Bombers have something to prove

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This article was published 22/08/2018 (2577 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It would be a hard sell to suggest that playing an angry Calgary Stampeders team might actually be a blessing.

The Stampeders are long and away the best team in the Canadian Football League right now and have been for the better part of the past decade, so having to play them when they have an added snarl might be the last thing an opponent would ask for.

After opening the 2018 season with seven straight victories, the Stampeders had their unbeaten streak snapped with a 40-27 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday.

For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who will take on the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium Saturday afternoon, the added frustration Calgary will carry from the loss might actually be a good thing.

While for weeks it seemed like no one would figure out the Stampeders, whose lowest margin of victory through the first seven games was by nine points and only once had trailed at halftime, the Roughriders were able to do just that, providing Winnipeg somewhat of a blueprint for success.

“We have to play our game and our style but there’s things you learn from every single game,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after practice Wednesday.

“And you learn from all the games, not just ones with your future opponents in it.”

O’Shea credited the strong play of Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros, who, in his second game back since suffering a concussion in Week 2, threw for a modest 270 yards and no touchdowns. The lone six-point score on offence came from a three-yard run by Nick Marshall on his only carry of the game.

Saskatchewan also relied on the sturdy foot of Brett Lauther, who connected on all six of his field-goal attempts. Special teams added a touchdown, too, off a blocked field goal.

“They got out to an early lead and kept pressure on and played good defence, obviously,” said O’Shea.

Indeed, a stellar defensive effort by the Roughriders was on display. Not only did the defence account for a touchdown — another score by Marshall, who was playing his regular position at corner when he returned an interception 67 yards to pay dirt — they also limited a prolific Calgary offence for much of the night.

Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was held in check until late, accounting for just 12 points through much of the first three quarters before exploding for 15 points down the stretch with the game out of reach.

Mitchell, considered to have had an off night, still finished with 275 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bombers understand it takes all three phases to win each week, and with Calgary being the dominant team it is, the emphasis for a complete game is that much more important.

“We’re halfway through the season right now and bodies start getting tired and sore and maybe your mental toughness starts slipping a bit and you just kind of get in a comfortable mode, where you’re doing things good enough or well enough,” Bombers offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld said.

“I think Calgary is a team that is always kind of pushing that level of comfort, they’re never satisfied. They force you to play your best football.”

For any club, no matter what their record is, the week following a loss is never a fun exercise.

Mistakes are always easy to go over after a win, because ultimately they didn’t result in a loss. When you lose, the accountability for those mishaps is much harder to swallow and therefore a desire to rectify those issues the following week can simmer for days, only to reach a boiling point come the next game.

For the 5-4 Bombers, that meant closely dissecting a 44-21 loss at home to the Ottawa Redblacks that snapped a three-game winning streak. The Bombers’ offence sputtered under quarterback Matt Nichols, while the defence gave up nearly 500 yards of net offence.

“You get a clean slate because it’s a new week but at the end of the day you feel that edge because we want to make up for what we did last week. We’re going to play with an edge because we don’t want to get embarrassed like we did last week,” said Bombers linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox.

“We want to prove that wasn’t us last week. We know they’re a better team than they put out last week and we know we’re a better team than we put out last week. So when you both have something to prove, it just brings great football.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton