Familiar themes in Bombers’ victory

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This article was published 05/07/2022 (1215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are exactly where they want to be four games into the 2022 CFL season, sitting atop the West Division with a perfect 4-0 record after edging the Toronto Argonauts 23-22 at BMO Field Monday night.

The back-to-back Grey Cup champions haven’t always played up to their high standards. That includes their tilt against Toronto, in which a seemingly inevitable comeback by the Argonauts was spoiled when kicker Boris Bede botched a convert kick in the dying seconds to seal the win for Winnipeg.

Some familiar themes emerged, with the Bombers defence once again stealing the show and the offence struggling to put together meaningful drives on a consistent basis. Winnipeg has survived its deficiencies so far, but they’ve yet to face the league’s stiffest competition, with every game this season against a team from the lowly East Division (case in point: the Argonauts, who fell to 1-2, are tied for first with Montreal).

The road ahead for the Blue and Gold gets much more difficult, including a quick turnaround this week against the red-hot B.C. Lions (3-0) Saturday night. That’s the first of four straight games against West opponents, which is followed by a pair of tilts with the Calgary Stampeders (3-0), with a match against the Edmonton Elks (1-3) sandwiched in between.

Before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look back at Monday’s win over the Argonauts in the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

1) It was a perfect example of the Crazy Football League, with Bede’s wide-left — like, way wide-left — convert just one of a few eye-popping plays in this one. There are two others worth exploring further, including Brandon Banks circus catch for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

On Banks’ score — a 45-yard bomb to the end zone from McLeod Bethel-Thompson that Banks had to wrestle from the hands of Demerio Houston on the one-yard line — there’s a debate as to whether Houston might have had possession of the ball before hitting the turf, meaning he was down by contact, therefore making it an interception. That’s what Bombers coach Mike O’Shea was thinking when he started to reach for the challenge flag in his back pocket, only to pull away following discussions with an official.

O’Shea said after the game the official told him the ball was still loose when Banks grabbed at it, resulting in a fluid motion from start to touchdown. Watching it again, I tend to agree with the call, and I understand why the Bombers opted to let the play stand.

The CFL rules are clear when it comes to overturning a call. Most notably, there must be indisputable evidence for it to be changed.

There wasn’t in this case, just as there wouldn’t have been had the officials called the play an interception — it was that close. It didn’t end up burning the Bombers, on what was just the second touchdown allowed by the defence in 16 quarters this season.

2) The other was a fumble recovery by Malcolm Thompson near the goal line late in the same frame, a play that looked like an interception and which had impressive moments before and after.

It began with Winston Rose knocking the ball loose from Banks, with Adam Bighill then possessing the wherewithal to volley it, while mid-air, to Thompson. Thompson then paid it forward by lateralling the ball to Nick Taylor, who returned it to midfield.

It was just one of a few occasions on the night where the defence came up big when it mattered most. The Bombers were clinging to a 17-10 lead and the Argonauts should have scored at least a field goal on the play.

It was immediately after that a heated exchange occurred on the Toronto sidelines, with Banks getting into it with O-linemen Trevon Tate and Phillip Blake, among a few others. Argonauts GM Michael Clemons had to leave his private box to settle his guys down, and while no one was willing to explain what triggered the feud, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said afterwards that Banks apologized to the team.

3) The Bombers defence forced four turnovers, including a pick-6 by Rose on Toronto’s first series of the game. They dominated the Argonauts through the first half, limiting the offence to three points and 137 total yards, including just 96 through the air.

Rookie linebacker Cameron Lawson came up big on a third-and-short in the second quarter, stuffing Andrew Harris on Winnipeg’s 25-yard line for a turnover on downs. Jake Thomas also registered a sack — one of three on the night for the Bombers, along with Bighill and Malik Clements — on second-and-long from their own 31, forcing a 42-yard field goal.

The wheels started to fall off a little in the second half, as Toronto scored 18 points — including 13 on the Argonauts’ final three series — and finished with 398 offensive yards. That had as much as anything to do with the Bombers offence being unable to sustain drives.

The Bombers were also forced to adjust to the loss of linebacker Kyrie Wilson, who suffered an Achilles injury minutes before halftime. Wilson is one of the most underrated players in the CFL, and is often overshadowed on a stellar Bombers D. He’s not expected to play this week, and could be out for some time, creating major blow for the Blue and Gold.

4) Winnipeg’s offence found the end zone early, turning an interception by Taylor into a 15-yard touchdown pass from Zach Collaros to Drew Wolitarsky to make it a 14-0 game. At first glance, it looked like an inevitable drubbing by the Bombers, only for their attack to eventually cool off.

The offence would be limited to three field goals the rest of the way — speaking of, kicker Marc Liegghio is a perfect 10-for-10 on the season — and combined for an underwhelming 266 yards. Collaros finished 25-for-31 passing for 215 yards, along with one touchdown and one interception.

Hoping to establish the run game, Bombers offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce looked to Brady Oliveira and rookie Greg McCrae, who dressed for an injured Nic Demski. That combo wouldn’t accomplish much, combing for just 46 yards on 10 carries.

Collaros said after the game that the group needs to be better and lamented it being such a close game despite the defence recording four turnovers. They’ll need to be much better this week if they want to hang with the Lions, who entered Week 4 leading the CFL in net offensive yards (519) passing yards (359), rushing yards (167), and touchdowns (13).

5) I’m not sure the sample size is even too small at this point to suggest the Bombers made a massive mistake in letting Harris walk over the winter. Nothing against Brady Oliveira, who I think has the potential to be a star one day, or Johnny Augustine, who is the perfect complement to any run game, but Harris is in a league of his own.

The 35-year-old was the pulse of the Argonauts offence on Monday, racking up 111 yards on 22 carries, while adding a single reception for another 13 yards. He brings an indisputable energy to the huddle, something the Bombers are severely lacking.

Harris was careful with his words leading into this one, not wanting to be the story of the week, especially after getting trounced by the Lions the week before. But you could feel the emotion from No. 33, and I’m sure it was difficult to watch a team he helped build walk away with a four straight victory to start the year.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton