Bombers looking better and better
Lions were expected to put up a fierce fight, but Blue and Gold made them look mediocre
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/10/2021 (1435 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Despite it being a two-score game well into the fourth quarter, Friday’s clash between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions was never in doubt.
The Bombers were dominant on offence and smothering on defence, with special teams also factoring in a tidy 30-9 victory at BC Place. The win keeps the Bombers atop the West Division, at 7-1, and extends the club’s current win streak to five games.
The Lions dropped to 4-4 with the loss and will head out on their second bye week having lost two straight at home. Winnipeg and B.C. meet one more time this season, when the Lions travel to IG Field later this month, on Oct. 23.

The Bombers will return to the practice field Monday in preparation for Friday’s home game against Edmonton — the first of back-to-back games against the struggling Elks. But before we look too far ahead, let’s look back on the Bombers win over the Lions in this week’s edition of five takeaways.
1 While the defence had another solid outing, it’s come time to lead off this column with the play of the offence. You got the feeling the Bombers were building to the kind of effort we witnessed on Friday, but I’m not sure many imagined the kind of beatdown that was laid on a defence that had allowed just nine touchdowns in seven games — one off Winnipeg for the fewest in the CFL.
Quarterback Zach Collaros had his best game as a Bomber, completing 28 of 33 passes (85 per cent) for 417 passing yards and two touchdowns, as the Bombers eclipsed 500 yards of offence for the first time this season. It was just the third time in his career Collaros, who improved to 11-1 as the Bombers starter, has thrown for 400 yards.
Seven different players caught a pass, many requiring the receiver to make a good play on the ball. Drew Wolitarsky and Nic Demski were prime examples, the duo combining for eight catches and 141 yards through the air. The Bombers run game wasn’t relied upon heavily, but did play a role in extending drives, with running back Andrew Harris rushing 14 times for 81 yards.
2 There was a time when Kenny Lawler wasn’t in the Bombers immediate plans, and there was a some doubt he’d be able — or willing — to stick it out on the practice roster. He would eventually crack the lineup midway through 2019, finishing the season as the Bombers leading receiver with 637 yards.
When I asked Lawler last week if spending that time on the PR made him appreciate the opportunities he’s getting this year, his eyes widened and although he agreed wholeheartedly with the suggestion, he bit his tongue, saying he would share more at a later date.
That passion was on full display against the Lions, as Lawler reeled in 12 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown — a 27-yard strike in the second quarter. After the game, he called his stellar performance “personal,” adding that it was payback against a Lions organization that had done him wrong while he was there briefly in 2018, allegedly refusing to compensate him after he suffered an injury.
Lawler didn’t just put B.C. on notice with his breakout performance, but the entire league. He now leads the CFL with 703 receiving yards.
3 It’s not often Michael Reilly is made to look pedestrian on the football field. But that’s exactly what the Bombers defence was able to do to the Lions quarterback and CFL’s highest-paid player.
Reilly entered the game with the most passing yards, highest QB rating and best completion percentage. He had also eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark four times this season, including three of the last four games.
On Friday, Reilly was 17-for-27 for 177 passing yards, with no touchdowns. He was hurried all night, sacked six times and was forced to abandon a run game that mustered just 16 total yards between five different rushers.
The Lions were held to only field goals, made it to the red zone just once and scored just three points in the second half, and none in the fourth quarter. The Bombers have given up a combined six fourth-quarter points in eight games, for an average of 0.75 points per match.
4 It’s that time of year where we’re going to start spending a lot more time watching the standings, as the games dwindle down towards the playoffs. And this weekend was good to the Bombers.
Winnipeg was always going to remain in first place with the victory against the Lions, but that lead atop the West was only further tightened after the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday night. The Roughriders are now two games behind the Bombers, in second with a 5-3 record.
The Lions are in third, at 4-4, with the Stampeders (3-5) and Elks (2-5) taking up the basement, both battling to below-.500 records.
5 The Bombers will never admit it, but you must think they’re looking ahead at the next few weeks as a crucial opportunity to lock things up in the West. With six games remaining, the Bombers are in good position to snatch up first place — clinching a home game for the West final — potentially soon.
The Bombers play the listless Elks the next two games and will be a heavy favourite to win both games. Then it’s B.C. at home, where the Bombers just don’t lose, including wins in 15 of their last 16 games at IG Field.
Simply put, make good on three winnable games and the Bombers are 10-1, likely able to clinch the division. It’s possible Winnipeg might even win out, they’ve proven to be that much better than the rest of the CFL.
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.
Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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