular season, as he recovers from a hamstring injury that he suffered in the club’s 25-20 road loss against the Edmonton Elks last weekend.

Demski, who was listed as a game-time decision while he awaited the birth of his son, pulled up lame on a deep route in the second quarter, grabbing at the back of his leg, and did not return to the contest.

Sitting the homegrown 10-year pro for the remainder of the game appeared to be more than a precautionary measure by the club, as Demski did not practise on Tuesday, which leaves his status for Friday’s critical matchup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Princess Auto Stadium (7 p.m.) in question.

Bombers serve up a Dickens of a disaster in failing to clinch a playoff berth

EDMONTON — You never know what you’re going to get with these Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

One minute they’re world-beaters, the next they’re a dysfunctional mess — especially on offence.

It was the latter Saturday night in Edmonton with the Bombers disappointing in a 25-20 loss to the Elks at Commonwealth Stadium.

The score is rather generous considering how poorly the Blue and Gold looked.

Bombers missing A-game against Elks

EDMONTON — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers that produced a near-flawless performance two weeks ago was nowhere to be found in Edmonton.

While the personnel remained the same, the Blue and Gold left their A-game at home and were troubled for majority of Saturday night in a 25-20 loss to the Elks inside Commonwealth Stadium.

With the win, the Elks stay alive in the West Division playoff race and improve to 7-9. The loss drops the Bombers to 8-8 and dramatically shrinks their chances of hosting the West semifinal.

The three phases that shone in Week 17’s 40-3 beatdown over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats all made blunders, but it was Winnipeg’s offence that took the biggest step back with quarterback Zach Collaros and the offensive line being the main culprits.

Riders top Argos 27-19 to clinch CFL’s West Division

REGINA - With first place in their pockets, the Saskatchewan Roughriders remain focused on the ultimate prize.

The Riders clinched top spot in the CFL’s West Division on Friday with a 27-19 victory over the Toronto Argonauts. The victory improved Saskatchewan’s record to 12-4 and the first-place finish means the Riders will host the West Division final in Regina on Nov. 8. The Argos, who were eliminated from the post-season picture last week, dropped to 5-12.

“Obviously you want to maximize the regular season, and that has been done. But now we get a bonus, three weeks to refine and fine tune ourselves into being who we need to be come November 8,” said Trevor Harris, who finished 23 of 29 passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns. 

“So we'll just kind of keep our keep our focus one day at a time, and make sure that we're improving so we are that team on that date.”

Ornery Elks in must-win mode, but Winnipeg has needs of its own

EDMONTON — If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers look anything like they did two weeks ago, the Edmonton Elks are in big trouble.

The Blue and Gold return to action Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium (6 p.m. CT kickoff) for the first time since laying a 40-3 smackdown on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 17.

The Bombers (8-7) will look for a repeat performance against a desperate Edmonton Elks (6-9) side that’s hanging on by a thread in the West Division playoff race.

There’s been lots of time to prepare as both clubs are coming off a bye.

Papa Demski to suit up against Elks

EDMONTON — Nic Demski better sleep like a baby on this road trip.

Now with a newborn son at home, catching ZZZs will be even harder than catching TDs for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver.

Demski and his fiancée Vanessa welcomed baby Cade into the world Wednesday night.

“This week was a whirlwhind,” said Demski, who didn’t practice with the team all week.

CFL West still wide open, Argos and Redblacks officially playing for pride

With the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Redblacks officially eliminated from the playoffs, we can start talking about a crossover to the East Division.

A West Division club moving over to the East has felt inevitable for the last few weeks, but confirmation came this past weekend after both clubs suffered another loss in their struggling seasons. The focus now shifts to a four-team race for top spot in the West, with the farthest team in the standings relegated to the East.

I wrote last week I anticipated the Saskatchewan Roughriders (11-4) holding onto top spot, their grip on first place tightening with a 20-13 win over the Redblacks on Friday. Assuming the Riders don’t choke, that leaves the B.C. Lions (9-7), Calgary Stampeders (8-7) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-7) battling it out for the final three spots.

A lot of people are predicting the Lions for second place and the argument is sound. Quarterback Nathan Rourke is leading a confident Buck Pierce-led offence and the defence has finally been able to get to the quarterback, as the Lions ride the momentum of a four-game winning streak.

Bombers dapper DE James Vaughters looking good on and off the field

No one has ever mistaken the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ locker room for a fashion runway.

If anything, it’s the type of place where the fashion police would hand out citations left, right and centre to players for wearing flip flops, baggy gym shorts and compression shirts with the sleeves chopped off.

“We wear sweats to the game and we wear sweats when we travel. Everything’s actually really laid back here, which I think I kinda appreciate,” said first-year Bombers defensive end James Vaughters after Wednesday’s closed practice.

“It’s gotten so big in the NFL with the tunnel fits and travel fits and everything. I was into it, but being at the point of my career where I’m at, I just want to win and play well. I appreciate the focus that they have here.”

Bombers receiver Dillon Mitchell looks to build on impressive outing against Ticats

It wasn’t a record-breaking performance by any stretch, but it was a much-needed confidence booster for Dillon Mitchell.

The struggling Blue Bombers receiver had a season-high three catches for 67 yards and a score in the team’s 40-3 beatdown over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats prior to last week’s bye. The touchdown was a 44-yard corner route in the first quarter with Mitchell making an impressive grab by the front pilon.

“It definitely felt amazing,” said Mitchell after Tuesday’s practice. “I felt like I could feel all the energy, especially from the fans, as it was my first time scoring at Princess Auto Stadium.”

Mitchell was expected to make impact plays like that on a consistent basis when the Bombers signed him to a $148,000 contract in free agency but that hasn’t been the case. After a lacklustre showing in training camp, the Bombers opted not to dress Mitchell — who had 58 catches for 727 yards and four touchdowns a season ago in Edmonton — until Week 10.

Bombers may be peaking at just the right time

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers kept busy in different ways during their recent bye week.