Blue trending in right direction

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did just enough to outduel the Calgary Stampeders, earning a much-needed victory in what turned out to be a West Division shootout at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night.

Once the dust settled, it was the Blue and Gold left standing, the thrilling 41-37 win improving Winnipeg’s record to 2-4. While there’s certainly more work to be done to get back to a respectable mark, the Bombers are trending in the right direction after a slow start, winners of back-to-back games after dropping their first four.

The Bombers trailed for much of the opening half, taking their first lead of the game just minutes before the break. They would fall behind again midway through the fourth quarter, only to mount a late touchdown drive to seal the victory.

The game saw the return of star quarterback Zach Collaros, who helped spark an attack that had been quiet for much of the year. Collaros and the offence posted a season-high 444 yards of net offence and 25 points.

Winnipeg got contributions in all three phases, including a trio of takeaways from the defence and a crucial blocked punt, as well as four Sergio Castillo field goals on special teams. The Stamps dropped to 2-3 with the loss.

Let’s dive deeper into the win in the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

COLLAROS COMES UP BIG

It wasn’t that Collaros needed to throw the lights out, but another modest showing wouldn’t have done much to quiet the doubters who have been viewing a slow start by the future Hall of Famer as a permanent step back.

The negative noise around Collaros should ease following a stellar performance against a talented Stampeders defence. Collaros wasn’t perfect, finishing the night with a pair of interceptions, including an underthrown pass to Nic Demski in the end zone, but he did look a lot more like himself.

Collaros finished the night 27-for-36 passing, for 316 yards, two touchdowns and the two picks. He registered his first two passing touchdowns since Week 20 of last season, connecting with Ontaria Wilson on a 30-yarder, before finding Demski from 10 yards out to cap off a long game-winning series.

It was on that nine-play, 102-yard drive that Collaros was at his best. With the game on the line, and the series starting on Winnipeg’s 8, the 35-year-old looked clinical, completing all six of his passes for 84 yards.

When their backs were up against the wall, Collaros was able to deliver. That’s why he remains among the best players in the CFL.

WILSON HITS 200

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea has spoken for weeks, in the aftermath of losing star receivers Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen to injury, about the club’s talented group of young receivers. We finally saw what he was talking about against the Stampeders.

Wilson was a ball magnet on Friday, reeling in an incredible 13 catches for a whopping 201 receiving yards, along with the touchdown. Wilson had a fairly quiet first half, with just a four-yard reception on two targets, until the final moments of the second quarter.

Wilson caught a 25-yard pass, then followed that up with the 30-yard TD that he caught from his knees in the back left corner of the end zone. He would go on to catch three more balls in the third quarter for 38 yards, saving his best for the final frame, with another 86 yards on six passes in the fourth quarter.

The catches weren’t simple routine plays, either, with Wilson showing off his athleticism by stretching out on several grabs. He was also quick to turn upfield, which is evidence of his progress over the last few weeks, finishing with 54 yards after the catch.

There’s a chance this could be simply a one-off, another in a long list of players who show out, then can’t show up again. But given the level of difficulty on a number of his receptions, Wilson could very well be the real deal, which would be a great development for an offence in need of another game-breaker.

TAKE AND GIVE FOR BOMBERS D

The defence continued its run of forcing turnovers, adding three to their totals with a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Deatrick Nichols returned his pick 55 yards to the house, earning his first pick-6 in 52 CFL games. Before that, it was Tyrell Ford who intercepted Stampeders QB Jake Maier, making up for a costly missed tackle that set up a Calgary touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

It was also Nichols who forced the fumble on Stampeders running back Dedrick Mills, which was recovered by rookie Lucky Ogbevoen.

That gives the Bombers eight takeaways over their last three games, after recording just two through the first three. O’Shea credited the recent boost to a higher comfort level by the defence, a unit that is still trying to find its groove under new defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger.

But as critical as those plays were in securing the win, there were also a number of less desirable moments that will need to be cleaned up. The Bombers allowed Mills to eclipse 100 rushing yards, including big runs of 53 and 23 yards, while also surrendering five gains of at least 25 yards through the air, with three of those at least 32 yards.

Maier was coming off two underwhelming passing performances, including throwing just 106 yards in a Week 5 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. Against Winnipeg, Maier was 20-for-31 passing for 316 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Calgary ended with 458 net offensive yards, which was 14 more than Winnipeg.

OUT-OF-BLUE CALLS

O’Shea is one of the most conservative coaches in the CFL. He’s not averse to taking risks, but where some teams might gamble, the Bombers head coach is known to play it safe.

That’s why it was so surprising to see not one, but two uncharacteristic calls from O’Shea on this night.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea made two uncharacteristic but gutsy calls during the game.

The first one was throwing a challenge flag on a pass to Demski that was blown dead by the officials, one of whom believed the ball had contacted the turf. Because the pass was caught two yards behind the line of scrimmage before Demski eventually travelled eight yards beyond it, even if O’Shea was successful on the challenge, the play would have resulted in a two-yard loss.

Raging with anger, O’Shea threw the challenge flag anyways, and the play was overturned, putting the Bombers in second-and-12 from Calgary’s 40. O’Shea said after the game that he challenged the play simply to prove a point.

I asked him why he was so angry, and O’Shea said it was because it was the official on the other side of the field that made the incorrect call and that the official closest to the play had it as a clean catch. He just preferred to rub the official’s nose in it by challenging the play.

The other surprising decision was to go for the two-point covert following the late Demski TD, something O’Shea never does, especially in a tight game. The Bombers would convert the convert, putting them up by four points with three minutes remaining.

It was a gusty call — a failed convert would have left the Bombers in a vulnerable position, up just two points and the Stampeders having the best kicker in the league in Rene Paredes — but it worked out incredibly well. Not only did it force the Stampeders to go the whole field to score, but it also clinched the season series for the Bombers on point differential by a single point.

FOR THE W

This was a massive win for the Bombers. And not just because 2-4 sounds a heck of a lot better than 1-5.

The West is going to be a tight race all year and earning the season series against the Stampeders could prove significant when jockeying for position in the standings come the fall. Although the score was a bit too high for comfort, the Bombers have struggled to win in close games this year, so gutting out a victory in such a tight affair is another sign of progress.

The offensive line continues to improve, which will he critical if this club plans to return to the Grey Cup for a fifth consecutive year. Special teams are also rounding into form, and while the defence was susceptible to some big plays against, they’ve been the most consistent phase this season.

Life doesn’t get any easier for Winnipeg.

The Bombers head out on the road the next two weeks, beginning with the 4-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday. Then they’re off to Toronto to play the Argonauts, who just delivered the Montreal Alouettes their first loss of the season.

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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.