Big Blue still believe

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers know better than any team in the CFL what it takes at this time of year to make it to the Grey Cup.

The Bombers have set the standard for consistency in recent years, appearing in the championship game the last five seasons and hoisting the trophy twice. As they chase a sixth consecutive Grey Cup appearance, the Blue and Gold have been anything but their usual selves; their struggling play this year is leading to more questions than answers.

The biggest question: Can the Bombers flip the switch in time to make a serious push for the Grey Cup, a game that is happening in their own backyard?

“We still have time,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said following Monday’s rain-filled practice. “There’s enough time.”

“We’ve got a veteran group that has been there before, that knows what it takes,” he added. “That have that grit, that have lived it. That have gone through it, that know exactly what needs to be done.”

The 9-8 Bombers have one final regular-season game to iron out their kinks when they welcome the Montreal Alouettes to town Saturday afternoon. The Bombers have already clinched a playoff berth with last week’s nail-biting win over a short-handed Saskatchewan Roughriders team, though it’s still undecided where in the West Division they’ll finish.

Winnipeg can’t do any better than third, but are likely to finish fourth, resulting in a crossover to the East Division and potentially another clash with the Alouettes.

Regardless of where the Bombers land in the standings, the far clearer issue is the vastly different feeling surrounding the team compared to recent years. That was never more evident than in the locker room after the win over the Riders, who the Bombers barely beat despite Saskatchewan resting several starters after locking up first in the West.

While every player took solace in getting the win, the level of frustration exhibited by many mirrored the kind of mood usually reserved for a loss. To a man, players lamented not reaching the club’s high standard, noting a lack of execution and costly errors — themes that have plagued them for much of the 2025 campaign.

“Yeah, it does,” Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said when asked if these uncharacteristic mistakes this late in the year were a troubling sign. “If you left that game and some of the games with the way we’ve played this year without a sense of urgency or without a little bit of anger, then I think you’re wrong.”

Finding the right way to tackle the team’s collective frustration this season has been a work in progress, particularly for the offence, a unit that has struggled under rookie offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan.

The latest attempt came immediately after the loss to Saskatchewan, with O’Shea getting the entire offence to break down the film together. Usually, the game film is dissected among position groups, led by each position coach.

While O’Shea downplayed the unique approach — running back Brady Oliveira said it was that first time it’s happened since he joined the club in 2019 — it seemed to resonate with the players. Guys took accountability for their mistakes and together they came up with ways to improve and get better.

“Hearing everyone out, people holding themselves accountable, it was good,” Oliveira said. “It was really, really productive. Just got to clean up those mistakes. We watched it, we learned. Now, onto the practice field, fix those mistakes, so when game day comes, we can fly around and play fast.”

Oliveira, while optimistic, is also realistic. The Bombers star running back knows words are cheap, and while he agrees there is still time to right the ship on the season, he acknowledged time is running out and that those words need to be put into action sooner than later.

“We’re on Game 18, there’s not much time left. You’re never going to play a perfect game, but at this point of the season, you got to be trying to play at least your best football,” Oliveira said. “Try to be as perfect as you can be. Again, you’re not going to be perfect, but strive for that, limit the mistakes. Those mistakes are meant for training camp and early in the season; right now, you should be rolling. Everyone should be feeling good, playing good.”

The Bombers have set a high standard for themselves, the kind that comes with going to five consecutive championships. While it might be harder to attain than ever before, it’s still the bar they’re aiming for.

“The standard is the standard. It’s what we always talk about — playing our kind of game, a clean game, bringing the physicality that we know we can, executing at a high level, winning the turnover battle,” Collaros said. “All those things we try to hold up to our standard week in and week out. Each guy has to look himself in the mirror every week to see why we didn’t reach that every single game. There’s ways we can get better and we need to do that.”

O’Shea said he was encouraged by the way the players approached this week, having flushed the negativity from last week, much like they have after rough performances all season. He said he could see it in the way they acted at practice on Monday, displaying the kind of camaraderie he hopes to see from his players while also taking a business-like approach.

While there isn’t much time to turn things around, O’Shea is confident that whatever time is left on the year, it will be taken full advantage of.

“You keep chasing it. You don’t stop,” O’Shea said. “I love their effort. You get questions all the time about why should fans trust this team, and the answer is the same. Because I’m in the building with these guys every single day and I’ve seen that chase, that chase to be better.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca