Fresh out of miracles: Blue blow chance at another late comeback

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This article was published 27/09/2014 (4084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Looks like the miracle account is overdrawn.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had another chance to pull one out of the fire Saturday night at Investors Group Field but could not push the ball in with first-and-goal at the three-yard-line in the final minute and fell 16-11 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in another CFL nail-biter before 28,534.

The Bombers had beaten Hamilton on the final play of the game in July, one of their comebacks while rushing out to an early 5-1 record.

But now Winnipeg has lost four straight and is 1-6 in the last seven, making their season’s chart 6-7, the first time in 2014 the team has been under .500.

“We’ve got to come out of the game better,” said offensive lineman Glenn January. “The fourth-quarter heroics are fun for the storyline, but if we come out and play that way for the whole game, it’s a completely differently outcome.”

Hamilton struck for a field goal on the game’s first possession and the home team was behind all night.

The Tiger-Cats avenged the July defeat by winning for the third straight time, finally recording a road win this season. Hamilton is 5-7 and now in first in the East Division.

The heartbreak

The Bombers took the ball with 2:04 on the clock at their own 23 and marched it down the field, even converting a third down to keep it alive.

But with first-and-goal at the Hamilton three with 29 seconds on the clock, quarterback Drew Willy threw a big miss to Aaron Kelly, had a time-count violation which cost them a down, then misfired on a not-even-close pass to Clarence Denmark, resulting in the turnover on downs.

“It’s obviously on me,” Willy said about not hearing the play call that cost him the second-down play. “I need to see the clock better. It’s tough to say. Obviously I’ll take full blame for that. Even if I don’t get the play, it’s my job to have a play ready in that situation.

“I’ll call my own play if I don’t get it. I need to be better mentally prepared for a situation like that.”

The flags

Winnipeg was tagged for 15 penalties on the night. That upset defensive lineman Bryant Turner.

“We’re just slacking on the penalties right now,” Turner said. “We killed ourselves with penalties. We lost that game way before the last pass of the game, penalty-wise.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea didn’t agree, and was defiant about it.

“No. The game is never lost,” O’Shea said. “We’re down by five with time on the clock and ball in our hands. It was never lost.

“Did we make too many mistakes? Did we have too many penalties? Absolutely. Once again, I’ll look at all those penalties and I’ll see exactly which ones were and which ones weren’t. I promise you that there were some I won’t be able to reprimand the player for working hard.”

Slow start

Winnipeg’s offence struggled mightily until the fourth quarter.

On the first 12 possessions of the game, through three quarters, the Bombers average starting spot was their own 28-yard line, and never better than their own 41.

In the fourth quarter, a start at Hamilton’s 47 led to a two-and-out, but the next possession, at their own 44, led to Cory Watson’s six-yard touchdown catch.

Two’s a blank

The Bombers went for two after Watson’s major, to try to draw within three and make the late-game task a little easier.

But they failed again, and for the fifth time in five tries this season.

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Winnipeg at Ottawa, next Friday.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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