‘It’s one loss in a long, long season’

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This article was published 23/06/2023 (868 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They might’ve been wearing blue and gold, but they sure didn’t look like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In recent years the Bombers have earned the reputation of being the most disciplined team in the CFL and for boasting the top offensive line.

But that identity was nowhere to be found Thursday night in a 30-6 loss to the B.C. Lions in front of 25,662 fans at IG Field.

The Lions found a way to sack Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros seven times in the victory. Collaros had only been taken down twice in the first two weeks.

“They just played better than us,” said right guard Patrick Neufeld. “They got after it, they had their minds on a mission and they played more physical than us. Hats off to them, they played a great game, and we just couldn’t answer.”

Five different Lions got to Collaros, but none more than Canadian Mathieu Betts who did the bulk of the damage with three takedowns. The fourth-year pro had seven total in 2022.

The Bombers gave up the second fewest sacks in the league last season with 29.

“He gets off the ball really well. He plays with a ton of effort. He’s fast, he’s relentless, so, he was just all over the field and that whole d-line did a great job. It wasn’t just him, they almost all got one,” said Neufeld.

“We’ll take our licks in film tomorrow and learn from it, but then we’ll flush it and move on.”

The penalties were just as uncharacteristic, as the Bombers were flagged on 10 occasions to cost themselves 104 yards

Winnipeg had six penalties for 32 yards during their 2-0 start.

The Bombers averaged 5.9 penalties per game last season — the lowest mark in the CFL.

“It’s humbling. It happens to great teams, and I know we’re a great team, but we didn’t play like a great team tonight,” said receiver Drew Wolitarsky. “We can’t live in the past and this is an example of why you can’t live in the past. You can’t live on what you’ve done, because when you don’t bring it, you don’t win.”

The club has been the most disciplined team in the league every year since 2017.

“It’s uncharacteristic. I don’t know, we’ll have to review the film like we always do and learn from it. Those are things that aren’t us,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “We gotta figure out why it was tonight and we got to get better on that because I can’t remember a game where we lost the penalty battle.”

To make things even worse, the Bombers also lost the turnover battle 3-0.

“We were behind in a bunch of categories that really determine the outcomes of games usually. We say the same thing, we always look at the tape to see the reasons why you win or lose. And I mean, I think it’ll be quite evident,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“The same things we look at when we win, we look at when we lose. It’ll make sense, (but) the guys already know and have a good idea how this happened.”

The Bombers have had rough starts to games before, but they almost always find their groove once the second half kicks off. That wasn’t the case this time.

They were held off the scoreboard in the final two quarters.

“That’s what’s frustrating. I feel like the belief needs to be stronger there and as a team who’s been there, I think it’s up to us leaders, myself included, to get guys going and I didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, so, I’m going to be better in that aspect as well,” said Wolitarsky.

It was a discouraging performance, but the good news in Bomberland is it’s only Week 3. They had back-to-back dominant showings to start the 2023 campaign, but Thursday was a reminder that no one, including the Bombers, is perfect.

“It’s not some monumental, shocking thing. They played better than us and they won,” said Neufeld.

“That’s what happens in the CFL, anyone can win any week. If you don’t play well, you’re going to get your butt kicked and what’s what happened. It’s not some catastrophic loss for us, it’s one loss in a long, long season.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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