Bombers fortunate to escape with win

OTTAWA – Can the Winnipeg Blue Bombers get away with a performance like that against a legitimate Grey Cup contender?

Heck no.

Thankfully for them, they weren’t playing one Sunday night in Ottawa.

The Bombers struggled mightily in the first three quarters against a winless Redblacks side which put them in a 26-9 hole heading into the fourth.

It felt like a done deal that Ottawa was going to snap their dreadful skid, but this is the CFL, and crazy things are known to happen in the final 15 minutes.

The Blue and Gold woke up just in time and somehow managed to force overtime en route to a 36-34 victory to improve to 4-2. The Redblacks continue to stumble under Ryan Dinwiddie’s leadership and are now 0-6.

“We’re a team that doesn’t give up,” said Bombers receiver Ontaria (Pokey) Wilson.

“We’re gonna keep fighting until the clock says 0:00.”

Before we shift gears to Friday’s tilt between the Bombers and Calgary Stampeders (2-4) at Princess Auto Stadium, let’s revisit their most recent outing with 5 Takeaways.

DRU DAY

Dru Brown played it cool all week long.

The Bomber quarterback was asked over, and over, and over again about returning to Ottawa — a place where he started for two seasons — and he dodged each question like Charles Roberts used to dodge defenders.

But when he got back to the locker room after the game, it was obvious this one meant a bit more as he was swarmed by his teammates in celebration.

“He’s only human. He’s going to have some elation, some joy, and his teammates are really happy for him because they understand how this week could go,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“You’re put under a lot of pressure and put under the microscope and asked a lot of questions that you might not want to even answer, but he handled himself like a pro. His teammates recognize that and they’re happy for him.”

Brown, who was traded to Winnipeg a month ago, didn’t have his best stuff. The offence was stuck in neutral for most of the evening and they paid for it by entering the fourth down big.

“Nothing changed,” said Wilson on Brown’s demeanor.

“He was cool, calm and collected. He was like ‘We’re gonna go out there and win this freakin’ game.’”

Brown and Co. turned it around late and put 17 points on the board to send the game into OT.

If Redblacks corner Shakur Brown could catch — he dropped three interceptions — Brown’s statline (27-of-43 for 317 yards and two touchdowns) would’ve looked much different, and more importantly, Winnipeg likely leaves town with a loss.

Even though he got away with a few reckless throws, Brown did just enough to show Ottawa, most notably head coach/general manager Dinwiddie, that choosing Jake Maier over him likely wasn’t the best decision.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

The Bombers wouldn’t have been blasting tunes in the locker room and enjoying a win if it wasn’t for two clutch plays by the defence.

The first came early in the third quarter from linebacker Kyrie Wilson. The Redblacks had the ball at the Winnipeg one-yard line — with help from Bombers defensive tackle Michael Fletcher being penalized 25 yards for an unnecessary roughness major a few plays earlier — and tried to punch it in three times with short-yardage quarterback Bryson Barnes.

Barnes was stuffed each time, and on his final attempt, it was Wilson who wrapped him up short of the goal line to cause a turnover on downs.

Then there was the second overtime mini-game where the Redblacks were a touchdown away from ending the game on a walk-off. Maier fired a deep pass into the end zone to Keelan White, but Bombers halfback Evan Holm was there to save the day with a pass breakup. The Redblacks settled for a field goal which led to the game being settled in a two-point conversion shootout.

It wasn’t an A-plus performance by the defence, but when their backs were up against the wall, they delivered.

MESSY, MESSY, MESSY

A win is a win at the end of the day, but the Bombers certainly did everything they could to make it as hard as possible on themselves.

Here’s a list of all their uncharacteristic mistakes:

— Short-yardage quarterback Bryce Perkins failed to convert on a third-and-one on the opening drive (Perkins was a perfect 20-for-20 entering the night).

— Rookie linebacker Charles-Elliot Bouliane was called for roughing the punter late in the first quarter which led to Ottawa keeping the ball and eventually kicking a field goal.

— Receiver Tommy Nield was penalized for illegal procedure and an illegal block at the start of the fourth which wiped out a catch by tight end Dante Daniels that would’ve put the Bombers on Ottawa’s three-yard line. Nield also had a brutal drop in the end zone in overtime which almost resulted in an INT for former Bombers corner Demerio Houston.

— With the Bombers trailing 26-19 with seven minutes remaining, Sergio Castillo blasted a kickoff out of bounds to give Ottawa possession at midfield. Thankfully for him, defensive end Willie Jefferson sacked Maier to spoil their generous field position.

And don’t forget Fletcher’s penalty which was already mentioned.

You’ll never see a team play a perfect game, but you can’t have that many obvious blunders and expect to win.

RUNNING AWAY FROM THE RUN

Yes, the Bombers trailed for most of the contest, but running back Brady Oliveira only finishing with 10 carries for 48 yards — with 23 of those coming in overtime — against the worst run defence in the CFL is rather shocking.

Entering the week, the Redblacks were allowing opposing rushing attacks to scamper for a league-high 135.8 yards per game.

Oliveira, the highest-paid tailback in the league, hasn’t rushed for 100-plus since Week 1.

NEW OVERTIME FORMAT

For the first time in CFL history, a game was decided by alternating two-point conversion attempts from the three-yard line.

The new overtime format was introduced this season. The CFL’s version of a shootout takes place if two overtime mini-games can’t declare a winner and that was the case on Sunday.

The Bombers scored easily on their two conversion attempts before safety Redha Kramdi snuffed out Ottawa’s second try by breaking up a pass intended for White.

It was a bit quirky, but would anyone rather see a game end in a tie?

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