Against the odds, Bombers held their own

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This article was published 02/09/2019 (2199 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA – Heading into Sunday’s clash between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders, more than half (29) of the previous 55 instalments of the Labour Day Classic had been decided within the final three minutes.

Indeed, close games have become the norm when the CFL’s two Prairie markets meet over the September long weekend, and Sunday was no exception. It would take every last second of the four-quarters battle to determine a winner, with the game decided on the very last play.

Brett Lauther booted a 26-yard field goal with zeroes on the clock to cement a 19-17 Roughriders victory, snatching victory away from a Bombers club that had just moments earlier taken their first lead of the game. Winnipeg’s dressing room afterwards was filled with disappointment, and those feelings are likely to linger in the coming days as the Bombers ready for the rematch Saturday in the annual Banjo Bowl at IG Field.

But before we look too far ahead, here are five takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

1) Despite sitting atop the West Division with an 8-2 record, the odds were stacked against Winnipeg in this one. The Bombers were without starting quarterback Matt Nichols (shoulder) for a second straight game and running back Andrew Harris was also sidelined, serving the first of a two-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Already without defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and halfback Brandon Alexander, among others, few had the Bombers making it much of a game against a Roughriders team that had won five straight and were clicking in all three phases. Winnipeg opened the game 6.5-point underdogs.

“That would…that would be me saying that I don’t believe in the guys that are playing. I would never do that,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said when asked if he could take some solace in the result given the absence of key players.

Still, it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the Bombers, despite their depleted roster, could have beat the hottest – and arguably healthiest – team in the CFL, in their own barn, no less. That not only speaks to the depth on Winnipeg, but should also have fans feeling much better about the rematch this week. After all, the winner of Saturday’s Banjo Bowl will take over first place in the West.

2) Count me among those impressed by Chris Streveler’s toughness behind centre.

His ability to fight for rushing yards by shedding off defenders with his sizeable frame is fun to watch and has been effective. Streveler paced all players in Week 11 with 95 rushing yards in a road win over the Edmonton Eskimos, and he added another 65 against the Roughriders. Nearly all of that came in the second half, with only a two-yard QB sneak registered through the first two quarters Sunday.

Which brings us to the troubling part of this takeaway. It was again clear that Streveler is not nearly as confident with his arm as he is with his feet. He improved from last week’s 89 passing yards against the Eskimos, throwing 161 on 16-for-24 passing versus the Roughriders. But even with the marginal progress, besides connecting on a 9-yard touchdown to Kenny Lawler in the second quarter Streveler looked more chaotic than comfortable.

 

Kenny Lawler with the first @Wpg_BlueBombers touchdown of the day!#LDWeekend #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/FjmOh7vyUa

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 1, 2019

 

It was evident that once Streveler moved on from his first read it was scramble to make something happen or throw the ball away; or give up the sack, which happened three times. Streveler threw two interceptions, one of which took place on the Roughriders’ 21-yard line, taking, at the very least, a valuable three points off the board.

The @sskroughriders D starting their #LDWeekend off with an pick!#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/5SYv7rYyFb

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 1, 2019

 

The hope is Streveler will continue to grow as a pocket passer as as time goes on, and with Nichols out at least four more games he’ll certainly get the chance. How well he can evolve in the passing game will likely determine how far the Bombers will go, even with a  sturdy defence backing him up.

3) It was the worst possible time for the Bombers defence, a unit that has carried more than it’s fair share this season and did so again Sunday, to completely break down. In the locker room afterwards, a number of defensive players bemoaned the Roughriders game-winning drive – an 11-play, 87-yard series that lasted the final 3 minutes and 18 seconds before Lauther’s clinching kick.

“If we’re out there and ahead we expect to win and we didn’t come away with the win. They made some plays during the last bit and we didn’t,” Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill said. “Defensively, we know we had the opportunity to win, we put that on our back and we understand that’s on us.”

ONE KICK TO WIN IT ALL. @brettlauther delivers on the final play with a 26-yard field goal and the @sskroughriders win it 19-17! #LDWeekend #CFLGameday pic.twitter.com/cNsM0Vc4MI

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 1, 2019

 

It was an interesting response, especially since had it not been for the Bombers’ D the game would have been a runaway for the home side, especially early on.

While the offence sputtered out of the gate – Winnipeg had minus-10 net yards on offence in the first quarter – it was the defensive dozen that kept shifting momentum back in the Bombers’ favour. The defence registered five sacks on Cody Farjardo and snapped his four-game streak without an interception by picking off the Roughriders pivot twice. Saskatchewan posted just nine points through the final three quarters.

There’s that @Wpg_BlueBombers defence! That’s the first interception thrown by Cody Fajardo in his last four games ��#LDWeekend #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/8as1YlQncu

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 1, 2019

Upon reflection, it was exactly the response you’d want to hear from the defence. This group believes they’re good enough to win games, with or without an equal effort from their counterparts on offence. The thing is, they might just have to over the next month.

 

(4) One of the few bright spots on offence was the play of running back Johnny Augustine. Augustine was thrown into the spotlight with Harris suspended and the 26-year-old performed admirably in his CFL debut.

The second-year Bomber had a game-high 98 rushing yards on just 12 carries – an impressive average of 8.2 yards per run – and had three catches on four targets for an additional 17 yards. More than half of his rushing total came on a 55-yard jaunt in the second quarter that set up Lawler’s TD.

“Every time you have your first run, your first block, it’s nice to knock off that rust and jitterbugs and then you start rolling into it,” Augustine said. “It was nice to do that and just show the league that I can play in this game, I can do this as a full-time running back. But at the end of the day it’s about helping my team try and win.”

Hello, Johnny Augustine!@jaugustin27 with a galloping run and the @Wpg_BlueBombers are knockin’! @MarksCanada | #LDWeekend pic.twitter.com/cEVDdlvqzF

— CFL (@CFL) September 1, 2019

 

What makes Augustine’s story particularly noteworthy is that he went undrafted in 2017, despite earning a lot of praise from general managers across the league. It could have just ended there, but Augustine has put in the work and it’s starting to pay off. The Bombers are still eager to get Harris back, but Augustine has proved to be a solid fill-in until then.

5) If Mike O’Shea is anything, he’s passionate. But I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the Bombers coach as furious as he was on Sunday, first at halftime and then at the end of the game as he got into a heated discussion with Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson.

O’Shea took exception with a hit on Chad Rempel in the second quarter that forced the Bombers long snapper to leave the game. Roughriders Lavar Edwards rushed Rempel while he was snapping a ball to Justin Medlock for a punt, the result of which led Rempel to fall backwards and smash his head on the turf.

A new rule was put in place this season to make it illegal for a defensive player to deliver a forcible blow to the long snapper while the snapper’s head is down and in a vulnerable position, unable to protect themselves. O’Shea, who occupies a seat on the CFL’s rules committee, saw that as clear violation to the rule, while the refs seemingly disagreed.

No flag was called on the play and O’Shea soon lost his cool. He confronted the refs on the field at halftime looking for an explanation while security guards looked on. After the game, he had some choice words for Dickenson, getting into his face before needing to be pulled away.

Needless to say, there is some bad blood brewing between these two sides and with two games against each other within the next four weeks – not to mention a potential date in the playoffs – the rivalry should only get nastier from here.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton