Playoffs? Bombers will battle to bitter end to make it

Here’s a sentence that hasn’t been written in a long time: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are going to have to fight to the very end to make the playoffs.

The Blue and Gold dropped to 6-7 on the year after a discouraging 32-21 loss in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats on Friday.

They’re still holding onto the third and final postseason berth out of the West as they won the season series over the B.C. Lions who are also 6-7, but make no mistake about it: it’s going to come down to the wire.

“As long as we can find our groove and get rolling these next couple games, we’ll let the standings fall how they fall,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson.

“We’re not worried.”

The Bombers will be in Ottawa on Saturday to challenge the Redblacks (4-9), but before we shift the focus to that, let’s dive into Friday’s result with the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

BAD VIBES ON OFFENCE

As bad as Chris Streveler was, he doesn’t deserve all the blame.

The Bombers continue to be a dysfunctional mess on offence. They committed 31 turnovers in 2024 and this year they have 36 in just 13 games.

Do Zach Collaros and Steveler need to be better? Of course they do. It’s laughable that they’re both top three in interceptions, but first-year offensive coordinator Jason Hogan hasn’t done them any favours. Sure, both of Streveler’s picks in the first half were bad throws (Hamilton led 20-10 heading into the break and never looked back), but on both of those plays it appeared as if the Tabbies knew exactly what was coming.

All season it has felt like the Bombers are either predictable or doing something that makes even a football novice scratch their head.

And maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hogan has a strong work ethic and seems to be well liked, but the last time he was the head offensive coordinator was nearly a decade ago at a secondary school in Laval. With more seasoning, perhaps one day he could become a great CFL playcaller, but he isn’t one in 2025.

Don’t expect a major shakeup heading into the final five games, though. Mike O’Shea said in an interview earlier in the year that he would never fire a coordinator during a season, and you could assume that also means demote.

This is one of those instances where O’Shea can be loyal to a fault.

The headset remains with Hogan despite his growing pains, even though they have a veteran in-house with quarterbacks coach Jarious Jackson. In addition to having over a decade of experience as a professional QB, Jackson has had stints with B.C., Toronto, and Edmonton as an offensive coordinator.

Make it make sense.

STICKING WITH STREV

If Friday’s contest was played in Winnipeg, there’s a good chance a “We want Terry!” chant would’ve broke out.

Even though Streveler threw a pair (he’s lucky it wasn’t a trio as a Ticats defender dropped an easy one at the start of the second quarter) of backbreaking interceptions, O’Shea said afterward that he never considered putting third-string quarterback Terry Wilson into the game.

The team very well may know something about Wilson that we don’t, but until he gets a chance under centre, curiosity will get the best of everyone in Bomberland. Wilson is in his second year in blue and gold and beat out Jake Dolegala and Shea Patterson for the No. 3 job, so you’d imagine there’s something there.

He does have an impressive arm, and he showed it off in practice earlier in the week by tossing a beautiful 40-plus yard bomb to rookie Joey Corcoran. Wilson followed that up by throwing an errant pass that was intercepted by Evan Holm with zero receivers in the area.

The last time the 27-year-old from Oklahoma played meaningful reps was back in the USFL in 2023 when he made one start for the Houston Gamblers and went nine-for-14 for 117 yards and a touchdown plus 41 rushing yards on six attempts.

Streveler did manage to move the ball late, mostly in garbage time, and silence some critics about his legs by managing to rush for a season-high 82 yards.

Whether fans want to hear it or not, if Collaros (head) remains sidelined this week, Streveler may have showed just enough at the end for O’Shea to justify to everyone that he should continue to start. Collaros did make the trip to Hamilton which could suggest he isn’t experiencing any symptoms and that he’s close to returning.

ABANDONING BRADY BALL

He’s not going to repeat as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player this season, but Brady Oliveira showed Friday that he’s still one of the most talented players in the three-down circuit.

Oliveira had 13 carries for 110 yards and two catches for 24 yards — at the half. With the game getting away from them, the 28-year-old Winnipegger only took two handoffs in the final 30 minutes to finish the night with 15 for 116 yards. It goes to show how detrimental it is to the Bombers when they put themselves in an early hole as it forces them to get away from their most dangerous weapon down the stretch. Oliveira has totalled 100-plus yards in three out of the last four games.

LAWLER’S LOCKED IN

Actions speak louder than words, but Kenny Lawler happened to be loud with both this week.

In a sit-down interview with the Free Press on Thursday, the star receiver unloaded on the Bombers saying how disrespected he felt by them in the off-season which led to him signing with Hamilton.

There are two sides to every story, of course, and as unpredictable as Lawler can be at times, he displayed why the Ticats signed him to a deal worth more than $300,000 by leading all receivers with seven catches for 97 yards and seemingly making a play whenever Hamilton needed one.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell — 21-for-28 for 230 yards and two touchdowns — and running back Greg Bell — 22 attempts for 137 yards and two touchdowns — also excelled. The Ticats (8-5) are running away with the East and could be destined to have a trip to Winnipeg in November.

TEAM TED

Friday was a reminder that there are things much more important than football.

The Ticats announced in the morning that general manager Ted Goveia — an assistant GM with the Bombers from 2014-24 — had died at the age of 55 after a courageous battle with cancer.

It’s one of the saddest stories to come out of the league in years as Goveia had just landed his dream job with his hometown team in December. You would have a tough time finding anyone in Canadian football with a bad thing to say about him as his people skills, sense of humour, and love for the three-down game were admired by many. It’s incredible what he managed to do in his limited time with the Ticats as he completely revamped their culture and roster to build a legitimate contender.

It was fitting that Hamilton came out and played a great game and got the win.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca