Battle of the unbeaten

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This article was published 21/06/2023 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the Battle of the Unbeatens, as the B.C. Lions stroll into town to take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a Week 3 matchup at IG Field Thursday night.

The Bombers and Lions are both perfect through the first two weeks. Winnipeg opened the season with wins over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (42-31) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (45-27), while B.C.’s victories have come against the Calgary Stampeders (25-15) and Edmonton Elks (22-0).

It was a similar scene last season, with the two West Division clubs meeting for the first time in Week 5, both with perfect records — the Bombers at 5-0 and the Lions 4-0. Winnipeg would earn a convincing 43-22 victory, which came at home, under the hot July sun.

The Bombers would go on to end the Lions’ season, beating them in the West Final, before Winnipeg fell to the Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup. Lots has happened since then and while history certainly favours the Blue and Gold, the Lions will undoubtedly be seeking some redemption, savouring the opportunity to knock off the CFL’s best team on their own turf.

To get you better prepared for kickoff, here’s everything you need to know in the latest edition of 5 Storylines.

WESTERN WARRIORS

Several pundits around the CFL have the Bombers and Lions battling it out for top spot in the West again this season, after the two clubs finished first and second, respectively, in 2022. Given that, some might refer to the game as a measuring stick for both sides, but that seems to only apply to the Lions, as the Bombers have won six of the previous seven meetings.

But while Winnipeg has been dominant against B.C. in recent years, and have been a particularly tough out at home — it’s been five years since a Western opponent has won at IG Field — the Lions aren’t to be taken lightly. A large part of the Bombers success over the past few years is owing to their continuity from year to year, something the Lions have also started to establish within their group, with their roster filled with veteran players who have been around for some time.

“I was thinking about that yesterday while I was watching tape; these guys have played a lot of football together,” Bombers QB Zach Collaros said. “They’ve done a really good job of keeping their core group together.”

The Lions will face their toughest test of the season this week and a victory will take a strong effort from all three phases. Collaros doubled down on the notion that the Bombers aren’t viewing the game as a measuring stick, but while they might not admit it, whenever a team comes to town carrying a bit of hype, Winnipeg seems to always rise to the occasion.

OFFENCE IS COOKIN’

Remember last season when the Bombers played the Lions in Week 5?

Lions defensive back Marcus Sayles, a former Bomber, told the Free Press that his old club’s offence was looking vanilla through the first four games. To be fair, the Bombers came out of the gates a little slow and were averaging less than 22 points per game at that point. They did, however, make Sayles eat his words as they exploded for 43 points in Vancouver that night.

It’s a completely different story this time around as you’d have a tough time finding anyone with something negative to say about the Blue and Gold attack. The Bombers have scored 87 points in their 2-0 start which is the most points they’ve tallied through the first two weeks of a season since 1987. This offence is rolling, especially Collaros who leads the CFL in passing yards (647), touchdowns (five), and quarterback rating (133.7).

But Collaros and Co. will likely need another big night as Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. has the best completion percentage in the game (74.6) and is right behind Collaros in all major categories. Adams Jr. has massive shoes to fill with Nathan Rourke bolting to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, but so far it looks like the Lions are still a contender with the former Oregon Duck under centre.

GRANT’S THE GUY

Janarion Grant owned the Lions last year.

It started in Week 5 when he scored on a kick return at BC Place. The two sides played in Vancouver again in Week 19, and Grant took a punt 94 yards to the house to officially move past Keith Stokes for most return scores in franchise history.

You’d think the Lions would’ve learned after that, but they didn’t. The Rutgers University product made them pay once again, this time in the 2022 West Final at IG Field on a 92-yard punt return.

Their special teams coordinator Don Yanowsky left the team for the season owing to family reasons, leading to the Lions bringing in Mike Benevides as a special teams consultant. Benevides was the head coach of the Lions from 2012-14.

It goes without saying, but Benevides better have a solution to slow down the top returner in the league. Grant also found the end zone on an electric 92-yard punt return last week in Regina.

OLIVEIRA A GAME-TIME DECISION

The Bombers are anxiously awaiting Thursday morning to make a final decision on whether RB Brady Oliveira will play. Oliveira got banged up — he’s listed as having a thorax injury — in the fourth quarter against the Roughriders, and while he returned to the field after suffering the damaging blow, he was unable to finish the game.

This one truly feels like a game-time decision. Just how close? If the Bombers were playing Wednesday, the belief is Oliveira would not be in the lineup. But the team is hopeful another day will make all the difference.

Oliveira was extremely limited in practice this week, with much of the first-team reps on offence going to Johnny Augustine. If Oliveira can’t go, the Bombers will likely also add Greg McCrae from the practice roster.

I just can’t see Oliveira not playing, but I would have said the same thing about Mike Miller, who was a game-time decision ahead of Week 1 and has since been added to the six-game injured list. But based on Oliveira’s high spirits after Wednesday’s walkthrough, not to mention his No. 1 goal this year of playing in all 18 regular-season games, my money is on him playing and continuing his stellar start to the year.

SECONDARY TAKES ANOTHER HIT

The Bombers have been by far the most impressive team in the league through two games, but they’re not perfect.

One of their few red flags right now is the secondary as the group gave up 413 passing yards and three touchdowns last week to Riders pivot Trevor Harris. If Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell wasn’t so inaccurate in Week 1, he could’ve registered some juicy numbers as well.

The secondary is also where the Bombers have the most players missing as injuries have prevented defensive backs Jamal Parker and Winston Rose from playing a snap in 2023. The team will also be without Demerio Houston, who had two interceptions in the season opener, against the Lions as the third-year pro is away dealing with a personal matter. Head coach Mike O’Shea wouldn’t reveal how much time Houston is expected to miss.

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With Houston not available, Abu Daramy-Swaray, a 27-year-old from Colgate University, will take over at boundary corner for his first career start. With BC owning the second-best passing attack in the CFL behind Winnipeg, Daramy-Swaray should be busy in his debut.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JeffKHamilton

@TaylorAllen31

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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Taylor Allen
Reporter

Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of...

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