Bombers in the driver’s seat on the road to the cup

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This article was published 08/10/2023 (766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The road to the Grey Cup just got a whole lot easier for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

After a thrilling 34-26 overtime victory over the B.C. Lions in enemy territory Friday night, the Blue and Gold sit in the driver’s seat with an inside track on clinching the West Division for a third straight year. The only way the Bombers don’t win the West, and the Lions leapfrog them from second, is if Winnipeg loses both of its remaining regular season games and B.C. wins its final two.

Indeed, there was so much at stake in this one, with the Bombers turning a slow start into a strong finish, finding their groove late to improve to 12-4. Winnipeg trailed all game, erasing a 10-point deficit in the final minutes of the fourth quarter before taking its first lead on a game-winning touchdown by Brady Oliveira in extra time.

The Lions dropped to 11-5 with the loss, snapping a four-game win streak along the way. It was a devastating defeat for B.C., as the Lions will now likely have to host the Western semi-final at home and, assuming they win, will be forced to travel to Winnipeg under frigid November conditions for the division final.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a peek back at Friday’s wild affair in the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

1) There’s no point in starting anywhere other than the ending of this game.

When kicker Sean Whyte kicked a 40-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to give the Lions a 26-16 lead with 5:45 remaining, the Bombers looked to be in tough to mount a comeback, especially when you consider they had been trailing for a majority of the night. But then things started to tilt in Winnipeg’s favour, beginning with a 13-yard score to Drew Wolitarsky that capped off a nice drive and pulled the Bombers to within three points with 2:20 left on the clock.

After a big turnover by the defence – more on that in a moment – the offence took over at midfield with just under two minutes remaining, kicking the game-tying field goal with only seconds to spare. The night seemed destined for overtime until the Lions made one last-ditch effort to win in regulation time, but a deep pass to Dominique Rhymes was stopped just yards short of the end zone.

That set the stage for OT, where the Bombers opened with a nine-yard rushing TD by Oliveira, followed by a successful two-point convert to Kenny Lawler. The Lions stalled in their attempt to force a second OT, the game ending on a Hail Mary attempt from the Bombers’ 43-yard line on third-and-18.

The Bombers have been the class of the CFL for years now and over that time their resiliency has been on full display. It’s that ability to wade through the chaos with little to no panic for why the Blue and Gold are on the brink of becoming a dynasty, and there are few better examples than what played out on Friday.

2) For a moment there it looked like Vernon Adams Jr. was going to have a field day. The Lions QB came out of the gates on fire, torching the Bombers defence for 252 passing yards and a TD to give the home side a 20-10 lead at halftime.

Adams was simply dominant, making plays in and outside the pocket, with the Bombers defence seemingly having no answers for the Lions attack. Then halftime came and Adams and the offence completely disappeared, registering just 83 yards and six points the rest of the game.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall make notable adjustments at halftime, but these might have been the most effective. The Lions looked like a completely different team from the first to the second half.

The Bombers kept their opponent to a modest 356 yards of net offence, including just 48 rushing yards. They were getting to Adams in the first half, including recording four of their six QB sacks by halftime, but it was limiting the damage on the scoreboard in the second half and a key turnover late in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to the win.

3) There are two plays in particular that played a significant role in the Bombers mounting a comeback. Let’s take a closer look at both.

The first was the Bombers stopping Lions QB Dominique Davis on third-and-one at midfield late in the final frame. But while stuffing the sneak by Davis was critical in getting Winnipeg the ball back and scoring the game-tying field goal, it was setup thanks to a stellar effort by Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill, who got on his horse after Adams escaped the pocket and tackled him near the left sideline, just short of the first-down marker.

If Bighill doesn’t get there, the Lions move the chains and take at least another 40 seconds off the clock, and that’s if they don’t seal the game with another first down. B.C. fans didn’t love where the officials spotted the ball – they believe Adams reached enough for the first down – but they did get away one earlier, with a bogus defensive pass interference call on Redha Kramdi that set up the Lions first TD.

The second came on the final play of the fourth quarter. With the Lions facing a first-and-10 at their own 40 with eight seconds remaining, Adams connected with Dominique Rhymes down the middle on a catch that should have set the Lions up with a game-winning field goal attempt.

Instead, Rhymes, seeing daylight after breaking a tackle after the catch, was finally taken down by Jamal Parker on the Bombers’ 5, and with zeroes remaining on the clock, the game was sent to OT. That was a costly mistake, something Rhymes lamented afterwards, but it gave the Bombers hope, with the irony being had Kramdi actually succeeded in trying to tackle Rhymes, it would have left enough time for a manageable game-clinching FG.

4) One of the biggest storylines outside of standings implications was that the game pitted two worthy candidates for the league’s most outstanding player award in Bombers QB Zach Collaros and Adams. The thought was their respective performances would ultimately determine the vote for the West nominee.

If that’s the case, then Collaros deserves the vote. Adams was not only outthrown by Collaros, 389 yards to 352, as well as touchdowns, two to one, but he also didn’t self-destruct as the game went on. Adams was playing in the most important game of his career, with a chance to shed his reputation of being inconsistent, but he did little to shake that by being invisible down the stretch.

Collaros wasn’t without his own faults, including two fumbles in the red zone in the fourth quarter and an ill-advised throw earlier in the game that was intercepted. But he was calm throughout and set an example for his teammates, propelling them for an improbable comeback.

There will still be some who feel Adams is the right choice and that it was play calling that did him in late, and that’s fine. But there’s no arguing about who you would want in a high-stakes game, and Collaros proved once again how clutch he is behind centre.

5) I can already hear people saying, “what about Brady Oliveira?” And you’re right, he definitely deserves some consideration for MOP.

The Bombers bruising running back had another banner night. After setting a new single-game high for rushing yards last week, with 169, along with his 10th TD, Oliveira followed that up against the Lions with 61 rushing yards on 10 carries, including the game-winning score in OT, and another 85 yards on eight catches.

Oliveira now has a league-leading 1,426 rushing yards and with two games remaining is a lock to win the rushing title. He also set a new franchise record for most rushing yards in a season by a Canadian, surpassing Andrew Harris’ mark of 1,390 set in 2018.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was asked by 680 CJOB colour analyst Doug Brown post-game who he thought his team’s MOP candidate should be between Collaros and Oliveira and he quickly pointed at his QB. You could tell O’Shea, who often chooses his words carefully, regretted the outburst, but he was clearly sharing his true opinion.

O’Shea gets a vote on the matter and I’m curious what effect his opinion might have on other voters. As it currently stands, it feels like it could go either way.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton