Bomber comeback falls short

It was the kind of start that had fans in the stands facepalming.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers initially looked nothing like a group that had an extra week to prepare for Thursday night’s showdown at home with the Edmonton Elks.

Two fumbles, two missed field goals and more struggles on defence put the Blue and Gold in a 17-0 hole midway through the second quarter.

And while the second half was far from perfect, the Bombers showed signs of life — especially on defence — and miraculously grabbed an 18-17 lead with 8:34 remaining in the contest after running back Brady Oliveira dragged a defender to the front pilon of the end zone on a 14-yard catch and run.

But ultimately, the Bombers needed more than that to make up for their brutal beginning.

The Elks had the ball with 3:30 left and quarterback Cody Fajardo delivered. He capped off a 10-play, 57-yard drive with an eight-yard TD strike to receiver T.J. Luther to give the visitors a 23-18 victory.

The Bombers took over with 46 seconds on the clock and they managed to get down to Edmonton’s 11-yard line before time expired.

“We can’t wait to get punched to start fighting. We need to bring the fight to them,” said Bombers safety Redha Kramdi.

“I feel like we’re waiting too much. We’re gonna get it fixed, we need to get it fixed, because if we want to start winning games, we need to start faster.”

For the first time since 2017, Edmonton is 3-0. The Bombers, who were smacked 37-27 by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before last week’s bye, drop to 1-2 with both of those losses coming on their home turf.

“We’re hurting ourselves because we’re playing catchup. If there was a couple more seconds on the clock, I think the game’s a little bit different,” said Oliveira.

“It’s in the past now, but we can’t keep putting ourselves in those situations. It’s tough.”

Thursday marked the 16th consecutive sellout at Princess Auto Stadium. It was also the first time Edmonton has won in Winnipeg since June 14, 2018. The Bombers are now 16-4 after their bye weeks dating back to 2018.

“We’ll get better, we’ll fix it, but the way we played that first half, we’re never gonna win a football game like that,” said receiver Nic Demski.

“But even the fact that we were able to still be in that game and compete in that game, I think that says a lot about the pride on this team. There are some positives that you take away from this game, but that first half wasn’t the way you want to play football.”

The talk all week was the importance of slowing down Edmonton’s superstar running back Justin Rankin, who entered the evening with a mesmerizing 9.1 yards-per-carry average and 426 total yards.

And yet, on his very first touch, he scampered down the field for 29 yards with ease. The whole Edmonton offence hit the ground running with 68 yards after three snaps, en route to a seven-play, 95-yard scoring drive capped off by — you guessed it — Rankin for a five-yard touchdown.

Rankin closed out the first half with 95 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

Meanwhile on offence and special teams, things weren’t any better. The Bombers fumbled on their first possession after Oliveira was popped by defensive lineman Jordan Williams. The Elks returned it 93 yards to Winnipeg’s three-yard line before being forced out by receiver Ontaria Wilson.

Wilson went to the locker room afterwards and did not return to the game. The Bombers also lost star defensive lineman Jake Ceresna to injury in the second half.

Oliveira lost two fumbles in 2025.

The Bombers found a way to hold the Elks to three but quickly allowed the away side back in scoring territory minutes later when rookie tight end Dante Daniels fumbled after a 29-yard gain while trying to hurdle a defender.

Five plays later, the Elks found paydirt to go up 17-0.

Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo misfired from 49 yards in the first and 50 in the second, which proved costly.

Despite all their woes, the Bombers went into half on a positive note after quarterback Zach Collaros connected with Tim White for a 29-yard TD to cut Edmonton’s advantage to 17-7.

Rankin did most of his damage early as he ended with 106 yards rushing on 15 carries and three catches for nine yards.

“Our tackling was better. We were more in our gap, we were more aggressive with blockers, and we just played our brand of football,” said Kramdi.

“Rankin’s the best player in the CFL outside of the quarterbacks, in my opinion. He can do everything. So, limiting his yardage after the first half is great.”

The Bombers have allowed opposing running backs to run for 100-plus yards in all three games this season. More troubling is the fact that they are failing to come up clutch in the final minutes.

Fajardo went 25-for-35 with 267 passing yards and one touchdown.

“The last three games, we had a chance on the last drive to put ourselves in a position to win. In Calgary they ended up scoring and our offence had our back. Against Hamilton, there was 1:20 left, we’re down seven, and if we stopped them, we’d be in good position with our offence rolling but we didn’t stop them,” said Kramdi.

“And tonight, the last drive, if we stop them, I feel like we win and we didn’t stop them. The feeling is pretty shitty that we’re not getting it done when it matters most.”

Collaros completed 24-of-33 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

Oliveira had 77 yards rushing on 13 carries while adding 45 receiving yards on six catches. Demski led the Bombers in receiving with six grabs for 92 yards.

The Bombers fumbled six times with three of those being recovered by Edmonton. Collaros, who was taken down three times on the night, was strip-sacked from behind in the third with defensive lineman Malik Carney pouncing on the loose football.

“A loss is a loss. I think as a pro there really isn’t such a thing as a moral victory,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“When they see the second half they’ll (say), ‘Well, why didn’t I do that in the first?’ I’m pretty sure that’s the way the guys are going to feel.”

Less than an hour before kickoff, the Bombers announced starting right guard Patrick Neufeld had been ruled out for a personal matter. Tyler Elsbury moved to guard while Tui Eli took over at centre.

The Bombers hit the road for a Week 2 rematch with Hamilton next Sunday.

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