The good, bad and record setting performance in Bombers loss to Elks

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 22-19 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta on Friday was fitting for all the wrong reasons.

The Bombers looked reinvigorated as they jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half. Then some bad habits reared their ugly head, as the Elks roared back with 19 straight points before kicker Vincent Blanchard walked it off with a 40-yard field goal.

A night that began with so much promise left many fans to wonder what the ceiling actually is for this team in 2026.

On offence, Zach Collaros completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and an interception; Brady Oliveira amassed 118 yards on 16 carries and added a pair of catches for 11 yards; and Nic Demski secured five grabs for 80 yards.

But the numbers only tell so much of this story.

With the win, Edmonton sealed the season series between these clubs for the first time since 2018.

Adding salt to the wound, the Elks (8-3) were just the first in a mid-season gauntlet the Bombers must survive to stay in the thick of the West Division standings.

Winnipeg (5-5) now gears up to host the class of the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes (9-1), at Princess Auto Stadium on Aug. 28. Then it’s the annual double date with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

First, let’s put a bow on Week 12 with the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

See it, believe it

Let’s begin on a positive note.

The first 25 minutes of the game were the kind of stuff dreams are made of for a road team that was looking for anything that resembled consistency.

The Bombers ran 38 plays and amassed 289 yards of net offence in their first five drives and left with points on four of those possessions.

Entering Week 12, Winnipeg had forced just 13 turnovers, which was the third-fewest in the CFL. A forced fumble by Evan Holm and a terrific interception by Jonathan Moxey in the first quarter were a breath of fresh air, in that sense.

Winnipeg was also tied for the fewest points off turnovers (19) entering the week. So when Collaros connected with Tim White for a 30-yard touchdown on a beautiful play-action design that followed up the turnover caused by Holm, there was a sense that the Bombers were in store for a special evening.

Meanwhile, the Elks ran just 12 plays in their first five drives, and the results were punt, turnover, punt, turnover, punt. They totalled 79 yards of offence during that stretch, 41 of which came on a heave from Cody Fajardo to Brendan O’Leary-Orange late in the first quarter.

If there’s one thing the Bombers can build on, it’s those 25 minutes, because it was quite possibly the team’s finest collective performance of the season. Although the Bombers had shown flashes of strong play through their first nine contests, there was nothing to suggest it could hang with the top dogs in the CFL.

They proved that, at their best, they absolutely still can. Further, they can still dominate if the pieces fall right.

The next step is putting it together for longer stretches.

Red zone woes

Now to the negative.

The Bombers built a 16-0 lead and you wouldn’t blame anyone for feeling short-changed at that point.

Despite controlling every aspect of the game, the offence’s stalled drives in the red zone hung over the team like a dark cloud, and you got the sense that the Bombers were playing with fire by allowing the Elks to hang around.

Through 11 weeks, Winnipeg had converted just half of their red zone trips into touchdowns — among the worst in the CFL.

Those woes continued to haunt them, as the Bombers drove down the field efficiently on the opening drive with an excellent mix of the run and pass dialled up by Tommy Condell but were forced to settle for a 15-yard field goal by Sergio Castillo.

On their ensuing drive, the offence marched right back down the field in four plays but once again, the door to the end zone was slammed shut. Mike O’Shea appropriately went for it on third down, but Collaros’s pass attempt to Nic Demski was denied, and the Bombers left that possession with no points.

Two drives later, now midway through the second quarter, Winnipeg strung together another impressive eight-play 58-yard sequence only to stall at Edmonton’s 12-yard line. This time, O’Shea trotted out Castillo for another chip shot.

It’s reasonable to believe that if Winnipeg converted even one more of those drives into a touchdown, they would’ve rolled to a victory. Instead, their shortcomings in the most critical part of the field gave the Elks hope — and in this game, hope is all the Elks needed.

Edmonton got the break it needed when Bombers defensive back Jake Kelly was flagged for pass-interference (a spot foul) late in the second quarter. On the next play, Fajardo found Austin Mack for a 15-yard touchdown, and the comeback was on.

Collapse in crunch time

Despite the Elks storming back with 19 points, the Bombers still had every chance to win this game at the end.

What will sting the most is the deciding sequence.

Down 19-16 with 2:43 remaining, the Bombers offence took over at the Edmonton 50 with a prime opportunity to milk the clock and set up a game-winning score, or at worst, a field goal that forced overtime.

Instead, it was one of the more disheartening drives of the game. After finding Demski for a 12-yard pickup on the first play, Collaros barely managed a one-yard gain on the next play and then took an inexcusable eight-yard sack on second down.

Fortunately, Castillo drilled a 53-yarder to tie the game at 19-19, but that still left Fajardo and the Elks with 1:36 to work with on their final drive.

The Elks plotted their way down the field, aided by poor tackling from the Bombers defence. Justin Rankin broke through two defenders for a 16-yard gain on a second down, and two plays later, TJ Luther shook off an arm-tackle attempt by Moxey for an 11-yard gain to set up Blanchard for the walk-off field goal.

On a night that began with everything going so right for the Bombers, it ended with just about everything going so wrong for the club.

Strong up front

The Bombers offensive line was dinged for two sacks when all was said and done, but this was one of the stronger performances in weeks for the big men up front.

Winnipeg’s offence dominated the line of scrimmage, especially in the first half, keeping Collaros’s jersey clean while Oliveira rushed for 110 yards on 14 carries.

It’s also hard to blame the line for the sack late in the game; the Elks brought pressure, and Collaros held onto the ball for too long.

There is plenty to build on for the front five.

Historic boot

Now, there is no doubt for Castillo.

The Bombers kicker broke the CFL record for most field goals of at least 50 yards (41) when he made good on a 52-yarder in the second quarter, supplanting Troy Westwood atop the record books.

Castillo was originally thought to have broken the record last week against Ottawa, but a CFL stat correction ruled that his 50-yarder against the Stampeders last month was actually only 49 yards.

Castillo was perfect on four field goal attempts and his lone point-after convert on Friday. He’s now 33 of 39 on three-point attempts and has made all 21 of his extra points this season.

Castillo, who now owns the career record by two, has made eight of 12 attempts from 50-plus yards this year.

winnipegfreepress.com/joshuafreysam