Bombers rally to beat Leos 35-32 and grab second in the West

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This article was published 14/10/2016 (3285 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER – It was never going to be as good.

It was the safe bet that following a 37-35 Winnipeg Blue Bombers win over the B.C. Lions last week at Investors Group Field in a game that had a bit of everything, that surely there was no way the rematch this week at BC Place could live up to what fans had seen a mere seven days ago.

No way, the thought went, they would be able to match a game with a combined 72 points scored, a 21-point comeback by the Lions and a goal-line stand by the Bombers in the dying moments that proved to be the difference.

Yeah, well, about that. Not only did Friday’s game live up to the high standard set last week, it exceeded them.

The end result was a 35-32 win for Winnipeg, who rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to clinch the season series 2-0. The win improves the Bombers to 10-6 on the year, putting them in sole possession of second place in the West Division ahead of the Lions, who fell to 9-6 with the loss but still have a game in hand.

That said, if the Bombers – now on a bye week – can sweep their final two games of the year – a home-and-home series with the Ottawa Redblacks – they will hold on to second spot in the West and are guaranteed a home playoff game for the division’s semi-final tilt Nov. 13.

“We’re excited about the win and it makes it a lot easier to go through the bye week,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “I still didn’t think that we played our best football and there was some things that we could clean up but winning in BC Place is not easy.”

BEST FOR LAST

The Bombers certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves, at least through the first three quarters. Quarterback Matt Nichols and the offence couldn’t seem to find a rhythm early on, turning extended drives into field goals instead of touchdowns.

“We felt like as an offence we really let them down,” said Nichols, who finished the game 27 for 38 for 301 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. “When the defence and special teams are getting the ball like that you should be putting 55 points up.”

Bombers kicker Justin Medlock, who entered the game with the most points scored (185) in the CFL and the most field goals (48) by a Bomber in a single season, went a perfect seven-for-seven, tying a franchise record for most field goals in the game for the second time this year (he went seven-for-eight against Saskatchewan Labour Day weekend).

It wouldn’t be until late in the third quarter, down 22-15, that the Bombers would find the end zone. Nichols punched the ball in from one-yard out to tie the game at 22-22.

In pure nail-biter fashion, with the Bombers deep in the Lions’ end down 32-22, Winnipeg was faced with a third-and-one on the one-yard line with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Instead of gambling for the score, they elected to kick the field goal to make it a seven-point game. On the ensuing drive, the Lions, needing to drain the clock, did the impossible as quarterback Jonathon Jennings, while under pressure, launched a pass deep only for it to fall short of his target and into the hands of Bombers defensive back Kevin Fogg.

Winnipeg promptly marched down the field and Nichols connected with Clarence Denmark for a 10-yard score to even the game at 32-32.

When it looked as if things couldn’t get any worse for the Lions – they did.

On the ensuing kick-off, returner Chris Rainey appeared to break free, bringing the ball to midfield before running into his own player and losing the ball. The Bombers then marched down the field and Medlock hit from 24 yards out to give the Bombers the lead, 35-32, with 14 seconds left.

“There was just no sense of panic on our sidelines,” Nichols said. “We’ve played in so many of these games this year it feels like we just feel like we’re going to make those plays in the end.”

The Lions would get one last chance to tie the game with a 62-yard field goal attempt but kicker Richie Leone’s boot fell just short.

A TURN(OVER)ING POINT

With the offence struggling to put up points, it almost seemed unfair for the Bombers to rely on their defence to be the difference.

Without two of their best defenders in linebackers Maurice Leggett, who leads the CFL with seven interceptions and Ian Wild, arguably the Bombers best tackler, both of whom were scratched an hour before the game, the task of shutting down a prolific Lions’ offence led by Jennings was a tall order.

But like the Bombers have done all season when plagued with injuries, they had guys step in – and step up – when it mattered most. Led by rookie Taylor Loffler, who finished the game with two interceptions and a forced fumble, the Bombers defence created six turnovers in the game. Nichols two interceptions were the only turnovers in the game for Winnipeg.

The Bombers have now forced a league-leading 55 takeaways, have turnover-ratio of plus-31 (also a CFL best) and are now 10-1 when winning the turnover battle.

EARLY ON…NOT SO STRONG

Winnipeg won the toss but elected to kick, giving the Lions the ball to start the game. Lions quarterback Jonathon Jennings, who threw for 422 yards but no touchdowns in a 37-35 Bombers win last week, went to the air on the second play of the game, hitting Terrell Sinkfield with a 62-yard pass to the put the Lions in a position to score.

The Bombers would eventually force a 30-yard field goal attempt for kicker Richie Leone, but Leone missed the chip shot, sailing his kick wide left and into the stands for the single.

The Bombers took the lead on their third possession of the game. After TJ Heath intercepted Jennings – the Bombers second interception of the quarter (the first came earlier on a trick play with Taylor Loffler picking off a pass from running back Jeremiah Johnson) – to give the Winnipeg the ball in B.C. territory, the Bombers stalled a few plays later before Justin Medlock made good on a 32-yard field goal.

It didn’t take long for the Bombers lead to evaporate.

The Lions, who were marching down the field late in the first quarter, took just three plays to find the end zone. Jennings found running back Chris Rainey with an 11-yard pass to give the Lions an 8-3 edge.

The Bombers marched back up the field on the very next drive. After two trick-plays last week against the Lions – which included a fake field goal attempt and a passing touchdown by receiver Rory Kohlert to quarterback Matt Nichols – proved they still had some creativity left. Using a goal-line formation on second-and-one, Clarence Denmark rolled out behind the B.C. defenders and took a short pass 30 yards.

Medlock eventually had to be brought out again, hitting a 32-yard field goal to trim the Lions lead to 8-6.

The Lions extended their lead to 11-6 with a 52-yard field goal from Leone that was set up after a Nichols interception. Nichols, who entering the game had just three interceptions in 10 starts this season, had his pass deflect off the fingertips and into the hands of Lions defender Mike Edem.

Right when it looked as if the Lions may start to pull away the Bombers added two field goals in the final minutes 2 minutes 8 seconds to take a 12-11 lead. Medlock, who has accounted for all of the Bombers points so far, hit from 40 and 35 yards, respectively.

As good as Medlock has been, there’s another player that’s stolen the show so far. Loffler forced a fumble to set up Medlock’s fourth field goal and on the Lions next drive registered his second interception, giving him three turnovers in the first half. But the Bombers were unable to turn that takeaway into points and have just six points on tunovers through two quarters.

It wouldn’t be hard to guess who opened the scoring in the second half for the Bombers. Medlock gave the Bombers a 15-11 lead with his fifth field goal of the game, this one from 51 yards.

With the Bombers settling for field goals, the Lions countered on the very next drive, bringing the ball back 75 yards for a touchdown and an 18-15 lead. Jennings capped off the drive with a 30-yard pass to Shawn Gore, who scored his third touchdown of the season and first since Week 6.

After Nichols threw his second interception – and second to Edem – Leone hit his second field goal of the game, making good from 14 yards to put the Lions up by a touchdown, 22-15.

The Bombers finally did what they hadn’t been able to do in the game – they drove the field 75 yards for a touchdown. After a series of plays and penalties for both teams, Nichols punched the ball in from the one-yard line to even the score at 22-22, setting the stage for a thrilling late-game comeback by the Bombers.

“We control our own destiny and we knew that coming in,” said running back Andrew Harris, who had 73 yards rushing on 12 carries along with eight catches for 80 yards. “We’re flowing nice. We’re making plays. We’re in those tough, sticky games and grinding it out and getting wins. These last two are going to be crucial, but if we win out we’ve got a home playoff game and that’s exactly what we want.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton