Bombers end losing skid with 31-14 win over Als

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This article was published 21/09/2018 (2570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The slump is over.

A 31-14 win over the Montreal Alouettes Friday night at Investors Group Field did not springboard the Winnipeg Blue Bombers into first place. At 6-7, it hardly put them into a playoff spot, which could be taken away as early as today with a B.C. Lions home win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But it might just have salvaged the season. Led by a strong effort by the offence, a sturdy display by the defence, and with some help from special teams, the Bombers were able to snap a four-game losing streak.

“Any time you go through a stretch like that without getting a win, you almost forget what that feeling feels like, celebrating with your teammates in the locker-room after a good win and a much-needed win,” Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols said after the game. “Obviously, it was an incredible feeling, I’m proud of how the whole team responded this week and we came out and it felt like we were flying around in all phases.”

The fact all three phases contributed to the win will help ease fans’ frustration but it won’t convince anyone the Bombers have turned the corner. The Alouettes, despite entering the game with wins in two of their last three outings, are the CFL’s worst outfit. Montreal ranks last in almost every statistical category recorded by the league, on both sides of the ball.

Montreal dropped to 3-10 with the loss, and for the eighth time this season registered fewer than 20 points in a game.

“It doesn’t matter what team we played — we had lost four games straight,” said Bombers defensive back Marcus Sayles, who sealed the win with an interception with 1:44 remaining. “This is just a good moment, a good step in the right direction and hopefully our chemistry can carry on to our next five games we have left.”

Nichols, who has taken his share of criticism in recent weeks for his play, looked comfortable early on but struggled as the offence slowed in the second half. He finished 18-for-25 passing for 256 yards and one touchdown.

It didn’t help that running back Andrew Harris left the game late in the second quarter with a lower-body injury. Then in the third quarter it was receiver Nic Demski who was sidelined with an upper-body injury. Harris, who eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark (1,028) for the fourth time in his career, and Demski accounted for 55 of the Bombers’ 93 rushing yards on the night.

“Whoever is out there, we depend on everybody,” said Bombers receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, who finished with a team-high 94 receiving yards on five catches. “Lots of smiles in the locker room right now.”

Perhaps more importantly, though, Nichols made smart decisions with the ball. Though he was without a number of weapons, he did have veteran pass-catcher Weston Dressler back in the fold after a four-game injury absence and was able to do enough to get a win.

“That’s the type of game I’m used to playing,” said Nichols. “For me, that feels normal, what I should be doing every week.”

The Bombers put up a modest 334 yards of net offence and limited the Alouettes to 312.

Johnny Manziel, who was back under centre for the Alouettes after missing the last four weeks with a concussion, did little in his return to lineup.

The former Heisman Trophy winner completed 72 per cent of his passes for 212 yards, rushing for another 36 on six carries. Backed by a leaky offensive line, the 25-year-old product of Tyler, Texas, was forced to scramble from the pocket on a majority of plays, often hitting receivers on the run. He was sacked five times.

In three starts this year, the 25-year-old Manziel is winless and has yet to throw a touchdown pass.

“It’s hard, you know, how hard these guys are working just to come up short like that in the end,” Manziel said. “I’m sick to my stomach.”

Sayles’ interception was followed up by a one-yard punch-in touchdown by backup quarterback Chris Streveler, ending any chance for a late-game comeback.

Justin Medlock went three-for-three on field goals, including one on the Bombers’ first drive. That lead would expand to 10-0 on Winnipeg’s second series, with Harris scampering for a 10-yard touchdown reception — his 10th score of the year and third through the air.

After the Alouettes cut the lead to 10-3 with a 47-yard field goal from Boris Bede, the Bombers answered back early in the second quarter with another boot from Medlock, this one from 43 yards. Bede made it a one-score game, 13-6, with his second kick field — a 31-yarder — but Winnipeg countered with another touchdown before halftime, taking a 20-6 lead into the break.

A defensive touchdown by Craig Roh, who himself a stellar first half, registering five tackles and two sacks (he finished with three), was negated by an illegal contact penalty on Brandon Alexander. But the defence limited the damage by forcing Montreal to punt.

“I was just so tired after and it was all for nothing,” Roh said with a smile, before shifting the praise back on his teammates. “Everyone is invested, everyone has bought in and everyone wants to win. Good to finally get our mojo going.”

On the ensuing drive, Winnipeg needed just four plays to travel 70 yards, capped off by a seven-yard run by Kienan LaFrance. The score was aided by a 50-yard pass to Adams, with Nichols evading pressure before stepping up in the pocket and delivering a strike downfield.

Neither team seized momentum to start the second half, both clubs ending their first two drives with a punt.

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Already without Harris and Demski, the Bombers were dealt more injury news with the loss of middle linebacker Adam Bighill (right arm). The Alouettes took advantage of the battered Bombers, scoring a touchdown in the final minutes of the third quarter.

Manziel orchestrated an eight-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 21-13, but it was backup Antonio Pipken who finished the series with a two-yard run.

Winnipeg’s next game is in Edmonton against the Eskimos, who are tied for second in the West with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, each at 7-5.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.