Bombers beaten but unbowed

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This article was published 24/09/2016 (3301 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers refused to call it a measuring stick.

But if Saturday’s game against the CFL-best Calgary Stampeders showed anything, it’s the Bombers stack up with the best of them. Even on their worst nights.

The Bombers lost 36-34 at McMahon Stadium in a game that needed every last second to determine a victor. Winnipeg rallied in the second half, erasing what was at one point a 24-0 lead for the Stampeders, only to have kicker Rene Paredes boot a 52-yard-field goal with zeroes left on the clock to clinch the win for the home side.

With the victory, the Stamps improved to 11-1-1, including 10 consecutive wins.

The loss was a costly one for the Bombers, who not only had their seven-game winning streak snapped but were unable to make up any ground in the competitive Western Division.

Now 8-5, the Bombers remain tied for second place with the B.C. Lions (8-4), who have a game in hand, and are just four points up on an Edmonton Eskimos team they meet this week.

“This is going to be a tough one,” said Matt Nichols, who suffered his first loss in eight games since taking over as the Bombers starting quarterback. “It’s going to sting today and we’ll watch the film tomorrow and then we’ll move on because we got a tough Edmonton team coming in next week and we can’t afford to have any letdown.”

SLOW START

The Bombers trailed 27-7 at halftime following what was arguably the worst two quarters of the season for the club. All three phases — offence, defence and special teams — struggled early and Calgary took advantage.

Led by quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who completed 29 of 43 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns, the Stampeders scored early and often.

A seven-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to open the match seemed to set the tone for the home side. After Mitchell hit Kamar Jorden with a five-yard pass for the first score, he’d do it again less than five minutes later, this time to Lemar Durant from 14 yards out. In three games — and wins — against the Bombers this year, Mitchell has thrown for 980 yards and seven touchdowns.

The exclamation point in the half came from Jerome Messam, the Stamps’ 6-3, 235-pound running back, after he capped off a four-play 54-yard drive with an impressive 15-yard run up the middle that put Calgary up 24-zip.

“I believe that if we came out in the first half and just played bad we would have won the game,” said defensive end Jamaal Westerman. “But we played horrible. We played probably the worst half of football that we could have played.

“It was a complete (expletive) show, really, from top to bottom.”

Running back Timothy Flanders, in for an injured Andrew Harris for a second successive game, provided the only real spark for the Bombers in the first half, converting a third-and-one into a 50-yard touchdown run. In his two starts, the 24-year-old product out of Sam Houston State has 197 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns.

DOWN TO THE WIRE

Seemingly out of the game for good, the Bombers rallied in the second half. It was as if a completely new team had shown up to play. After going down 30-7 with Paredes’ third of five field goals on the night, the Bombers erupted for 20 unanswered points.

Nichols, who in the first half had thrown for just 88 yards, elevated his play in the final two quarters. He rushed for a one-yard touchdown — his fourth in three games — and was 18 for 24 with a touchdown strike — a five-yard strike to Julian Feoli-Gudino that put the Bombers up, 34-33, with just 20 seconds left in the game.

With victory in their grasp, the Bombers tried a short kick-off in order to waste time off the clock. Calgary would have 15 seconds to get down the field for a chance to win.

“That last 20 seconds, man, we’re trying to get them down,” said defensive lineman Euclid Cummings. “They were just able to make some plays.”

Mitchell first hit Jorden with a 12-yard pass. On the next play he found Durant for 22 yards to set Paredes up with a 52-yard kick for the win.

“Play 60 minutes and have a smile on your face,” said coach Mike O’Shea. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

“They know I’m proud of them, the way they played in the second half,” he added. “I love the way they came out and the way they played. I love it. Let’s play 60 minutes.”

MESSAGE SENT

During an interview at halftime with TSN, Mitchell added insult to injury when he took a verbal jab at the Bombers.

“They’re finding out who they are right now and we’re going to continue to show them,” he said.

Mitchell, when asked about the comments after the game, clarified what he meant, saying his message was for one player — Jamaal Westerman — and not the whole Bombers team.

“I meant what I said — it had nothing to do with Winnipeg,” said Mitchell. “Specifically, it was a very certain player who was hitting people after the whistle, chirping, holding guys down, trying to do stuff and playing dirty like he always does.

“We all know who he is, you all know who he is, he knows who he is, and that’s just what it is. That’s who I’m talking about. I apologize if anybody took it the wrong way, but I meant what I said.”

Nichols, who is friends with Mitchell and helped recruit him to play at Eastern Washington University, was asked after the game what he thought of Mitchell’s comments.

“I don’t really care what they had to say,” said Nichols.

“We’re a good football team. We have a tough stretch here to finish the season and put ourselves in a good spot and look forward to playing these guys again.”

UP NEXT

If the Bombers are destined to play the Stampeders again this season it will be in the playoffs. With five games left on the schedule, the Bombers welcome the Eskimos to town before finishing the schedule with a pair of back-to-backs against the B.C. Lions and Ottawa Redblacks.

In the meantime, they’ll focus on going over film, watching what they did wrong and where they could be better.

“It’s going to be painful to watch but at the end of the day we’re all grown men and we’ve watched painful film before,” said Cummings.

“It’s not going to (put a) damper on what we have.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton