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Winnipeg Blue Bombers miss opportunities in loss to Toronto (& 10 other thoughts)

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost to the Toronto Argonauts 14-11 on Friday night in front of 32,343 fans at Princess Auto Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.

Missed opportunities

The Blue Bombers missed an opportunity to clinch first place in the West Division on Friday night as their eight-game winning streak was snapped at the hands of the Boatmen.

Winnipeg committed two turnovers in the red zone — a turnover on downs at the goal line and a fumble from Zach Collaros — both of which took points off the board. Sergio Castillo also missed field goal attempts from distances of 40 and 48 yards, one of which bounced off the upright to negate the possibility of a rouge. In total, the offence left 19 points on the field on those four possessions alone. Yikes.

Despite the early missed opportunities, there was a chance for Collaros to run for a first down on third-and-17 — he’d been sacked on the previous play — with a minute left in the game. The veteran passer was ruled just shy of marker, resulting in a turnover on downs. The call was upheld by the command centre following a challenge from Winnipeg.

Collaros needed to reach Toronto’s 48-yard line for a first down and dove at the 51, thrusting his body forward head-first. He appeared to land after the ball, which was stretched out in front of him, had reached the 48.

“(Our receivers) were running all vertical (routes). Everybody’s back was turned to me, I think (right tackle) Eric (Lofton) did a good job of washing the defensive end down and somebody fell in front of me. I was looking to throw the ball, obviously, but felt as I was approaching the line of scrimmage that I could maybe get there,” said Collaros.

“I don’t know what they were looking at regarding the challenge, if my foot was out or not. If my foot wasn’t out, I don’t really know what the rule is. It was clearly past the line if my foot wasn’t out, but I couldn’t tell on the screen if it was out.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea didn’t seem to be sure of the rule, either. Does a player get forward progress until they land out of bounds, even if the ball travels over the sideline?

“I would think — since nothing touched out of bounds as he’s crossing — it’s like putting the ball over the pylon in front of the end zone. You see that all the time — guys are completely out of bounds, not touched down, and they reach across and they get that, so I would think that that’s the same gain,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“I just threw my challenge to try and get more time to see if they had another angle and I disagreed with the spot, obviously, but it’d be very difficult (to overturn) at that point with the way they marked it.”

For the record, this is how “out of bounds” is defined by the CFL rulebook: “The ball is out of bounds when a player in possession of the ball touches a sideline, sideline in goal, dead line or the ground or any other object on or beyond these lines.”

Based on this definition, it would seem O’Shea was right and Collaros should have received forward progress to the 48. He didn’t.

As much as it appears Toronto caught a break on this game-changing late play, it was hardly the reason they won. The Blue Bombers squandered several key opportunities well before then. Heck, Winnipeg’s only touchdown — a one-yard plunge from Terry Wilson — came after a phantom pass interference call that was drawn by Kenny Lawler.

In the end, Winnipeg simply made too many mistakes. The team had possession of the ball within 40 yards of Toronto’s end zone five times and came away with 11 points, missing two field goals and turning the ball over twice. That’s simply not first-place football.

Happy anniversary

Wednesday marked the fifth anniversary of Zach Collaros being traded from Toronto to Winnipeg, which was fitting given that the two teams were set to battle only two days later.

Collaros didn’t commemorate the milestone with his best performance, completing 23-of-30 pass attempts for 249 yards and one interception, which came on a Hail Mary on the final play. He was sacked five times in the first half, four of which came after he had time to go through some initial reads. The only whiff from the offensive line came on the fourth sack when left guard Liam Dobson was badly beaten by former CFL all-star Jake Ceresna.

“(Toronto is) very good up front, they have a lot of great players,” said Collaros. “I would say at least half of those (sacks) are on me.”

“I’m sure there were a couple of times that I was trying to do too much and extend plays. I feel bad to know that (sack) number is an important thing for the offensive line and they take pride in that. When you give up one on your own, it sucks.”

The Blue Bombers appeared to make some offensive adjustments at halftime as Collaros threw far more quick-hitting passes throughout the second half, though he merely chalked that up to improved execution — not a shift in game plan. The veteran quarterback took two more sacks over the final two quarters, bringing the total on the day to seven.

“They got after us in the first half, I felt like we just couldn’t all get on the same page. They did a good job of adding hats in the run game and we just didn’t adjust on the field. We had a good game plan but we just didn’t get things rolling. We weren’t playing in sync in the first half as an offence,” said offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld.

“We’ve gotta play a little more cohesive, just be in sync. We’ve gotta find a way to be on the same page and also do it physically. I didn’t feel like we had the greatest first half physically — they got after us in the pass game. We’ll watch the tape and we’ll be critical.”

It wasn’t all bad for the veteran passer as he hit Kenny Lawler for a beautiful 49-yard long bomb early in the second quarter and moved the ball effectively for parts of the second half after getting rookie receivers Ontaria Wilson and Keric Wheatfall more involved. However, he also overthrew a potential home run shot to Nic Demski moments before halftime.

The first-round pick the Argonauts received from Winnipeg ended up not panning out as Theren Churchill, an offensive lineman out of the University of Regina, retired to spend more time with his young family. The team hit on the third-round pick, however, as Dylan Giffen, a hulking offensive lineman out of Western University, has filled in nicely at left guard with Ryan Hunter moving out to left tackle in place of Isiah Cage.

You’ve gotta start somewhere

Here’s a fact that seems inaccurate but isn’t: Chad Kelly had never started a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before Friday night.

The controversial quarterback broke the hearts of Winnipeg faithful in the Grey Cup in 2022 but did so in a relief effort, taking over from an injured and ineffective McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He also sat out the only meeting between the two teams last year and was suspended when the Blue Bombers visited Toronto earlier this season.

Kelly played relatively well against Winnipeg’s top-ranked defence, completing 16-of-23 pass attempts for 203 yards and one touchdown and rushing nine times for 33 yards. He evaded pressure effectively and found targets downfield, even getting away with a crafty throw against his body to generate a first down in the first quarter.

Was it the best performance we’ve seen from a CFL quarterback all year? No. But in hostile territory and with fans jeering him at every opportunity, Kelly rose to the occasion.

Grant returns

Janarion Grant made his return to Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night and was held in check until late in the second quarter when he broke contain on a punt return for a 46-yard gain. Some of the Winnipeg players to that side of the formation were Johnny Augustine, Brian Cole, and Mike Benson, though it’s unclear who was responsible for setting the edge.

“We all have lanes we’ve gotta cover — even myself — and with that particular play, I think a lot of guys were out of their lanes. I could testify that to myself because I was out of my lane. Especially with a great returner like that, you’ve gotta cover your lanes because if you don’t, they’re going to take advantage of that and that’s what they did. We were making mistakes that we’re not used to and it came to bite us in the ass,” said Augustine.

“I think when guys have opportunities, they try to take it and sometimes we do forget that we’ve gotta cover those lanes. On that particular play, I think a lot of guys think they had the opportunity and the chance and that’s why you can’t take those chances. We’ve gotta stay within the scheme and I can talk to myself — I’ve gotta stay within the scheme.”

Grant tried to break contain to the wide side of the field on a punt return midway through the first quarter but was tripped up by Marquise Bridges. As he fought to refind his footing, the returner took a big hit from Brian Cole and lost the ball, which was recovered for a turnover at Toronto’s nine-yard line.

For all his incredible performances as a member of the Blue Bombers, that was Grant’s flaw: ball security. He fumbled eight times over 41 games in Winnipeg, losing three. The native of Fort Trilby, Fla. also fumbled twice in the only two NFL regular season games he played, which is probably the only reason he didn’t have a long career down south.

The former CFL all-star got off to a torrid start to the year but had been somewhat cold since the midway point of the summer. Perhaps his 46-yard return will spark him again heading into the playoffs.

Short yardage shortage

Winnipeg had their first tough game in short yardage since Chris Streveler went out due to injury as Terry Wilson failed to score in two early cracks near Toronto’s goal line, resulting in a turnover on downs. The rookie quarterback gained a yard on second-and-goal from the two-yard line but was held just shy of the goal line on third down.

The play was reviewed by the command centre and upheld, which was the right call. Upon replay, it was impossible to tell exactly how much forward progress Wilson made, as is often the case in short-yardage situations. The play wouldn’t have been overturned regardless of the original call on the field.

The turnover might have spooked head coach Mike O’Shea, who had his team punt on third-and-one from the 26-yard line midway through the second quarter. The wind didn’t appear to be a factor at the time, though O’Shea contended postgame that it was “a long one,” which appeared to weigh into his decision.

Winnipeg’s short-yardage offence took the field again late in the game after Kenny Lawler drew a questionable pass interference penalty from defensive back Mark Milton. Terry Wilson needed two cracks but he eventually found the end zone.

Winnipeg’s defence more than did its part in short yardage, forcing two turnovers on downs as part of a strong overall performance.

Early in the second quarter, the unit held Cameron Dukes shy of a first down on third-and-one near midfield with Tony Jones being credited with the tackle. In the third quarter, the Blue Bombers slammed the door twice — once on Dukes, once on Kelly — with Shayne Gauthier making the touchdown-saving tackle on third down.

“Any time you get a big stop like that on the one, two-yard line, it’s huge,” said Jones. “It’s a momentum change — they were expecting points out of that and we eliminated those points, so we do get a little juice after that.”

“The D-line did a great job to stop them from progressing and then we just met in the hole and I had good timing. It was just a good play,” said Gauthier. “I’ve got a good nose for the ball in those situations — that’s why they put me out there.”

M.O.P. race

Brady Oliveira recorded 12 carries for 64 yards and caught six passes for 41 yards, a decent performance in his quest for Most Outstanding Player. He’s now up to 1,783 yards from scrimmage on the season, though he failed to reach the end zone after getting caught from behind by rookie linebacker Isaac Darkangelo on the play that immediately followed Brian Cole’s fumble recovery.

Entering this week, Toronto’s defence was the league’s top-ranked unit against the run, giving up only 75.5 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. The team dressed nine defensive linemen on Friday, including four American defensive tackles — Jake Ceresna, Ralph Holley, Jared Brinkman, and Jordan Williams — which is virtually unheard of in the CFL. Based on that personnel alone, it’s clear the unit prioritized stopping Oliveira.

Only three Canadian players have ever won M.O.P. with Jon Cornish being the most recent to do so in 2013. Oliveira was solid on Friday but this didn’t feel like the type of performance that clinched the award on his behalf. Time will tell if he plays in Winnipeg’s regular season finale against Montreal two weeks from now.

Running the QB

Veteran defensive tackle Jake Thomas was penalized for unnecessary roughness on Toronto’s first drive when he hit Chad Kelly well after the whistle. The play was blown dead as slotback DaVaris Daniels was well offside but it appeared Thomas didn’t hear the officials. Had running back Deonta McMahon not stepped in to reroute Thomas, he may very well have crushed Kelly.

“I guess there was a whistle. I thought I was trying to stop, then he fell,” said Thomas. “I guess the command centre overturned it. It wasn’t, I don’t believe, called on the field but I don’t know. I guess I just can’t touch him, try to avoid him.”

“I think that’s the new standard — you can’t touch quarterbacks. This is the second one I’ve taken kind of like this in the last month or two, so I’ve just gotta do better. I can’t make any excuses. It’s my fault.”

Winnipeg’s bench was also charged an objectionable conduct penalty following Mike O’Shea’s late-game challenge. Upon replay, it appeared as though a player who wasn’t dressed squirted water at or on an official, though O’Shea didn’t confirm what the flag was for when asked after the game.

Kelly vs. Kelly

Jake Kelly made his first career start at safety in place of Brandon Alexander, who was spotted with a cast on his arm in the locker room. The former second-round pick out of Bishop’s University appeared to do well, backing a defence that allowed 14 points, 15 first downs, 302 yards of net offence, and forced two takeaways.

The Markham, Ont. native was tested on Toronto’s first offensive drive when Ka’Deem Carey broke through the first two levels of Winnipeg’s defence untouched with a full head of steam. Kelly squared up and wrapped the ball carrier’s legs alongside Evan Holm, limiting the gain to 21 yards.

The Argonauts only tested Kelly long once when he was one-on-one in coverage against Tommy Nield early in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s quarterback unleashed a 53-yard deep shot but Kelly defended it pretty well as it fell incomplete. The young defender didn’t contest the ball but also didn’t succumb to the urge the interfere with Nield as the ball arrived, which would have resulted in a costly penalty.

Full house

The Blue Bombers ended their regular season home schedule with a fourth straight sell-out, finishing with an average attendance figure of 31,196. This is unofficially the best attendance in franchise history and a 2.5 percent increase from last year’s figure of 30,449.

Fans were treated to excellent weather for most of the year as Friday’s game was 15 degrees at kickoff and cooled to seven by the fourth quarter. It’s not unusual for Winnipeg to have at least one cold-weather regular season game but that wasn’t the case this year. We’ll have to wait and see if that trend holds come the playoffs.

I’ve written this before and I’ll write it again: enjoy it while it lasts, fans. Whether it’s next year or next decade, this team’s dominant run will eventually end and attendance will drop accordingly. It’s inevitable — just ask fans in Calgary. Enjoy it for all it’s worth in the meantime. Even with the loss to Toronto, the going is still good — great, even.

Walking wounded

Boundary halfback Deatrick Nichols left the game midway through the second quarter after making a tackle on Makai Polk but returned after missing only three plays. He was briefly replaced by Marquise Bridges, who started a game earlier this year in place of Nichols.

If the Blue Bobmers suffered any other injuries, they went unnoticed on the field. This is good news considering how many players were injured last week, some of whom could be ready to return after Winnipeg’s bye.

Next up

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-7) will enjoy a bye next week before returning to visit the Montreal Alouettes (11-3-1) on Saturday, Oct. 26 to close out the regular season. Montreal has already clinched first place in the East Division, so the game will be meaningless for them as far as the standings are concerned.

For Winnipeg, the game could mean a lot. If Saskatchewan loses to B.C. on Saturday in Regina, the team will host the West Final for the fourth straight year. If the Riders win, the Blue Bombers won’t have a chance to secure first place until their final game against Montreal.

“It’s a big game for us, too,” said linebacker Tony Jones. “Definitely, we’re going to tune in and watch that game being Lions fans tomorrow.”

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John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.

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