WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ red-hot play continued on Saturday, but it came at a cost.
Matt Nichols was solid, completing 21 of his 32 passes for 247 yards and two rushing touchdowns, as the Bombers won their sixth-straight game, downing the Saskatchewan Roughriders 17-10 in the annual Banjo Bowl.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the Bombers, as tailback Andrew Harris was forced out of action after one half of play due to a lower-body injury.
Winnipeg’s six-game win streak is their longest in 15 years. Not coincidentally, Nichols improved to 6-0 as a starter this season.
The Riders received an admirable effort under centre from Darian Durant. The veteran pivot completed 64% of his passes for 283 yards and a touchdown.
Defence was the story early on, as both the Bombers and Riders put together staunch performances without the ball in the first quarter.
First, the Riders seemed primed for the endzone on their opening possession, but a stingy Bomber D had other plans with their backs against the wall.
Facing 1st-and-10 on their own one-yard line, the Bombers held the line to perfection, limiting the Riders to a 14-yard field goal by Tyler Crapigna after the visitors failed to gain any positive yardage from just outside the goal line.
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, also flexed their muscle defensively, keeping Nichols to 23 yards through the air and Harris to just 17 yards on the ground.
The defensive story continued into the second quarter, as the Riders squashed what seemed like a momentum-building drive by the Nichols and the Bomber offence.
But, despite guiding his unit into Green and White territory for the first time all game, he wasn’t able to get past the 33 yard line and was forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Justin Medlock.
It wasn’t until the last five minutes of the half that the Bombers finally broke through the Riders defensive front, as Nichols hooked up with Weston Dressler for a massive 49-yard reception.
To make matters worse for the Roughriders, they received a roughing-the-passer penalty and were also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, giving the Bombers a fresh set of downs just 10 yards out of the endzone.
On the very next play, the Riders were again flagged for roughing-the-passer, as Ese Mrabure was called for a high-hit on Nichols.
Two plays later, Nichols called his own number, punching it in from one-yard out for the TD.
The Bombers would take a 10-3 lead into the break.
Nichols was solid in the opening 30 minutes, completing 11 of his 18 passes for 140 yards. Durant, meanwhile, was good on just six of his 16 attempts for 95 yards.
The big story of the half for the Riders, however, was their discipline issues, as they were flagged 12 times for 85 yards.
Just prior to the start of the third quarter, the Bombers announced that Harris wouldn’t be returning to action due to a lower-body injury. Prior to showing up on the sidelines for the start of the third quarter in his street clothes, Harris picked up 22 yards on six carries, as well as 13 yards on three receptions.
Harris Exits Early
Andrew Harris’ first taste of the Banjo Bowl didn’t last long. » Details
With the Bombers trying to find their footing following the Harris injury, the Riders were busy doing what they could to find a way to put some points on the board.
The answer, it seemed, was in the hands of receiver Naman Roosevelt, who came up huge for the Riders midway through the third quarter.
Saskatchewan’s leading receiver hauled in two big passes from Durant, the second of which resulted in a 13-yard game-tying touchdown.
The two teams entered the fourth quarter tied up at 10. Winnipeg received some more bad news prior to the start of the fourth quarter, as the team announced that receiver Ryan Smith would not return to action due to an upper-body injury.
But the ailing Bombers defence would eventually receive some much needed help from their teammates on the defensive side of the ball, as defensive tackle Brandon Tennant forced a fumble which was eventually recovered by DB Johnny Adams.
With the ball back in his hands thanks to a heads up effort by his defence, Nichols embarked on a five-play, 83-yard drive which was capped off by his second rushing touchdown of the game.
On the drive, Nichols completed passes of 38 and 25 yards to Julian Feoli-Gudino and Dressler respectively, and took off for a 15-yard gain to the Saskatchewan one-yard line which set up his TD.
The score ultimately proved to be the game-winner, as the Riders weren’t able to develop any further traction on the offensive side of the ball.
Next week, the Bombers will play host to the Toronto Argonauts, while the Riders will return home to face the Edmonton Eskimos.
