Bombers have something to prove

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This article was published 29/09/2022 (1073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s Friday Night Lights on the Prairies, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders meet for the third and final regular-season game at IG Field.

The Bombers have a 2-0 season-series lead on the Roughriders. Winnipeg earned a narrow 20-18 victory over Saskatchewan in the annual Labour Day Classic in Regina, and then followed that up the next week with a 54-20 beatdown in the Banjo Bowl.

That sets the stage for what should be a physical and emotional affair Friday, with both clubs jockeying for position in a competitive West Division. With only a handful of games remaining before playoffs, there’s an added emphasis among teams to find a level of consistency in their play down the final stretch.

Winnipeg can clinch a home playoff game with a win, meaning they can finish no lower than second in the West. Meanwhile, a loss by Saskatchewan would eliminate any chance to represent the West in the post-season, leaving the Roughriders to fight for the crossover spot in the East.

With that, here are five storylines to keep an eye on heading into Friday’s game.

FRESH OFF THE BYE

The Bombers are coming off their worst defeat in years, dating back to Week 13 in 2019, after falling to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 48-31, at Tim Hortons Field on Sept. 17. It was just their second loss of the season, dropping their record to 12-2, and the second time this year they’ve been beaten heading into a bye week.

The players were concerned after the game in Hamilton, with the time away and a strong week of practice, the Bombers are ready to get back on track and into the win column. While the loss was disappointing, what matters now is their response against the Roughriders.

The Bombers are 9-1 in games after a bye week, dating back to the 2017 season. After losing to the Montreal Alouettes in Week 10, Winnipeg returned from a week off to beat the Calgary Stampeders, followed by the back-to-back wins over Saskatchewan.

The Roughriders, who are 6-8, are also coming off the bye. They’ve been almost as good in their return to action, boasting a 7-2 mark in their last nine games.

That doesn’t take into account the Bombers have won the last four games against the Roughriders and the last five on home turf. With the way Saskatchewan is trending this season, I don’t see any surprises happening in this one.

ROUGH RIDE IN SASK

It’s been a rough ride this year for Saskatchewan and particularly of late. After opening the season 4-1, the Roughriders are 2-7 in their last nine games and enter Friday having lost three straight — the most recent defeat coming at home to the 4-10 Edmonton Elks in Week 15.

The issues run deep, to be sure, with conflict brewing on and off the field seemingly every week. Injuries throughout the lineup haven’t helped — several starters remain out, with the most recent being dynamic running back Frankie Hickson added to the six-game injured list — but the lack of a quality leadership group has been the most glaring concern.

What’s more, the Roughriders are in danger of missing the playoffs, which would be an epic failure as this year’s Grey Cup hosts. With four games remaining, Saskatchewan needs to make some hay here in the final month to ensure a place in the post-season.

That’s easier said than done given the difficult schedule they have. After the Bombers, the Roughriders play on the road against the Tiger-Cats (4-10), the club currently chasing them, followed by back-to-back games against a good Calgary Stampeders team to close out the regular season.

This is a desperate team and they’ll need to play like one against the Bombers.

GETTING AFTER FAJARDO

Not only did the loss to Edmonton cost Saskatchewan two points in the standings, it also provided the rest of the league with a new blueprint to beat the Roughriders.

It’s long been known, even before the 2022 season got underway, that the weak spot for Saskatchewan is on the offensive line. The Elks managed to take that to a whole new level, though, often sending a thinner-than-usual rush attack on defence, to great success.

In fact, Edmonton rushed three — one fewer than the usual four — on more than 70 per cent of their defensive plays, leading to half of its eight total quarterback sacks on the night (the other four were on four-man rushes). By rushing one fewer player, while still getting pressure, that allowed one more defender to drop into coverage, further complicating the reads of quarterback Cody Fajardo.

There’s no guarantee the Bombers will follow suit, but with defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat ruled out with an ankle injury, it might be a way to compensate for his loss and help out a banged-up secondary that got torched by Hamilton. The return of centre Dan Clark, who has been out since Week 2 with a broken fibula, should help Saskatchewan; either way, getting pressure on Fajardo will be paramount, and no team has allowed more sacks against this year than the Roughriders, with 59 in 14 games.

SECONDARY A PRIME FOCUS

The loss of Jeffcoat is a significant one, even if the Bombers have arguably the best defensive player in the CFL in Willie Jefferson still coming off the edge.

The Bombers rely heavily on their front push to give the other players on defence a chance to make plays. If the Bombers can’t provide that pressure on Fajardo, they could be vulnerable in a secondary that’s missing a couple of its usual pieces.

With Demerio Houston still on the six-game injured list and Nick Taylor spending another week on the one-game injured list, Winnipeg will once again look to a pair of first-year defensive backs in Evan Holm and Jamal Parker to patrol the field side. Safety Brandon Alexander should only feel more comfortable after making his 2022 debut against the Tiger-Cats following off-season knee surgery, but you can’t expect him to be at his usual all-star level in just his second game back.

In Week 15, Hamilton quarterback Dane Evans had all kinds of time to throw the ball, leading to a 78 per cent completion rate (25-for-32) for 327 passing yards and a career-high five touchdowns. That was by far Evans’ best performance in a season he’s struggled mightily.

If there’s any area on the Bombers open to exploitation, it’s the secondary, making the team’s last line of defence a primary focus in this game.

AWARD WATCH

With Nathan Rourke suffering a season-ending foot injury earlier this year, it’s starting to feel like a one-man race for the league’s most outstanding player.

Indeed, Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros is on pace to earn his second straight MOP award. Among players with at least 10 starts this season, Collaros is first in the CFL in passing touchdowns (28), QB efficiency (110.4) and completion percentage (70.3) and second in passing yards (3,578).

He’s led an offence that has scored touchdowns on nearly 25 per cent of its possessions, which, if the number holds up, would be highest on record since the league first started keeping possession stats in 2009. Collaros has a way to go still, but it’s hard to imagine anyone making up ground on him over the next month.

The same can be said for receiver Dalton Schoen and his bid for rookie of the year. No one seems even close to Schoen, who is tied with B.C.’s Dominique Rhymes for most touchdowns by a receiver, with 10.

The 25-year-old Kansas native needs just 12 receiving yards to hit 1,000 on the year. That would make Schoen just the seventh receiver in Bombers history to go over 1,000 yards in his first season. The most yards accumulated were from Perry Tuttle, who had 1,373 yards in 18 games back in 1986.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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