Bombers play entertaining game, but alas, lose once more

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/09/2015 (3963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was great for a while, with the long shot standing smack dab in the middle of the ring and trading punch after punch after punch with the champ.

But whenever the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders get together the result is still as predictable as the plot to a XXX-rated movie. So it was — again — for the Bombers in front of an announced crowd of 23,113 at Investors Group Field Friday night in a 25-23 loss that slams another nail into the coffin.

The loss, Winnipeg’s sixth in its last seven games, drops them to 4-9 on the season — guaranteeing the fourth consecutive campaign without a winning record and the seventh in the last eight years.

The Stamps, meanwhile, just keep rolling along and improve to 10-3.

A FIRST-HALF TRACK MEET

The opening 30 minutes were as solid as the Bombers have looked in eons, what with Matt Nichols completing nine of his 10 passes for 144 yards — including a spectacular 42-yard TD strike to Darvin Adams — the defence swiping a Bo Levi Mitchell attempt and the special teams not getting rag-dolled on every kick return.

The two clubs moved up and down the field, racking up a combined 403 yards net offence, including a three-yard TD run by Cameron Marshall and a Stamps TD from Lemar Durant and two Rene Paredes field goals for a 14-14 tie at the intermission.

There was hope in the stands and mild interest in the press box the result might be something less than predictable.

But…

THE STAMPS COUNTERPUNCH

Stop if you’ve read/heard/seen this before: the Bomber defence served up a valiant effort in the second half, but with the Stamps making some key halftime adjustments they were able to completely dominate the time of possession and wear down their opponent.

Mitchell, who began the game 0-for-3 with a pick, methodically picked apart the Bombers the rest of the way by completing 27 of 35 passes for 333 yards and also running for the only TD of the second half. Predictably, the Stamps were again able to feed a healthy dose of Jon Cornish to the Bomber D, as he rumbled for 94 yards on 16 carries.

Meanwhile, the Stamps’ defence was able to bring more pressure on Nichols while completely shutting down the Bombers’ run game. Nichols, who had only one attempt hit the turf in the first half, had his effectiveness limited in the second half and finished 18 of 28 for 234 yards.

THE HEARTACHE AT THE END

Somebody up there has it in for the Bombers. The defence kept the club within striking distance, despite the Stamps controlling the ball for a full 15 minutes more than Winnipeg. Calgary was up 25-14 when the Bombers rallied courtesy of a 40-yard punt return that led to a Nichols-to-Rory Kohlert TD and a Marshall two-point conversion that brought them to within a field goal at 25-22.

After another stop the Bombers took possession at their own 51 with 77 seconds left and, after two completions to Nick Moore, were marching. But, alas, a procedure penalty — they were flagged for having no end — on a successful third-and-inches plunge by Nichols wiped out momentum and sent Lirim Hajrullahu out for a potential game-tying field goal.

And, in what has become the story of the Bombers season(s) of late, the attempt sailed wide right.

Game, set, match.

Again.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait