Bombers trounce Lions

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This article was published 02/10/2021 (1436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — It was supposed to be a battle between two offensive juggernauts but only one team apparently received the memo.

Friday night’s game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the B.C. Lions pinned the CFL’s two best passers against one another, with Lions quarterback Michael Reilly and Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros combining for 3,601 yards heading into their Week 9 matchup. But once the dust finally settled, only Collaros lived up to the billing, tossing the lights out in a convincing 30-9 win at BC Place.

Collaros completed 28 of his 33 passes for a season-high 417 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Kenny Lawler for a 27-yard score in the second quarter and then on the Bombers next series Collaros capped off a nine-play, 89-yard drive with a 10-yard strike to Rasheed Bailey.

Collaros is now 11-1 as the Bombers starter, dating back to the 2019 Grey Cup-winning season. Winnipeg improved to 7-1 with the win, maintaining its spot atop the West Division, with a perfect 5-0 against divisional foes.

“Guys made plays when it came their way,” Collaros said after the game. “That’s kind of the mentality of that group. They’re very selfless and they don’t care who gets the touchdowns and who gets all the yards, as long as we win the game. Hats off to all those guys, they played great and made plays for me.”

Collaros connected with seven different receivers in the game. Drew Wolitarsky made a number of tough catches, reeling in four passes for 68 yards. Nic Demski also had his presence felt, finishing with four receptions for 73 yards, including one for 52 yards that set up the final of three field goals by Ali Mourtada. Demski now has a catch of over 50 yards in each of his last three games.

But the strongest performance came from Lawler, with the 27-year-old continuing his breakout season with an eye-popping 12 catches for 205 yards — an average of 17 yards per reception — and a touchdown. Lawler said the performance was personal, dating back to a short stint with the Lions in 2018, before claiming he and Collaros were the best QB-receiver duo in the CFL.

“We put the league on notice,” Lawler said. “We love our brothers; we do this for the men that are in the huddle, the men that are on the sideline and the men back home. If we got Zach, man, ain’t nothing stopping us.”

The Bombers also had spurts in the ground game, led by running back Andrew Harris, who finished with 14 carries for 81 yards. In total, Winnipeg had 508 yards of net offence, with an average gain of 9.1 yards per play

It wasn’t all perfect, though, as a pair of fumbles in the third quarter by Harris and Lawler kept the game closer than it should have been. It would remain a two-score game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, when No. 2 quarterback Sean McGuire punched in his league-leading seventh rushing touchdown to make it 30-9.

But as far as this season goes, that was the best offensive performance by Winnipeg in 2021.

“Our guys are a good team right now and it’s not by accident — they work hard at it,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“I don’t know that everything’s going our way, I don’t know the third quarter went our way, but I know that this is a tough place to win and our guys stayed focus coming off the bye week, didn’t listen to any of the stuff of where we’re at (in the standings) and stayed true to that process that’s allowed them to have some fun with each other this year.”

Whatever few shortcomings the offence had on this night were covered by yet another impressive display by the Bombers defence. Winnipeg limited a high-octane Lions offence to just nine points — all on field goals — and a dismal 205 yards.

Reilly entered the game leading the CFL in passing yards, with 1,870, a passer rating of 117.9 and a completion percentage of 74.4 per cent, to go with four games with at least 300 passing yards. But on Friday the veteran pivot looked pedestrian, finishing 17-for-27 for 177 passing yards and no touchdowns.

It didn’t help that Reilly’s top weapon in Lucky Whitehead suffered a wrist injury in the second quarter following a big hit from Brandon Alexander. Whitehead was originally ruled out of the game but returned in the second half, looking nothing like the CFL’s leading receiver. The Lions also couldn’t get the run game going, ending the night with just 16 rushing yards.

“They’re the best in the league, definitely showed tonight,” Reilly said. “They’re athletic, they’re physical, they’re aggressive and they were punishing all night. That’s the strengths of not just their defence but their entire team. So, not necessarily unexpected but definitely challenging to play against.”

Credit belongs to the Bombers defensive line, a group that was boosted with the return of defensive tackle Steven Richardson. Richardson registered the first of six quarterback sacks for the Bombers, getting to Reilly on just the second play of the game. With Reilly sidelined in the late stages of the game, and the Lions marching into Bombers territory, Winnipeg defensive back Mike Jones snuffed out an interception to end the drive.

“We just stuck with it,” Bombers defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, who also registered a sack. “We just stayed relentless, didn’t stop rushing, didn’t stop trying to get after him.”

With the loss, the Lions drop to 4-4, making it a two-horse race in the West Division, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders trailing the Bombers with a 5-2 record. The Roughriders are on the road this weekend, playing the Calgary Stampeders Saturday night.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton