Bombers need all three phases to step up in second half: O’Shea

Highlight-reel catches are a daily occurrence for Ontaria Wilson at practice.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver also makes jaw-dropping grabs on game days — just go back to last October in Edmonton when Wilson made arguably the most impressive play of the 2025 campaign.

For those that need a reminder, quarterback Zach Collaros underthrew a pass to the end zone that ricocheted off a pair of defenders. Wilson reached out with his right hand and batted the ball up twice while falling to the turf before securing it for an incredible 35-yard score.

That was likely the hardest touchdown of his career, and he should’ve had his easiest in last Friday’s 33-21 win over the Ottawa Redblacks at home — but he dropped it.

Six minutes into the third quarter, Collaros aired out a soft lob to a wide-open Wilson and the ball deflected off his helmet before bouncing off his hands and onto the ground.

“I’d make that catch in my sleep any day,” said Wilson after Monday’s practice at Princess Auto Stadium.

“That one hurt, though.”

It turns out he’s human after all.

He didn’t lose track of the ball in the lights or anything like that. He just approached it a bit too casually and he ultimately paid for it.

“The easier ones are the ones you gotta focus on more. The harder ones you’re gonna attack the ball, but some of the easier ones, you’re like ‘Oh this is a catch’ and you relax,” he said.

Wilson didn’t lose any sleep over it. After all, they still went on to win the game to improve to 5-4. And perhaps returning to Edmonton this week to play the first-place Elks (7-3) on Friday will bring out the best in him.

“In the moment, you can be disappointed, but you got to go to the next play,” he said.

“I can’t let that one play determine my whole game. It was one play, and we play what, 50 or 60 snaps?”

Wilson didn’t record a single catch against Ottawa. He hasn’t been shutout like that since Week 2 in 2024 when he was a rookie.

The 27-year-old out of Florida State is third on the team in receiving with 38 catches for 537 yards and three touchdowns.

“As a receiver, it happens,” said Wilson. “You can’t really control where the ball is gonna go.”

The only thing more surprising than the drop was the fact that Collaros was able to finish the game.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old pivot was rocked by linebacker Luc Cormier on a blindside hit in the second quarter. Collaros was down on the field for nearly five minutes and missed four plays before returning to the huddle.

“When that hit happened, I didn’t see it, I was running a route. But you could kind of hear it, and I could hear the crowd as well, so I knew it wasn’t a great one,” said receiver Nic Demski.

“But yeah, he’s a warrior. When he sat up on the field, I could tell he was still all there and all intact, so I knew there was a chance for him to come back out there.”

Collaros went on to complete 21-of-31 passes for 222 yards and no turnovers. He was a full participant on Monday.

“They had a good call. I have to see that, get the ball out of my hands,” said Collaros on the sack.

“I felt pretty good (the next day). I thought I’d be more sore, for sure.”

The Bombers need to do a better job at protecting their QB1 if they want their passing numbers to get out of the CFL’s basement.

They rank seventh in passing yards (268.3 per game) and pass efficiency (96.3). They’re also dead last in passing TDs (11) and completions of 30-plus yards (nine).

“I think that’d be unfair to say (we need more from the passing game),” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“What you’d like is more from every group, every phase, I mean, that’s the truth. We need three-phase wins. We need them down the stretch and we’ll need them going forward.”

Demski doesn’t disagree but did admit that this offence can be better entering the second half of the season.

“We’re moving in the right direction. But I still feel that we have more to give. We’ve left some plays out there, some drives out there. As much as we like Serg (Castillo), I’d rather see him on the sidelines or coming out to kick converts instead of field goals,” said Demski.

“I thought there was a lot of growth in this first half, but we’ve got to improve as an offence and I think everyone is on board for that.”

OLIVEIRA UPDATE

Running back Brady Oliveira sat out practice on Monday with a nagging ankle injury.

The Winnipegger was a game-time decision heading into last week but went on to have 11 carries for 74 yards and a rushing touchdown, plus eight catches for 80 yards.

O’Shea expects the standout tailback to be good to go for Edmonton.

“Brady’s a monster. I don’t think that guy was born the same as other people in this world,” said Demski.

“It’s funny, when he caught that hitch to set up (Bryce) Perkins’ first touchdown I told him ‘Your pain isn’t real, man.’ I think it’s just the way he attacks every day. It’s pretty unbelievable what he can do.

“It’s awesome what he did for this team.”

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