Bombers go the distance, get under Argos’ skin to secure win By: Taylor Allen Posted: 3:55 PM CDT Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026

Now that looked like Winnipeg Blue Bombers football.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Blue and Gold finally sent their droves of paying customers home happy with a 30-21 win over the visiting Toronto Argonauts on Friday.

“Osh was on it all week that we had to have a great three-phase game and tonight we did that,” said left tackle Stanley Bryant.

“If we can do that each and every week, we will be a great team.”

The Bombers will take their 3-2 record into Ottawa on Sunday to challenge the winless — and arguably hopeless — Redblacks (0-5).

Before we look ahead, let’s revisit Friday with the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

DRU IN BLUE

Three weeks ago, Dru Brown was a disgruntled quarterback in Ottawa who wasn’t given a fair chance to compete for the starting job.

Fast forward to today and Brown is fresh off his first career start at Princess Auto Stadium (he started three games during his first stint with the club, but all of them came on the road) where he outdueled the hottest quarterback in the CFL, Chad Kelly.

Was he facing the worst defence in the league? Perhaps. But that shouldn’t overshadow Brown’s performance. Despite having limited time to reacclimate to Winnipeg and Tommy Condell’s playbook, he threw for 339 yards — 250 of them in the first half — with one touchdown and one interception.

The Bombers traded for him for moments like this and the 29-year-old delivered. It would’ve been unrealistic to expect rookie Canadian Taylor Elgersma to put up similar numbers.

“I think (Brown) made it look easier than it really is,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“He works his ass off. This isn’t luck. This isn’t, ‘Oh, he’s been in the system.’ This is a guy who puts in a tremendous amount of time.”

Brown needed only one outing to pick up his first win. The Redblacks are still searching for theirs after five games.

If starter Zach Collaros (neck) is once again held out Sunday, Brown will have the ultimate opportunity to stick it to Ottawa — and more specifically, head coach/general manager Ryan Dinwiddie, who questioned his arm talent and referred to him as a “distraction” after hand-selecting Jake Maier to take over under centre.

“It’s over and done with now. Obviously got a lot of relationships over there with some of the players and love those guys. But we each have different issues, different situations,” said Brown.

“I wish them the best. But I’m focused on what we’ve got going on over here and excited to roll forward with it.”

VIVA LA VAVAL

Trey Vaval was not a happy camper.

Trailing 22-14 with 10 minutes remaining, the Argonauts punted the ball back to the Bombers, only for Vaval to completely misplay it. Toronto recovered to set up shop at Winnipeg’s 20-yard line.

Vaval has been lights out all season, but his first major gaffe came at the worst possible time, and he knew it.

“I was beating myself up. I came to the sideline, and I was really down on myself,” Vaval admitted.

Just over a minute later, he made one of the finest plays of his young career.

Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu botched a 40-yard field-goal attempt, and Vaval returned it 129 yards for a touchdown to give Winnipeg a 29-14 lead.

It was the longest missed field-goal return in franchise history. Vaval, of course, already owned the previous record with a 128-yarder against Ottawa last season.

If the defence hadn’t stood tall and forced Toronto to settle for a field-goal attempt, Vaval never would’ve had his shot at redemption.

“You love the return. It’s well executed,” said O’Shea. “But I like the defence’s resolve to take the field after some adversity and step up and they held them pretty good.”

WILLIE’S WORLD

Willie Jefferson had just three sacks in 17 games in 2025.

With two quarterback takedowns on Friday, the 35-year-old defensive end has already matched last season’s total.

You have to go back to the club’s regular-season finale in 2023 to find the last time he recorded a multi-sack game.

Perhaps he found the fountain of youth, or maybe having Jake Ceresna alongside him has opened things up. Either way, the future Hall of Famer is looking like his old self again.

“Willie can have no sacks and he’d still be the most dominant defensive lineman in the league,” said O’Shea.

“He’s always been that special. I just think people spend too much time staring at the stat line.”

The entire defence deserves praise for limiting Toronto to 21 points — 16.5 below its per-game average.

TOO MANY TURNOVERS

You don’t often win football games when you commit three turnovers.

The Bombers defied the odds, doing just that despite losing the turnover battle 3-1.

Their lone takeaway came when safety Redha Kramdi strip-sacked Kelly and linebacker Tony Jones recovered the loose ball.

Along with Brown’s interception and Vaval’s fumble, receiver Ontaria Wilson also coughed up the ball on the game’s opening drive.

Friday marked just the second time this season a CFL team won despite committing more turnovers than its opponent.

The Bombers now own a minus-four turnover differential on the year.

LATE-GAME SHENANIGANS

He may be a rookie, but Bombers cornerback Major Williams has already mastered the art of getting under an opponent’s skin.

Argos receiver Damonte Coxie was tackled by Williams after catching an 11-yard pass with six minutes remaining.

Apparently unimpressed that Williams held onto his ankle for an extra second or two after the whistle, Coxie lightly slapped the side of the defender’s helmet.

He was flagged for 25 yards and disqualified for unnecessary roughness.

Coxie taunted the 32,144 fans in attendance as he exited the field of play and made his way down the tunnel.

“It was just two competitors, two great players going at it… I feel like in that situation, he just lost his cool,” said Williams.

“He put his hands on me a couple times after the play, and they were losing the game. It wasn’t his night. When things happen like that, those are the kind of actions that you get from ballplayers.”

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