Bombers going back to Grey Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/11/2022 (677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are heading back to the Grey Cup.

With a narrow 28-20 win over the B.C. Lions in front of a raucous crowd of 30,319 at IG Field Sunday afternoon, the Bombers are once again the Western Division champions. They’ll meet the Toronto Argonauts, who knocked off the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern final earlier in the day, for a shot at the 109th Grey Cup in Regina on Sunday.

For the Bombers, it marks a third straight trip to the Grey Cup and the chance to cement themselves as a dynasty, earning a rare three-peat after winning back-to-back league titles in 2019 and 2021. It will be the first time in 72 years, during back to 1950, that Winnipeg and Toronto will meet in the biggest game of the year.

“Every time you get a chance to compete for the championship, there’s no other feeling like it. Especially doing it in front of our fans and to do it the way that we did,” said Bombers receiver Nic Demski. “It didn’t go perfect for us. All three phases had each other’s back at one point or another in this game. But for us to come together as a team, it just says a lot about this program and what we’re building here.”

The Bombers entered Sunday having clinched first place in the West weeks before the regular season had wrapped. They opted to limit the playing time of several starters over their final two games, a strategy aimed at favouring rest while risking the potential for rust.

They played a Lions team full of momentum, having just come off a convincing victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West semi-final a week before – a game that also marked the full return of star quarterback Nathan Rourke. Other notable storylines included which team could fare better in the blistering prairie cold, as temperatures dropped to well below freezing, with blowing snow rearing its ugly head as the evening wore on.

In the end, it was the Bombers who were best able to rise to the occasion, with the offence, defence and special teams all playing a pivotal role in the win.

“As odd a game as you’d ever see unfold, really,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “There were so many little things going on throughout the game that prevented you from taking hold. The win is great, especially surviving some of those things. I’d just like to see it a little cleaner, that’s for sure.”

The Bombers managed to survive an early hiccup on special teams, with a lost fumble by returner Janarion Grant resulting in a one-yard touchdown by Lions backup quarterback Antonio Pipkin. That erased an opening-drive score by the Bombers, who opted to take the opening kickoff before moving the ball 59 yards on six plays, capped with a 19-yard touchdown to Dalton Schoen.

Grant would redeem himself early in the second quarter, returning a punt back 92 yards for a touchdown. It was his fourth return touchdown of the season, and third against the Lions.

“It felt glorious. Just being able to go out there and make something happen for my team,” said Grant. “I started off slow, but when I picked it up, I just kept it going.”

With Zach Collaros – who went 14-of-20 passing for 178 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in the end zone – leading the offence, Winnipeg put up 361 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The second score came on a one-yard punch-in by backup pivot Dakota Prukop, giving Winnipeg a 25-11 lead midway through the third quarter.

But the big story of the Bombers attack was the stellar play of running back Brady Oliveira. The Winnipeg native had the best game of his young CFL career, with the 25-year-old finishing with 20 carries for 130 rushing yards, along with four catches for an additional 37 yards, for a grand total of 167.

“The weather had a big part in it. You could tell as the game was going, running the ball, feeling the defenders on me and me breaking tackles, I knew that we were on the ball all game and we should stick with the run game,” Oliveira said. “It was a good feeling knowing they knew we were going to run the ball and we just kept pounding it and getting positive yards.”

Collaros provided a significant scare late in the fourth quarter, as his right leg twisted awkwardly and he was unable to finish Winnipeg’s final series, making way for No. 2 Dru Brown.

“Oh, it’s not a question,” said Collaros when asked if he expected to be fine for Grey Cup week.

There was a lot of hype around Rourke after he took the CFL by storm to start the year, averaging more than 300 passing yards a game, while throwing for 25 passing touchdowns and adding seven rushing scores before suffering a Lisfranc sprain his right foot in Week 11 that threatened the remainder of his season. After missing months of action, the 24-year-old Canadian returned for a brief appearance in the Lions’ regular-season finale against the Bombers and then played well the entire game versus Calgary, where he put up 321 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win.

But the Bombers defence made him look human, limiting Rourke’s ability to make big plays for much of the game, even with the Lions often keeping seven players back to block. Rourke started the game with five straight incompletions and had just 87 passing yards by halftime.

He would find his groove as the game went on, finishing with 300 passing yards, but Winnipeg’s defence countered with big plays at key moments, including four turnovers. The Bombers forced one fumble, which was forced by Willie Jefferson and recovered by Jake Thomas, as well as interceptions by Winston Rose and Desmond Lawrence.

The Bombers also stopped the Lions, who ended the night with 313 offensive yards, with just 28 on the ground, on a third-and-short late in the third frame.

“We took away a lot of his reads. We made him hold on to the ball. We made him have to use his legs and try to extend drives,” said Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill. “A lot of the throws were contested out there and that’s the way we wanted it. Our back end played great. Our front got after him. We made it hard on him all night.”

When Rourke threatened to tie the game on the final drive, down just eight points, it wasn’t just the defence that showed up. The more than 30,000 fans in attendance were so loud that B.C. struggled mightily to relay its last couple play calls, resulting in series that failed near midfield.

“They were at a serious disadvantage snapping the ball with two seconds left on the count and the receivers are just hoping they do the right thing,” said Bighill. “That’s why we love our fans and why homefield advantage can be such a big deal.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton