Nichols singing happy tune after record-breaker

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2019 (2242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were no boo birds to be heard at IG Field on Friday night.

And why would there be? The home team spanked the visiting Ottawa Redblacks en route to a 31-1 victory to keep their perfect record alive at 5-0.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols continued his stellar 2019 campaign, after a quiet first quarter where the Blue and Gold only had three first downs and 43 net yards, as the 32-year-old dominated by completing 25 of 29 passes for 295 yards and two touchdown throws.

He also broke a 38-year-old single-game club record on the night by completing 19 straight passes. The previous franchise record of 16 was set by Dieter Brock in 1981. The record-breaking accomplishment was announced to the crowd with two minutes left in the game and Nichols was showered with cheers from the fans who stayed until the final whistle.

“Any individual thing is a full offensive stat to me,” Nichols said after the game.

“I didn’t know why the camera was in my face and why the crowd was going nuts, but Darren Cameron, our PR guy, told me afterwards what it was. Obviously, I pride myself on being very efficient, so that’s something that’s great, but again, it’s receivers making tough catches, it’s the O-line keeping me clean in the pocket. It’s everything.”

The last time the Redblacks came to town, Nichols was given a much different reception from the crowd at IG Field. It was Aug. 17, 2018, and Nichols was a modest 23 of 35 for 291 yards while tossing two TDs and an interception in a 44-21 loss to drop the Bombers’ record to 5-4 at the time.

At one point, Nichols went down with an injury, but he shook it off and made his way back onto the field in the fourth quarter with 4:15 left on the clock — despite the game being out of reach.

But Nichols wasn’t given a hero’s welcome. Instead, he was met with a bunch of boos from frustrated Bomber fans, which led to Nichols giving an emotional response to the media after the game.

“I usually wouldn’t ever say anything like this and I probably even shouldn’t, but I’m going to,” Nichols told reporters after last year’s loss to Ottawa.

“The saddest thing tonight for me was I feel like I give my heart to this city and this team. It’s pretty frustrating to… I put everything in there to go out there and try to perform for my teammates and these fans, and it was pretty sad for me.”

It’s crazy the difference a year makes. There’s no longer anybody calling for Nichols’ head. There’s nobody insisting Chris Streveler is a better option. And there sure aren’t any Blue and Gold supporters who are booing their starting quarterback.

Instead, Nichols is leading the way for the only undefeated team in the CFL and playing the best football of his career. Nichols also added to his league-leading touchdown total on Friday, as he now has 12 to go along with only one interception.

To no surprise, Nichols was singing a much different tune after this Ottawa game.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t think about last year or anything in the past,” Nichols said of last year’s boos.

“But, it was an awesome atmosphere out there tonight. Our fans were going nuts at the right moments and getting our defence fired up and obviously when we make big plays on offence and you hear that eruption, I mean, it just brings energy to the building and propels that other side when they go out there. It’s great playing in front of this fan base. The buzz around the city, getting stopped by everyone everywhere you go telling you how excited they are, it’s a great place to play football.”

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31