Bombers win a statement game

Don’t count these Winnipeg Blue Bombers out just yet.

The Blue and Gold (8-7) made a huge statement Saturday by dominating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-6) from start to finish in a 40-3 beatdown at home.

It’s been a season filled with ups and downs, but could a performance like this be a sign of things to come heading into the most important time of year?

“We hope so,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “We just got to keep working.”

The Bombers are on their final bye week before heading to Edmonton for a date with the Elks (6-9) on Oct. 11.

Before we look ahead, let’s revisit this past weekend with another edition of 5 Takeaways.

FIREWORKS FROM THE START

You might’ve missed the first score of the game if you blinked.

Bombers returner Trey Vaval found a hole on the opening kickoff and sprinted down the sideline for an electrifying 98-yard touchdown. The last time the club started with a bang like that was Lucky Whitehead’s 104-yard kickoff return TD on July 12, 2019, against the Toronto Argonauts.

Vaval said afterwards that he has never scored on play No. 1 like that before.

“I’m ready to go out and play some football and I see him fly by and no one’s catching him,” said centre Chris Kolankowski.

“He’s a special player. When he has a chance to get a head of steam going, no one’s catching him. It’s remarkable to watch what he’s done as a rookie. You can’t start a game any better than that.”

Vaval now has four return TDs this season and has cemented himself as the obvious choice for the team’s Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Oustanding Special Teams Player awards.

“Glad I didn’t defer,” said head coach Mike O’Shea on opting to start with the ball. “He’s been terrific.”

VINTAGE COLLAROS

Now that’s the Zach Collaros people around here are used to seeing.

In what was his first game back from a head injury, the veteran pivot looked as comfortable as ever as he sliced and diced the Ticats for 367 passing yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions.

In fact, he had more completions on the first drive alone than his backup Chris Streveler had in four quarters last week in Ottawa.

But it wasn’t just Collaros, the entire offensive unit shined. The o-line kept him clean and didn’t surrender a single sack. Dillon Mitchell finally did something and had an impressive 44-yard touchdown. Streveler helped close things out in the second half with three rushing scores. And the two Winnipeggers — Nic Demski (seven grabs for 114) and Brady Oliveira (15 carries for 98 yards, plus 53 receiving yards on four catches) — were their usual selves.

Offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan also deserves some praise for dialing up arguably his best game plan of the year.

It’s been a rocky road for this group in 2025, but Saturday showed that when they play clean football, they can be elite.

KENNY WHO?

Hamilton did everything they could to get Kenny Lawler going.

They moved the star receiver all over the field to create different matchups, but it didn’t matter: the Bombers kept shutting the door.

Lawler was targeted a whopping nine times but finished with just two catches for 34 yards. The former Bomber is having a career-year in his new home with personal bests across the board, but it was a rough afternoon for him with Dexter Lawson Jr., Demerio Houston, and Deatrick Nichols all taking turns making key plays.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell never got into a rhythm, ending with a forgettable 212 passing yards. It was only the second time this year the Ticats — the No. 2-ranked offence in the CFL — failed to get into the end zone.

“They whooped our ass, man,” said Lawler. “They had a great game, great game plan.”

BIG PLAY

The game could’ve played out differently if the Ticats were able to score at the end of the half. Willie Jefferson had other plans, however.

The visitors rolled the dice on a third-and-four on Winnipeg’s eight-yard line only for Jefferson to get a hand up and tip Mitchell’s pass at the line of scrimmage. The ball still made it to Lawler but he couldn’t hang on as he was hit from behind early by Nichols. The defensive back would’ve been flagged for pass interfence if it wasn’t for Jefferson’s deflection. The stop allowed the Bombers to head into the break with a commanding 19-3 advantage.

Fellow defensive end James Vaughters also stood out by sacking Mitchell twice.

STANDINGS WATCH

That was a massive victory for Winnipeg.

The B.C. Lions took care of business the night before against Toronto to also improve to 8-7, meanwhile the Calgary Stampeders continue to slide as they were smacked by Montreal to drop to 8-6.

The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the West Division are in play for the Bombers, Lions, and Stamps, and so is crossing over to the East Division to compete as their No. 3 since Toronto is sputtering behind Hamilton and Montreal at 5-10.

The Bombers — currently third in the West due to owning the tiebreaker over B.C. — will sit back and watch the Lions and Stamps battle it out on Saturday at BC Place in a game that will have major playoff implications. Winnipeg went 0-3 against Calgary so they will need to finish with a better overall record to get in front of the team in red and white. If the Blue and Gold end up being the ones to pack up their things and travel East, it would be a first for the franchise since the rule was introduced by the league in 1996. There’s been 12 crossover teams in history — zero since 2019 — and none have ever made it to the Grey Cup.

Buckle up, Bomberland: the last four weeks of CFL action are going to be quite the ride.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca