Bad outweighed the good in Bombers’ loss to Alouettes

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This article was published 22/09/2019 (2210 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did everything right for the first two quarters of Saturday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes. But as good a first half of football that it was at Molson Stadium, what followed was arguably the most disturbing 30 minutes the team has played all season.

In the end, the bad outweighed the good and the Bombers dropped a heart-breaking 38-37 decision to the Alouettes. The game was decided in the final seconds, when Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams delivered a 15-yard pass to Jake Wieneke for the go-ahead touchdown with six seconds remaining.

NO WORDS. #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/h1JUI3NBpH

— CFL (@CFL) September 21, 2019

 

The play capped off incredible fourth-quarter comeback for the Alouettes, who improved to 7-5 with the victory and now have a commanding lead on second place in a weak East Division. The Bombers dropped to 9-4 in the defeat, but not all was lost on the night for the Blue and Gold.

The Bombers are still in top spot in the West, tied with the Calgary Stampeders, and thanks to a B.C. Lions win over the Ottawa Redblacks have clinched a playoff berth. The next five games will ultimately determine where the Bombers finish, of course, but it certainly doesn’t get easy from here on out.

But before we look too far ahead, here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game.

 

1) Everyone shares responsibility in this colossal meltdown, from the coaching staff to the players, to maybe even the janitors back at IG Field. The point is: football is the ultimate team sport and on Saturday there were breakdowns in all three phases of the game.

First: the offence. After scoring touchdowns on its first four drives, Winnipeg’s attack was completely invisible in the second half, mustering only three points and 107 yards of net offence. Perhaps what was most damaging down the stretch was once again when the Bombers needed a lengthy drive to drain out the clock, the offence was unable to deliver.

It was a shame, too, because Chris Streveler was playing some of his best football as a professional. Even under Matt Nichols, the Bombers offence has rarely looked as smooth as it did in the early goings Saturday.

Beauty for the @Wpg_BlueBombers ��@cstrevy finds @AdamsDarvin for the second TD on two drives! #CFLGameDay

WPG 14 – MTL 3 pic.twitter.com/0NF4fQDoqj

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 21, 2019

.@cstrevy having an absolute game for the @Wpg_BlueBombers ��.#CFLGameDay

WPG 21 – MTL 3 pic.twitter.com/NA73mDNnfO

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 21, 2019

Streveler was moving the ball with his arm and with his legs, including a game-opening nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that serves as the perfect five-minute video for how to completely tear apart a defence. But whatever promise the first two quarters may have created, it completely loss all juice by the end of the night.

 

2) The Bombers have shown at many points this season they have the makings of a Grey Cup contender. Much of that hype has come from a dominating defensive group that has allowed Winnipeg to navigate through various injuries this year to important positions on the offensive side of the ball.

But there has been a very concerning pattern with this group, and it reared its ugly head again in Montreal. Winnipeg had a commanding 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, an edge that should have been enough for this group to contain even with a dip in play from the offence.

You could almost see the game turning nearing the end of the third quarter, when Adams was orchestrating what would be the first of three touchdowns in the final frame. But it was the final drive that summoned a nasty feeling of déjà vu.

With just 1:02 on the clock to play with, the Alouettes marched 94 yards on six plays to seal the comeback. Some of it seemed lucky – including a seven-yard completion on a pass that should have been intercepted, followed by a third-and-three conversion on the ensuing play – but a lot of it felt all too familiar.

It was the third time this season the defence had had the chance to close out a game in the dying seconds only to fall short. It happened in Toronto against the Argonauts in Week 8, when a 6-play, 94-yard touchdown drive ended the game. Then again in Saskatchewan over the Labour Day weekend, when quarterback Cody Farjardo went 11 plays and 87 yards to set up a 26-yard, game-winning field goal.

 

3) After the game Bombers safety Jeff Hecht tried coming up with reasons for why the defence seemed to fold when it mattered most. While at the same time also open to suggestions.

“I wish I knew why. Whether it’s self-scouting or guys self-assessing their own will power or maybe coaches assessing schematics or us players having a higher sense of awareness for situational football,” Hecht said. “If you’ve got an idea I’d love to hear it because this is an ugly habit now. So we got to figure out what the hell is going on.”

Though the Bombers surely went over the film of that devastating final quarter in their usual meeting the day after a game, it wasn’t hard to identify the biggest issue for them on the field. The greatest challenge for the defence was trying to contain the play of Adams.

Adams, the Alouettes budding superstar quarterback, had a coming out party against the Bombers, finishing the night with an eye-popping 488 passing yards, 248 of which came in the fourth quarter. While the 26-year-old pivot was able to take advantage of communication breakdowns in the Bombers secondary, he also created much of that confusion with his feet.

A number of times when Adams was forced out of the pocket, he’d buy enough time to deliver a pass deep down field or take off running. He looked both confident and composed, everything you need to be a bona fide No. 1 quarterback in the CFL. After years of looking, Montreal appears to finally have its guy.

 

4) All eyes were on Bombers running back Andrew Harris as he returned from a two-game suspension after a failed drug test revealed he had a performance-enhancing drug in his system.

Harris, who has claimed his innocence and is taking steps to clear his name, had spoke all week about the stress of hearing negative comments aimed his way. Already motivated to silence his critics, he was given an added boost from Alouettes defensive end John Bowman, who called Harris a cheater and argued that his suspension should have been longer.

Though Harris wouldn’t get the last laugh, he did have a stellar outing. He combined for 188 yards from the line of scrimmage, including 9 carries for 84 yards. His greatest impact was in the air attack, where he had a team-high 112 receiving yards on five catches. On one trick play, a direct snap to receiver Darvin Adams led to a 74-yard gain to Harris, who needed three defenders to take him down at the one-yard line.

������ https://t.co/EdvwgKUpD9

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 21, 2019

In a way, it was redemption for Harris. But with plenty of season to go, fair or not, he’ll continue to have his play closely monitored. He’s also likely to hear a lot more from players and fans.

 

5) It was the kind of situation the Bombers were hoping wouldn’t come back to haunt them. When Winnipeg released veteran receiver Chris Matthews late last month, it took exactly two days before the Alouettes snatched him up.

Matthews told the Free Press a couple days before Saturday’s game that had circled it on his calendar – a common habit by any player up against their former team for the first time – but he took it one step further by declaring it the perfect time for a breakout performance.

Matthews said his prediction for a big game wasn’t just because he was playing the team that gave up on him. Most of his confidence came from being more comfortable with the Alouettes’ playbook and the fact Adams liked to throw the ball down field – something Matthews said wasn’t the case in Winnipeg.

Either way, Matthews delivered on his promise. He reeled in three of five targets for a modest 39 yards, but two of those receptions were for touchdowns. His first score came after Streveler threw an interception late in the first half, in what was the first time Montreal had scored points off a turnover all season. His second touchdown kicked off the fourth-quarter comeback.

.@TheRealCMaTT13 with touchdown number two on the day! ��#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/buyeIyamRE

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 21, 2019

The Bombers play the Alouettes for the second and final time in the regular season on Oct. 12, in what should be a spirited rematch.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton