Winnipeg’s football-grabbing defence enters CFL bye week on roll

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2016 (3283 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers enter the bye week in sole possession of second place in the CFL’s West Division following a 35-32 win over the B.C Lions Friday night at BC Place Stadium.

It was the second win over the Lions in as many weeks for Winnipeg, which improved to 10-6, with a home-and-home series against the Ottawa Redblacks remaining in the regular season.

Before we look too far ahead, here are five takeaways from Friday’s win in Vancouver:

Turning point

Winnipeg has persevered through injuries this season, but faced their biggest test yet when it was announced an hour before the game they’d be without linebackers Maurice Leggett and Ian Wild, two of their best defenders.

The Bombers have lived and died off their ability to create turnovers, making the loss of Leggett and his CFL-leading seven interceptions particularly damaging against a Lions offence led by young and prolific quarterback Jonathon Jennings, who just a week earlier put up 422 passing yards against Winnipeg.

Jennings dominated at times Friday, throwing for 327 yards and two touchdowns, but was kept in check by a Bombers secondary that registered four interceptions. Rookie safety Taylor Loffler accounted for two of those — he also had a forced fumble — while Kevin Fogg and T.J. Heath each had one.

In total, the Bombers recorded six takeaways (they gave up two turnovers), the biggest coming on special teams, which forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter that led to the game-winning field goal by Justin Medlock.

The Bombers are 10-1 in games where they win the turnover battle.

Piling up the points

Medlock’s 24-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Bombers the lead for good, 35-32, erasing a 10-point Lions’ lead. He finished a perfect seven-for-seven on field goals, also hitting from 32, 30, 40, 35, 51 and eight yards to tie a club record for most in a game for the second time this year.

Medlock, 32, accounted for all 12 of the Bombers’ points in the first half and the first 15 in the game before quarterback Matt Nichols finally capped off a drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge late in the third quarter. Medlock leads the CFL in points with 208, is perfect on field goals from within 40 yards (34-for-34) and on one-point converts (36-for-36).

He is on pace for 62 field goals, which would be three more than the CFL season record of 59 set by Dave Ridgway in 1990.

Harris for the win

When the Bombers inked running back Andrew Harris to a three-year deal in February, bringing the Winnipeg native back home after six seasons in B.C., they envisioned the 29-year-old’s versatility providing a new dimension to the offence.

Friday, that ability to hurt opposing defences was on full display, with Harris finishing with a combined 153 yards from the line of scrimmage. He extended drives with punishing runs, totalling 73 yards on 12 carries, and provided Nichols a safety blanket in the passing game. Harris was targeted nine times, catching eight for a team-high 80 yards. He also took a catch early in the first quarter 72 yards for a touchdown, but it was negated after Weston Dressler was called for being offside.

In two games since returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for three games, Harris has 269 yards of offence and a touchdown.

It will be crucial he stay heavily involved; when he carries the ball at least 12 times in a game, the Bombers are 8-1.

Make it eight

Prior to the start of the 2016 season, Clarence Denmark had never scored more than five touchdowns in a single year. In the last two seasons, he combined for six — the lack of production a major reason Winnipeg released him in the off-season.

It was only when the Bombers became desperate, losing both Ryan Smith and Dressler to injury they reached out to Denmark, signing him to a deal following a Week 6 win over the Edmonton Eskimos.

Against the Lions, Denmark scored his eighth touchdown in nine games this season, and has now scored a touchdown in each of his last five. He’s also come up big late in games.

Last week, he reeled in a 22-yard catch for the game-winning touchdown. Friday, he tied the game late in the fourth quarter with an eight-yard grab.

Building on debut

Tori Gurley said after the game it took some time to adapt to playing with a new team. The big receiver, who signed with the Bombers Oct. 6 after being released by the Toronto Argonauts, finished his debut with the Blue and Gold catching three passes for 55 yards.

His biggest play came late in the fourth quarter when the 6-5, 230-pounder came down with a 33-yard catch that put the Bombers on the Lions’ three-yard line.

“It was tough at the beginning,” said Gurley. “Me and Matty, we just couldn’t get it going and finally he was like ‘I’m going to come to you, I’m going to keep feeding you’ and when the opportunity came we were able to make that play and it helped spark the team.”

Gurley, who tied for a league-best 10 receiving touchdowns in 2015, has had just two practices with the Bombers. Nose-deep into offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice’s playbook since his arrival, Gurley believes things should only get better as he gets more comfortable with the system.

“It’s going to come with time, and we’re going to continue to work at it,” said Gurley.

“It’s going to come together at the right time.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca          

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton