Blue back away from the Brink, just in time

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/10/2010 (5809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The obituary had gone to press. The last shovel of dirt was being dumped on the casket that represented the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 2010 season and the angry mob was heading home… perhaps for good.

But in one of the most improbable and unlikely comebacks in CFL history, the Bombers rallied from a 32-11 deficit to a 47-35 overtime victory over the B.C. Lions at Canad Inns Stadium on Thanksgiving Monday to breathe some life into a campaign that has been short on thrills and big on heartache.

Officially, this bunch is still laid up in the intensive care unit — they are 4-10 and still need a whole pile of help to be playing a meaningful game next month — but they have bought themselves at least one more week of life.

“This reminds me of that scene in Dumb and Dumber where that girls tells Jim Carrey there’s a one-in-a-million chance of a guy like him dating a girl like her and he says, ‘So you’re saying there’s a chance….'” began veteran Bomber defensive tackle Doug Brown in a raucous dressing room. “There’s a little light shining in through the door right now. It’s almost closed, but we still have a chance.”

At 4-10 the Bombers trail the Lions, 5-9, by two points but need to finish ahead of their West opponent to qualify as a crossover team. The Bombers could also catch the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, both 7-7, if they win out and one of those clubs was to lose their four remaining games.

In other words, it’s still a long shot.

Now to properly encapsulate the Bombers’ improbably victory, consider this:

— It was led by Steven Jyles, benched earlier in the week, who entered the contest with five minutes remaining in the third quarter — and the Bombers trailing 25-11 — and completed 11 of 19 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns; the second a 39-yarder to Greg Carr with 57 seconds left that pulled the Bombers to within a field goal at 32-29.

Just for the record, Bomber starting QB Alex Brink was good on just four of 18 passes for 61 yards and was yanked after being booed for most of the second and third quarters.

“I feel great about it. We won and that’s the bottom line,” said Jyles. “If I had played or if had Brink had finished the game I just wanted the victory.

“I learned a lot about them taking me out. Coach LaPolice explained it to me: we have games that are close and we have to find a way to win them. That’s just business and I’m glad I had a chance to make the plays this week.”

— It was provided courtesy Jovon Johnson’s 59-yard punt return with 11 seconds remaining that set up Justin Palardy’s 42-yard field goal with no time remaining to send the game into overtime.

“I was just thinking, ‘I gotta make a play and then I just did what I do,'” said Johnson. It was helped along by an idiotic penalty by Lions defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell, who threw a punch into the private parts of Bomber tackle Andre Douglas — this after a B.C. sack — and was tossed after being nailed for 25 yards. That set the Bombers up for an OT field goal to keep them in the contest after B.C. had earlier connected for three.

— It was punctuated by Yvenson Bernard — playing in his first game of the season — who scored from two yards out in OT.

— And it was hammered home by cornerback Deon Beasley — who began the year on the Bombers practice roster — who ended it with a 72-yard interception return on the final play.

In the end one of the most complete collapses of the Bomber season — they gave up 24 unanswered points in the third quarter — became one of the most complete victories of the campaign in a matter of just over 15 minutes and change.

“Throughout the game I kept saying, ‘guys, it’s not over. It’s not over. I’ve come back from this a couple of times. We can do it,'” said Bomber centre Obby Khan. “And we did it.

“I was standing beside Brendon LaBatte, we looked up at the crowd and we saw this mass exodus of people. And I said, ‘You know what? This is the CFL and anything can happen.’ Me and LaBatte just looked at each other and said, ‘We can do it.’ Everyone stepped up.

“This is first genuine good feeling we’ve had in a while. We’ve been down, it’s been losses in close game after close game and we always said we need to finish. Well, we finished today.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca.

KEY PLAY

This game doesn’t go to OT and serve up all the extra-time heroics if not for Jovon Johnson’s 59-yard punt return with less than 20 seconds remaining. That sets up Justin Palardy’s 42-yarder with no time remaining to tie the game.

KEY PLAYER

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QB Steven Jyles. So many Bombers stood out in the end, but it was Jyles who rallied the troops in a game that should cement who starts the final four games.

KEY STAT

36-3: The Bombers outscored the Lions by that margin in the fourth quarter and OT.