Bombers get ‘whopped’ in Montreal

MONTREAL — It’s hard to fathom that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers smacked these Montreal Alouettes five weeks ago.

The team that pulled off that 44-28 upset at Princess Auto Stadium was nowhere to be found in La Belle Province on Saturday night.

You can, however, now find them in the basement of the West Division at 7-8 after getting completely outmatched and outclassed by the Als in a 37-10 beatdown.

“This was bad,” left tackle Stanley Bryant told the Free Press postgame. “They basically had their way all around. They whopped our ass.”

Montreal improved to 12-3 and clinched the East Division crown. The Bombers now trail the Calgary Stampeders (8-8) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-7) for the final two playoff spots out of the West.

The Blue and Gold are in danger of missing the post-season for the first time since 2015.

“I mean, guys should be frustrated. We’re better than this, and we’re not necessarily showing it,” said quarterback Dru Brown.

“We show little tiny glimpses, but that’s not what a good football team does — they do it all the time. We’ll figure it out. I don’t doubt that the guys here will look in the mirror and figure it out at every position group, including quarterbacks. We’ll find solutions.”

The numbers from this one are jarring.

The Als outgained the Bombers 440-161, dominated them in first downs (36-6), and converted on second down with ease at 70 per cent.

The Bombers struggled mightily to move the chains, succeeding on second down just 16.7 per cent of the time which allowed Montreal to have 40 more plays (70-30).

It’s the most lopsided loss the Bombers have experienced since 2015 when Calgary got the best of them 36-8 in Week 10.

“(This game) felt like s—-, honestly,” said receiver Tim White. “I just feel like we have to compete better. We can’t come in with excuses, we’ve got to execute early, and we’ve got to show up. If they’re scoring 100 points, we’ve got to be willing to score 101 points.”

At times, it felt like Montreal’s dynamic duo of Davis Alexander and Tyson Philpot were capable of putting triple digits on the scoreboard.

On just their fourth play, Alexander connected with Philpot for a 52-yard bomb. Philpot also hauled in a 46-yard toss late in the second to finish the half with five grabs for 151 yards which paved the way to Montreal jumping out to a 24-10 lead.

Heading into the night, Philpot, a 26-year old from Calgary, needed 135 receiving yards to set a new single-season record by a Canadian. He also needed five catches to take over the record for most receptions in a season by an Alouette.

Philpot checked off both of those milestones as his night ended up with 11 catches for 207 yards. Tyler Snead was also brilliant with eight for 117. Alexander completed 30 of 40 passes for 440 yards and one touchdown.

The Als got a trio of scores on the ground, including one from running back Stevie Scott III who had 14 carries for 83 yards.

The Bombers also helped Montreal’s cause with 11 penalties for 104 yards. The Als had three for 25.

Montreal is a perfect 8-0 at home this season.

“They were hot and we didn’t stop the fire,” said halfback Deatrick Nichols. “We were there, I don’t feel like no one was there with all the catches and plays they made, we just didn’t win the one-on-one battles when it was time.”

Despite the early onslaught, the Bombers had their opportunities to keep things tight. Linebacker Tanner Cadwallader stuffed backup quarterback Dustin Crum on a third-and-two to give the Bombers, trailing 17-10, the ball near midfield with 10 minutes left in the second.

The offence followed Cadwallader’s heroics with three straight punts which ended up being a sign of things to come.

The Bombers managed just 45 yards and two first downs in the final two quarters.

Brown hit receiver Ontaria Wilson — who was making his return after missing two games with a hand injury — for a 52-yard touchdown on their second drive but there would be no more explosion plays after that.

Brown completed 11 of 16 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown. Running back Brady Oliveira was a non-factor with nine carries for 44 yards. Wilson led the team in receiving with five catches and 109 yards.

“We didn’t have enough plays. Thirty plays, that’s just not winning football,” said Oliveira. “Us offensively, we have to find a way to be better. We just weren’t good enough tonight.”

Saskatchewan, who lost 37-31 at home to Calgary on Friday, will now go back-to-back against an Als side that now has nothing to play for until the post-season begins.

Meanwhile, the Bombers and Stampeders meet in Winnipeg on Saturday in a game that will determine the season series/tiebreaker between the two foes.

Whoever loses will see their playoff odds take a major nosedive.

“We’ve got to find a way to win against Calgary. It’s going to be a playoff atmosphere and it’s on us,” said Bryant.

“We know what we gotta do, we know what’s at stake, and we just gotta do it.”

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