Banjo Bowl the win Bombers needed

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This article was published 10/09/2017 (2951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers bounced back from a disappointing loss in last week’s Labour Day Classic in Regina, beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 48-28 in the Banjo Bowl on Saturday.

“When we get hit in the mouth, we just hit harder back,” Bombers linebacker Maurice Leggett said. “It doesn’t matter what happens out there, we just stay together. And if you throw a blow at us, we’re going to throw one harder back.”

The Bombers, backed by a spirited, sold out crowd of 33,314 at Investors Group Field, delivered shot after shot, never trailing once in the game. Their 48 points were the highest the team has scored in a game since the 2010 season. It was the response fans were expecting and the kind of performance the players were hoping for.

Winnipeg’s next game is set for Sept. 22 — a home date against the Ottawa Redblacks. But before we move too far ahead, here are five takeaways from Saturday’s win over the Roughriders.

BOMBERS STAY AT NO. 2

The win improved the Bombers to 8-3. With the first-place Calgary Stampeders (9-1-1) beating the Edmonton Eskimos (7-4) over the weekend, Winnipeg now has sole possession of second place in the West Division.

Most in the locker room afterwards, including Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, downplayed the significance of Saturday’s win, with the main objection being there is still plenty of football to be played this season. Though true, there is no denying the importance of the victory. The loss dropped the Roughriders to 5-5, giving the Bombers some breathing room from an opponent who had reeled off three straight wins against divisional foes and were making a climb up the standings.

The victory also clinched the season series between the two teams, meaning the Bombers hold the official tiebreaker in the event they finish the year with the same amount of points.

BOUNCE BACK FOR OFFENCE

Matt Nichols threw for 82 fewer passing yards compared to last week, finishing the day 24-for-37 for 282 yards. But he was a much better version of himself this time around, leading a huddle that never seemed to get stifled against a hard-hitting Roughriders defence.

Nichols connected with Clarence Denmark for two touchdowns and added another to Ryan Lankford. Backup quarterback Dan LeFevour punched in score from one yard out, while Darvin Adams caught a team-high six catches for 62 yards.

The offensive line stood tall, controlling the line of scrimmage to not only give Nichols ample time to throw but also enough to establish a respectable run game. Winnipeg was limited to 37 yards on the ground a week ago. On Saturday, they put up 138, with Andrew Harris leading the way with 57 yards on 12 carries.

Perhaps most impressive was the final series of the game, when the Bombers were able to achieve the near impossible in the CFL by milking the final three minutes and 54 seconds before kneeling to end the game. And to think the Bombers opened the drive with a too-many-men penalty that put them at first-and-20.

“The funny thing is I was telling Matt to run a run play because I wanted to score still,” Harris said. “We just have that mentality that we want to keep scoring, we want to keep going and if you look at the run game it was tough sledding, but we found a way to get it done in the fourth and chew up yards.

“We just find a way, it seems like, almost every game and we’re continuing to get better at that.”

NICHOLS PLAYING WITH FIRE

Unlike last week when Nichols threw two interceptions, one of which was taken back inside the Bombers’ 10-yard line that eventually led to a Saskatchewan touchdown, Nichols went without a pick Saturday and was mostly mistake free.

He did have the ball stripped from him late in the game, with the Roughriders recovering the fumble. It didn’t prove all that costly, given there was just minutes left on the clock and the Bombers held a 20-point lead. Chris Randle would intercept Brandon Bridge on the very next play.

What was troubling, though, was that Nichols put himself in that position in the first place. Facing a second-and-seven, the Bombers quarterback saw daylight in front of a collapsing pocket and took off. By the time the fumble occurred, Nichols had scampered an impressive 41 yards before dropping his shoulder and driving head-on into Henoc Muamba.

But as remarkable as it was for a quarterback not known for his foot speed, and despite it being celebrated by his teammates — Randle called it the play that “set the tone for the game” and Harris added, “that’s the guy he is and we love him for that reason” — the reality is the Bombers can’t afford to lose Nichols.

And it’s not as if the Bombers weren’t surrounded by heavy reminders for why Nichols should have taken a dive much earlier (he would have got the first down). Roughriders starting quarterback Kevin Glenn was forced from the game with a hand injury a quarter earlier and on Friday B.C.’s Travis Lulay was flooded with get-well-soon notes from the Bombers after he reportedly suffered a season-ending knee injury. Both team’s futures are now in serious question.

Nichols had a whole list of reasons after the game for why he did what he did, but those excuses will mean very little if the next time he isn’t available to talk about it.

D REMAINS WEAK LINK

Let’s be blunt: the Bombers possess an offence and special teams unit capable of winning the Grey Cup. What continues to be the missing link in the equation is the defence.

Saturday provided a prime example of what could happen when the Bombers suffer a key injury to the secondary. With Taylor Loffler a last minute scratch after falling ill, the Bombers were forced to turn to Derek Jones to replace the all-star safety. Jones is still growing as a player and has put together a brilliant special teams resume in his time with the Bombers. But he’s no Loffler and it showed.

The Roughriders posted 471 yards of net offence, with 394 passing yards of that coming from the arms Glenn and Bridge. What accounted for nearly half of that production through the air was two one-play scoring drives, in each case the Roughriders taking advantage of breakdowns in the Bombers’ secondary.

Duron Carter reeled in an 88-yard score, followed by a 75-yard strike to Naaman Roosevelt. Both displayed clear cases of miscommunication and poor tackling.

“We’re always searching for the perfect game and you’re never going to get it,” O’Shea said. “We’ll fix those things.”

Though the Bombers will surely comb through the tape looking for answers, it’s been much of the same through 11 games. While they boast a formidable duo of Randle and T.J. Heath on the boundary side, they’re in need of another established player to bring stability to the other side. It could be the difference come the final week of November.

TRICK PLAY FOR THE AGES

The Bombers held a pair of two closed-door practices last week, and with no extra eyes in the stands plotted out what would be a perfectly executed punt return for a touchdown Saturday.

When Roughriders kicker Josh Bartel let go a boot in the early stages of the second quarter, the ball sailed towards returner Kevin Fogg. Instead of waiting for it to fall into his arms, Fogg immediately sprinted to the other side of the field, pointing to his would-be blockers, who returned the gesture back at him as they peddled down field.

It was then that Maurice Leggett, who had rushed to where Fogg was first positioned, retrieved the ball while most of the Roughriders players looked on in confusion, too far away at that point to make a tackle. Leggett returned the ball 97 yards to the end zone, needing only to beat Bartel, who was pushed aside by a wall of three Bomber defenders.

The play was almost identical to the one the NFL’s St. Louis Rams used on the Seattle Seahawks in a game during the 2014 season. Only difference was that the fake retriever waved his hands to enact the fair catch rule, which doesn’t exist in the CFL.

“We knew what we were supposed to do,” Fogg said after the game. “We knew how it was supposed to go. I even had a good fall in there — like I tripped. And I had to try and meet him at the end zone. It was fun.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca