Bombers defence dominates

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This article was published 13/08/2021 (1488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the game still hanging in the balance, Deatrick Nichols waited patiently as the ball sailed through the air, past the stretched right arm of teammate Adam Bighill, and into his waiting hands.

The rookie Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back cradled the ball at the Toronto Argonauts 44-yard line and then took off, scampering 19 yards before being tackled. His teammates swarmed him, grabbing at his jersey and picking him up off the turf to celebrate.

“It was a play we ran multiple times in practice. I just trusted my safety to pick up my guy and I become free for the deep dig and it happened just like that,” Nichols said after the game. “It was a big play for my teammates and everyone just executed what they had to do on the play.”

By ending the Argonauts drive, Nichols preserved the Bombers’ lead, and ultimately their victory, as Winnipeg improved to 2-0 with a 20-7 win over Toronto at IG Field Friday night. The interception embodied a dominating display by a Bombers defence that has quickly emerged into one of the best units across the CFL.

It was a continuation of the defensive play from Week 1, when the Bombers limited the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to just six points in a 19-6 victory, and forced either a punt, turnover or safety on their final 13 drives. They finished that game with three turnovers.

On Friday, the Bombers ended the night forcing four turnovers, the final of which was a fumble courtesy of Jackson Jeffcoat on the Argonauts last drive, just minutes after Nichols’ interception. They limited Toronto to 292 net offensive yards, and allowed them just one trip to the red zone.

Few had expected a similar performance from Week 1 against the Argonauts given the play of McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who led all quarterbacks with 354 passing yards in a 23-20 win over the Calgary Stampeders in Week 1. But by halftime, Bethel-Thompson had registered a dismal 54 passing yards and 109 yards of total offence. And by the late stages of the third quarter he was replaced by Nick Arbuckle, who was responsible for the Nichols interception.

Winnipeg forced punts on five of Toronto’s seven drives in the opening half, including three two-and-outs, and stood tall on third-and-two from their own 46 to result in a turnover on downs. Bethel-Thompson and Arbuckle combined for 166 passing yards, completing just over 50 per cent of their passes.

And they did so with Josh Johnson and Steven Richardson out after being injured in Week 1, without Kyrie Wilson and Mercy Maston from issues in camp and with CFL rookies dotted up and down the lineup.

“That speaks to the leadership of our veterans,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “They understood that there would be some young players, players new to the CFL coming in and earning spots and they’ve done everything they can to help make those guys be successful.”

He added: “We can celebrate a sack or an interception and stuff like that, but I like to think about how all those vets are doing bringing those young guys along. That’s impressive to me.”

The game began as a bit of a chess match, with neither team able to advance the ball into scoring position through the first few drives. The field-position battle would eventually swing in Winnipeg’s favour, leading to a 35-yard touchdown by receiver Rasheed Bailey and a 7-0 Bombers edge midway through the first quarter.

In the series just prior to the touchdown, Toronto stalled on their own nine-yard line, forcing a punt, which the Bombers returned to midfield. Another 15 yards was tacked on owing to a no-yards penalty, with Winnipeg taking over at the Argonauts’ 40. Two plays later, Zach Collaros delivered a pass over the middle and into the arms of Bailey for his first touchdown of the season.

The Bombers would increase their lead to 10-0 on a 22-yard field goal from Tyler Crapigna just as time expired in the first half. It was a disappointing end to a 15-play drive that got as close as the Toronto six-yard line, only for Collaros to take a sack on second down to bring out the kick team.

Winnipeg’s offence wasn’t world-beaters, finishing with a modest 321 net offensive yards. Collaros finished 32-of-40 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, along with one interception. Six different receivers had at least two catches, with Kenny Lawler leading the way with 10 receptions for 99 yards.

“We want to capitalize at the end of every drive, get some points on the board, so when defence gets a big turnover like that, we’ve got to go out there and do our jobs and finish the play and that’s what we did,” Demski said. “There are things I’ve got to work on and get better at. We won today, so I’m gonna celebrate that.”

The Bombers offence didn’t need to be great, not with the play of their defence.

When Demski coughed up a fumble to give the Argonauts the ball back at their own 39, and then Bethel-Thompson connected with Ricky Collins for 29 yards to move the chains to Winnipeg’s 47, the defence regrouped and kept Toronto to a long-distance field goal. Attempting a 51-yard kick, Boris Bede had the distance but couldn’t split the uprights, clanging the ball off the right post and back towards the field.

And then when the Bombers offence was marching deep into the Argonauts end, only for Toronto to steal back momentum with an interception in the end zone in the third quarter, Winnipeg’s defence forced another two-and-out to take it all back.

Desperately in need of a spark on offence, Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie replaced Bethel-Thompson with Arbuckle. Arbuckle was brought in to be the starter but a hamstring injury in camp relegated him to backup in Week 1, and then again after Bethel-Thompson’s stellar performance against the Stampeders.

Looking like he hadn’t missed a beat, Arbuckle took over with four minutes remaining in the third, still trailing by 10, and orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. He completed all four of his passes on the series, totalling 26 yards, before running back John White put an exclamation point on the drive with a 30-yard touchdown run.

But as things started to get too close for comfort, it was the Bombers defence once again there to create some breathing room. After the offence sputtered on the ensuing drive, giving the ball back to the Argonauts, Bombers linebacker Jesse Briggs punched the ball from White’s arms and the fumble was recovered by Deatrick Nichols.

Taking over at the Argonauts 36, Collaros handed the ball off to Demski for a six-yard run, which was boosted by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. On the next play, Demski reeled in a 15-yard touchdown to put the Bombers back up by 10, 17-7.

The defence would take care of things the rest if the way, smothering the Argonauts attack until the final whistle blew. Toronto falls to 1-1 with the loss but won’t have to wait long to seek revenge.

The Bombers and Argonauts will meet in Week 3 at BMO Field in Toronto next Saturday.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton