Bombers take down Roughriders with convincing 31-13 win

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This article was published 30/09/2022 (1072 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Following their worst defeat of the 2022 CFL season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers got back to their winning ways Friday night with a convincing 31-13 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a sold-out crowd at IG Field. 

The Bombers looked nothing like their usual selves in the 48-31 road loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 15, but those concerns were rendered meaningless with a dominating display against their prairie rivals. Winnipeg improved to 13-2 with the victory and completed a three-game series sweep over the Roughriders, with the victory also ensuring the Bombers finish no worse than second in the West Division. 

“There’s a lot more to do, for sure. We’re all competitors over here, and every game means something to us,” said Bombers receiver Nic Demski, who finished with five catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. “But at the end of the day, to lock up that home playoff game, obviously it means a lot for us in the locker room and for everybody in the community and all of Bomber Nation. We do this for everybody – we do this for ourselves and we do it for the fans, as well. For the fans to get another home playoff game, it means the world to us, just as much as I’m sure it means to them.”

The Roughriders continued their free fall, dropping to 6-9 with the loss. Saskatchewan has now lost four straight games and are 2-8 since starting the season 4-1. 

Winnipeg put up a 432 yards of net offence — the second-highest mark of the season — and the defence forced six turnovers, including a pair of interceptions and three turnovers on downs. Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros finished the night 14-for-25 passing for 296 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Roughriders countered with 390 net yards of offence, with Cody Fajardo completing 68 per cent of his throws (26-for-38) for 307 passing yards and one interception (Fajardo rushed for Saskatchewan’s lone touchdown). The loss prevents the Roughriders from representing the West in the postseason, meaning their only way to the playoffs is by finishing fourth in the division and earning the crossover to the East. 

The Bombers limited the Roughriders to three points through the first two quarters, countering with a pair of touchdowns and a field goal to take a 17-3 lead at halftime. 

Saskatchewan opened the scoring on its second drive of the game, a series that began with a 30-yard punt return by Mario Alford that set the visitors up at Winnipeg’s 33-yard line. The Roughriders would get as far as the Bombers’ 17, and settle for a 25-yard field goal from Brett Lauther five plays later. 

The Bombers defence locked it down from there, forcing the Roughriders to punt on the next three drives, followed by a pair of turnovers leading into the break. Fajardo was stuffed on his QB sneak from third-and-inches and was later intercepted by Jamal Parker on Saskatchewan’s final series of the second quarter. 

The Bombers offence found their footing immediately after the Lauther field goal. Collaros capped off a four-play, 70-yard drive with a 36-yard pass to Rasheed Bailey in the end zone, giving Winnipeg a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter. 

Bailey practised all week with a heavy heart, after news broke of a shooting at his former high school in Philadelphia, killing one and injuring several others. The score marked his sixth touchdown of the season and third in as many games. 

Marc Liegghio made it a 10-3 game with a 22-yard field go early in the second quarter. It was a disappointing end to a 13-play series that travelled 78 yards and lasted nearly six minutes. 

Collaros wouldn’t be denied on Winnipeg’s final series before the break. Winnipeg started on the Roughriders’ 37-yard line thanks to a 37-yard return by Parker after the interception. 

Following a nine-yard pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange and a three-yard QB sneak by backup pivot Dakota Prukop, Collaros delivered a 25-yard pass to Nic Demski in the back of the end zone. The score extended Demski’s touchdown streak to five games and put the Bombers up by 14. 

The Roughriders came out swinging to start the second half, moving the ball from their own 33-yard line to the Bombers 17 in just four plays, including a 38-yard pass from Fajardo to receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker. But the series was halted by a botched snap and ensuing fumble by Fajardo, the ball recovered by Bombers safety Brandon Alexander. 

“That’s exactly what we talked about before the game and to come out here and execute, you can see what that does for the game, what it does for our offence, see what it does for field position,” Bighill said of the turnovers. “It’s a huge deal. That was much more to our satisfaction.”

Winnipeg couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, giving the ball right back following a quick two-and-out. That would prove costly, too, as Saskatchewan once again moved the ball downfield and this time finished the drive off with a touchdown to cut the Bombers lead to 17-10. 

Fajardo went five-for-six passing on the series, including sizeable gains to Justin McInnis (16 yards) — an extra 15 yards was tacked onto the play after Casey Sayles was assessed a questionable roughing the passer penalty — and James Tuck (22). Fajardo then used his feet to find pay dirt, scrambling seven yards for his eighth rushing touchdown of the season. 

With the Bombers offence struggling to move the chains, opening the second half with two straight two-and-outs, the Roughriders threatened to tie the game midway through the third quarter. But facing another third-and-short, this time from Winnipeg’s 45, a rush by running back Kienan LaFrance was stopped for a one-yard loss, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

“It was a lack of execution and we just have to do a better job of staying on the field. It’s as simple as that,” Collaros said about the offence early in the second half. “There were a couple I would like to have back from a decision-making standpoint and we’ve got to do a better job of keeping our offence on the field.”

After another two-and-out by the Winnipeg offence, Saskatchewan countered with another lengthy drive. But as has often been the case this season, the Bombers defence bent but would not break. 

The Roughriders got as far as the Bombers’ six, but a missed pass from Fajardo to Schaffer-Baker would bring out the field-goal unit. Lauther’s 14-yard chip shot made it 17-13 Bombers. 

“We do a pretty good job making teams earn everything. That’s the key,” Bighill said. “We’ve shown that if you give up those (big) plays it’s tough to win, but when you make them earn everything out there and you’re physical – you run, you hit, you pursue – it’s hard to score. It’s hard to play against us and get into the end zone.”

That seemed to wake up the Bombers offence, as Winnipeg put together back-to-back touchdown drives to take a commanding 31-13 lead. The two series were a combined four plays and 134 yards, consisting of three completed passes by Collaros.

Demski reeled in a 42-yard pass for his second touchdown of the game and rookie Dalton Schoen had a 64-yard reception that included shaking off a couple of Saskatchewan defenders before walking into the end zone for his league-leading 11th touchdown of the year. Schoen also had a 28-yard catch to set up Demski’s TD.

“That was something that hurt us in Hamilton, we didn’t finish drives well. We ended up punting the ball or kicking a lot of field goals,” said Schoen. “So, it’s really big for momentum, it’s really big for the team to get seven instead of three because it’s hard to put a team away when you’re just kicking field goals.”  

Not to be outdone, the defence recorded its fourth turnover of the game and third turnover-on-downs before the game ended. No longer in a position to settle for field goals, Fajardo, facing a third-and-six, came up short of the end zone on an incomplete pass. 

The game was sealed with an interception by Bombers defensive back Evan Holm with no time remaining on the clock. 

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton