Bombers season in peril after losing to Argos 16-14

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This article was published 27/07/2024 (493 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Not even half way through the CFL season and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are officially in survival mode.

Entering Saturday’s Week 8 matchup against the Toronto Argonauts with just two wins in their previous seven games, the Bombers vowed to be better in all areas as they looked to turn their season around.

Instead, they hit a new low. A lack of execution and focus were the main culprits in a game that started slow but ended in thrilling fashion, with the Argonauts winning 16-14 in overtime at BMO Field Saturday night.

“You could apply a bunch of different words to it, but it’s been frustrating, our performances,” Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said after the game. “I can really only speak for the offence, and we haven’t scored enough touchdowns. Not just the last few weeks but all season long.”

The Bombers dropped to 2-6 with the defeat and have now lost two straight, including another disappointing effort by the offence in a 19-9 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week.

The Argonauts improved to 4-3, rebounding from a disappointing loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 7 that gave the Tabbies their first victory in 2024.

While the Blue and Gold made several mistakes throughout the game, none were more egregious than what occurred on offence. The Bombers’ attack was once again riddled with turnovers, with the unit committing an eye-popping five giveaways. It also didn’t help that the Bombers, already banged up on offence, lost receiver Drew Wolitarsky and right guard Patrick Neufeld to injury midway through the game.

The Bombers fumbled four times and lost the ball on three of those plays. Running back Brady Oliveira and receivers Nic Demski and Wolitarsky were the guilty parties, as the Bombers moved into a tie with the Ottawa Redblacks for the most fumbles lost in the CFL, with seven.

“It’s crazy because I’m still having a hard time fathoming it. I don’t think I’ve fumbled this much in my career, let alone just this season alone,” said Demski, who has four fumbles this year, three of which were lost. “Just got to get back to the grind and get back to square one and just keep focusing on getting better.”

Collaros, who finished the night 25-for-32 passing for 317 yards, had his league-leading eighth interception returned to the house by Tarvarus McFadden that broke open what was a sleepy game through the first three quarters. The touchdown put the Argonauts up 13-6 minutes into the fourth frame.

The offence would finally show some life, as Collaros held tough in the pocket to deliver his lone touchdown pass, a 55-yarder up the left sideline to Ontaria Wilson that tied the game 13-13 with four minutes remaining. It was Collaros’ third touchdown pass of the season.

That’s about as good as it would get for the offence. What will sting the most was Winnipeg had a chance to seal the game late, but Chris Streveler was unable to convert a third-down QB sneak from Toronto’s 22-yard line with 53 seconds remaining that, if successful, would have set up a game-winning field goal. The play was reviewed and the ball was short by inches.

Whether Sergio Castillo would have connected on the relative chip shot is another question. Castillo has been lights out for much of the season, but his timing to have his worst performance couldn’t have been worse.

The veteran kicker missed a 43-yard field goal just before halftime and then shanked another in extra time, this one from 41 yards out, that resulted in a single. Three plays later, Argonauts kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made good on a 34-yard field goal to give the home side a two-point decision.

“Just enough mistakes to keep us from winning, me included,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, before shifting to his decision to gamble on third down instead of taking the points. “Getting a little greedy there. Take the points when they’re available.”

A big storyline for the game was whether the Bombers would be able to stop Argonauts returner Janarion Grant, who entered the night with a league-leading three return touchdowns. Grant, who played the previous four seasons in Winnipeg before signing with the Argonauts over the offseason, had a touchdown in each one of this past three games and a fourth straight game with a score would have set a new CFL record.

But Grant turned out to be a non-factor, returning just one punt for six yards, a missed field goal for 31 yards and a kickoff for 36 yards. Winnipeg is still trying to figure out their returner, with Kody Case the most recent tryout; he put up good numbers in his second straight game returning, registering 98 yards on nine punt returns and 48 yards on two kickoffs.

We’ll save the best for last, and that’s the play of the Bombers defence. It was another example where the defence played well enough to win, only for the offence to let them down.

The Argonauts offence was limited to just three field goals, 12 first downs and 205 net offensive yards. Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie stayed true to his word that he would play both Cameron Dukes and Nick Arbuckle and neither quarterback was all that good.

“On defence, I thought we played really well,” Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill said. “They couldn’t really get anything going.”

The two pivots combined for 124 passing yards and couldn’t find the end zone, although neither committed an interception. Dukes was pulled from the game at halftime and Arbuckle handled the offence from there.

Winnipeg’s lone takeaway came shortly after the failed third-down gamble late in the fourth, with the defence stuffing Dukes at the Bombers’ 31.

Things don’t get any easier for the Bombers, who return home to play the B.C. Lions in back-to-back games, with a bye week in between. The Lions sit in top spot in the West Division, at 5-2, and are a perfect 3-0 at home.

“We got the guys to do it,” Oliveira said. “We just got to get back to work, look yourself in the mirror and say how can we give more to our teammates and to this team?”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton