Air Adams dissects Bombers D

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This article was published 21/06/2024 (538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

It’s a lesson the Winnipeg Blue Bombers learned the hard way, falling to the B.C. Lions 26-24 in front of 31,210 at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night.

There was a lot riding on this game after the Blue and Gold opened the season with back-to-back losses for the first time since 2016. This was their first game against a West Division opponent, and with the Lions being many pundits pick to win the Grey Cup, a win would have done wonders in changing the narrative that Winnipeg, following years of dominance, had taken a step back this year.

Instead, those claims will only get louder, as the Bombers fall to 0-3 for the first time since 2012. That season, Winnipeg finished 6-12, finishing third in East Division before losing in a crossover playoff game against Edmonton.

“We’re looking for silver linings? This is pro sport,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after the game, when asked about playing their best game of the year. “But in real tight losses, there’s always some good things. We had an opportunity at the very end to make a good difference. Just didn’t work out for us today.”

While the Bombers remain in the basement of the West, the Lions improved to 2-1, rebounding from a Week 1 loss to the Toronto Argonauts with back-to-back victories.

Zach Collaros finished the game 23-for-30 passing for 247 yards and has yet to throw for a touchdown. Backup pivot Chris Streveler accounted for all three of Winnipeg’s touchdowns, while the offence racked up 339 yards. It didn’t help that the Bombers lost a pair of receivers in Dalton Schoen and Keric Wheatfall to injury, with no update from O’Shea.

Nic Demski led all Bombers receivers with eight catches for 94 yards, with Drew Wolitarsky not far behind with seven catches for 72 yards. Brady Oliveira returned to the lineup but was limited after coming back from a knee injury, finishing with nine carries for 64 yards.

“It’s a long season; we’ve got a lot more football to play,” Oliveira said. “I love every person in this locker room, and I have so much faith in them. You saw it tonight, we’re starting to wear on them, and we’ll be good. We just got to stay together right now.”

Vernon Adams Jr. was his familiar self, lighting up the Bombers for 398 yards on 21-for-33 passing, along with a pair of touchdowns to Alexander Hollins, who finished with a game-high 215 receiving yards. The ground game was also effective, with William Stanback rushing 16 times for 83 yards and Adams adding 24 more yards on five runs.

“I just wanted to execute the best I could for my team, help them make big plays so we could execute and win this game,” said Hollins, who also claimed he told his offensive co-ordinator, Jordan Maksymic, during warm-ups that he was going to eclipse 200 yards. “I always have a good feeling, but I had a great feeling about this game plan.”

B.C. took full advantage of a Bombers defence riddled with injuries and was playing with three new starters, including two on the defensive line after Celestin Haba and Miles Fox were both injured in a Week 2 loss to Ottawa.

The Lions wasted little time to pounce, making quick work of the defence on the game’s opening drive, with Vernon Adams Jr. capping off a four-play, 84-yard series with a 71-yard touchdown pass to Alexander Hollins that made it 7-0 fewer than three minutes into the game. A 12-yard Shaun Whyte field goal made it 10-0 for the visitors by the midway mark of the opening quarter.

The Bombers ensuing drive made you think the league-leading offence from the past couple of seasons might have finally arrived after stale performances the first two weeks.

The Bombers orchestrated a brilliant 14-play, 70-yard series that saw an equal combination of run and pass plays, ending with Chris Streveler punching in a one-yard touchdown on a third-down QB sneak to cut the Lions lead to 10-7. The drive lasted more than seven minutes of the opening frame, as the Bombers edged the Lions 9:23 to 7:18 in time of possession through the first 15 minutes.

The Bombers would hold strong midway through the second quarter with the Lions knocking on the door, forcing another chip shot field goal to make it 13-7. Then with the Lions driving the field with two minutes on the clock before halftime, defensive back Marquise Bridges, who was in for an injured Deatrick Nichols, forced a fumble that was recovered by Brandon Alexander, keeping it a six-point game and giving the Bombers another crack before the break.

Facing a first-and-goal with five seconds remaining, the Bombers opted to take a shot of at the end zone rather than kick the field goal. It appeared  they might still be able to salvage three points with a field goal attempt, as there was one second remaining on the clock when Collaros’ toss to the end zone went incomplete out of bounds with one second remaining.

But the CFL command centre reviewed the play and determined the clock had started late, wiping out the second and sending the players to the locker room for halftime with the Lions up 13-7.

“We practise those situations and typically we get it off in that time,” Collaros said. “I got to do a better job of just throwing it in the dirt, pass the line of scrimmage, rather than throw the ball out of bounds because it stops an object, I believe.”

The Bombers defence struggled to pressure Adams all game, giving the Lions pivot plenty of time to go through his reads and find open receivers. Much like the start of the first half, Adams connected with Hollins for his second TD of the game to open the third quarter, the 29-yard pass to the end zone increasing the Lions’ lead to 20-7.

The Bombers opened the second half with a quick two-and-out, only to regain their touch on the second drive of the third frame.

Much like Winnipeg’s first TD, Collaros would get the Bombers down to the one-yard line and Streveler cleaned up from there with another one-yard punch-in to cut the Lions’ lead to 20-14. The drive lasted five plays and went for 70 yards, with catches from Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky, both for 24 yards, setting up the score.

The Bombers defence forced their second punt of the game on the ensuing drive, which resulted in a strong return from Chris Smith. Smith was playing his first game since injuring himself following a 109-yard punt return TD in Winnipeg’s final preseason game.

The 27-yard return was negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Nick Hallett, pushing the ball back to the Bombers’ 19. It wouldn’t matter, though, as the Bombers drove 91 yards, with Streveler completing the hat trick of touchdowns to give the Bombers their first lead of the game, 21-20.

After the Lions regained the lead with a 31-yard field goal, the Bombers took it back with a field goal of their own, with Sergio Castillo booting a 25-yarder to put Winnipeg up 5:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The game morphed into a war of attrition as the clock ticked down. B.C. threatened to score, getting as far as the Bombers’ 35, only to settle for a 42-yard field goal and a two-point lead, 26-24.

That gave Winnipeg the ball back with 2:30 remaining in the game. Collaros would connect with Nic Demski on a four-yard pass and then tried to find Demski deep on the next play, the ball just missing his outstretched finger tips.

“I don’t think I fully extended, I think I kind of misjudged it,” Demski said. “I was just so open, and sometimes even when you’re that open, you can misjudge the ball. I’m just going to put it on me.”

The Bombers decided to punt the ball rather than gambling on third down — a move that ultimately sealed their fate. Taking over the ball at their own 20-yard line with 1:54 on the clock, the Lions moved the ball down to Winnipeg’s one-yard line.

Three kneels from Adams and the victory was secured.

“We got a time out left, (there’s) 2:05 (left on the clock), and we have to stop them anyway,” O’Shea said, when asked about the decision to punt. “We turn the ball over there and they might be kicking a field goal. I just believed we were going to get it down there, which we did, they threw an incomplete pass on the first play, so I didn’t have to call a timeout. Then they took a shot (downfield).”

The Bombers will return for practice next week to get ready for a Week 4 road matchup against the Calgary Stampeders.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton