Bombers battle back to beat Redblacks in OT

OTTAWA — For three and a half quarters, it looked like it was going to be a night Dru Brown would want to forget.

And in some ways, he still might want to erase Sunday from his memory because it wasn’t overly pretty.

But in the end, Brown got his revenge and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers recovered from a sloppy start to escape the nation’s capital with a 36-34 overtime victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.

The game literally went down to the wire as it remained tied after two overtime mini-games and had to be decided by alternating two-point conversion attempts from the 3-yard line — a first in CFL history as the new overtime format was introduced this season.

“It feels good to win. I’m happy that our defence and special teams hung in there until we got going there at the end,” said Brown.

“It was kind of cool the way that it ended. But yeah, I mean, this league is crazy — crazy things happen.

“I don’t really know what to say right now.”

The Bombers scored with ease on both of their two-point attempts and slammed the door shut on Ottawa’s second attempt with safety Redha Kramdi breaking up a pass intended for receiver Keelan White that finally put an end to the contest.

The winless Redblacks drop to 0-6. Meanwhile the Bombers improve to 4-2 and extend their winning streak to three games.

“They ran that play earlier and I just recognized it and I made a play,” said Kramdi on his game-winning pass knockdown.

“But we weren’t supposed to be in that position — and that’s what’s pissing us off. Everyone is holding each other accountable, and it feels just good to come up with a win knowing that in our (next) meeting, we’re gonna get on each other to be better.

“I talked to JY (defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger) afterwards and said ‘However they come, we’re gonna take it.’ There’s just a lot more to correct and a lot more to learn.”

Canadian receiver Gavin Cobb caught what ended up being the winning convert for the Bombers.

“It was definitely one of the craziest games I’ve been through,” said Bombers receiver Ontaria Wilson.

“The two-point conversion part was kind of wild. It was back and forth, back and forth like tennis until we were finally able to get a stop on defence.”

For Brown, it’s also a relief that this week is finally in the rear-view mirror. After losing his starting job in Ottawa to Jake Maier, he was traded to Winnipeg last month.

He said the right things all week long and downplayed the significance of what it would mean to stick it to his old club, most notably Redblacks head coach/general manager Ryan Dinwiddie.

But he is human after all.

“I try not to let any of this affect me during the week. I don’t think it did, but I’m going to kind of allow myself to feel the feels maybe a little bit here shortly,” said Brown, who completed 27-of-43 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m excited to not maybe have to deal with (being asked about Ottawa) anymore.”

The Redblacks failed to close things out and blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. They punted on four straight possessions which allowed the Bombers to climb back with a Sergio Castillo field goal and two touchdown tosses — one to Nic Demski and another to Wilson — to tie things up at 26-26.

“We went in at halftime and made some corrections. The defensive staff got on us and told us what we were doing wrong and what we had to fix, and we went out in the second half and fixed it, and we came up big when we needed to,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson.

“Offence, defence, special teams, we were all playing off each other in the second half and we came out with a win.”

There was also some luck mixed in there. Redblacks corner Shakur Brown had not one, not two, but three glorious opportunities at interceptions and let the ball slip through his fingers each time. Former Bombers corner Demerio Houston, who signed with the Redblacks in the off-season, also just barely missed out on a pick in the second overtime mini-game. Brown hit Tommy Nield in the end zone for what should’ve been a touchdown, but the ball was popped into the air by the receiver and a diving Houston was a hair late to making the play.

“I think some guys made some big plays when it really mattered,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

“You’d like to start a little faster, obviously. I think the real big point to all of this is in the first six games, we’ve had a lot of different experiences — this being another one of them to learn from. They’re not all the same lessons, so, I think this will help us be better in the long run, obviously.”

Maier completed 30-of-40 passes for 344 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Fourth-year Canadian defensive back Jake Kelly picked off Maier in the third quarter for what was the first INT of the defender’s career.

Tim White led the Bombers in receiving with 97 yards on seven grabs. Running back Brady Oliveira was held to 48 yards on 10 carries. Ottawa’s Kalil Pimpleton led all receivers with 101 yards on five catches. The Redblacks got a season-high 65 rushing yards from running back Greg Bell on 14 carries.

“I think there’s another piece of evidence that says the CFL is a great game and you’re never out of it,” said O’Shea.

The Bombers host the Calgary Stampeders (2-4) on Friday.

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