WINNIPEG — The mantra is well worn out by now, yet one that stood out for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers following a thrilling 41-40 comeback win over the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday night.
No lead is safe.
“That’s one of the things we should learn from this,” Head Coach Mike O’Shea said after the game. “One of the many.”
Down two touchdowns with 1:40 remaining, the crowd of 25,931 at Investors Group Field started to thin when Matt Nichols had other ideas. Nichols and the Bomber offence had just watched from the bench as Brandon Rutley and Stefan Logan ran down the throat of the CFL’s No. 1 run defence and gave their team a two touchdown lead.
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Andrew Harrris and Ryan Lankford celebrate following the game-winning touchdown (The Canadian Press)
For the Bombers’ franchise quarterback, though, signed to a new deal just this off-season, there was no sense of panic. With help from an onside kick, Nichols led two quick scoring drives, culminating in a lunge for the end zone by Andrew Harris with no time on the clock that needed to be confirmed by the league office command centre.
A photo finish if there ever was one.
“I think Flutie would be pretty proud of that one,” said O’Shea, who was honoured this earlier this week along with former Argos quarterback Doug Flutie among others on the 1996-1997 Argonauts championship teams. “So would [the late Hall of Fame coach] Don Matthews.
“The CFL is fantastic in that way,” he would add of the improbable comeback. “It’s hard to watch football when they’re walking off the field with lots of time left on the clock. This game is perfect because of that – the ability to score two touchdowns in 1:40. It’s a phenomenal game.”
The win moves the Bombers to 3-2 on the season but could have more significance than just the impact on the standings. A game like this, especially coming off a tough Week 5 road loss to BC, is what can define a season.
Finishing football games has been a struggle for the Bombers but on Friday night the Blue and Gold flipped the script.
“They certainly didn’t let that previous game define them, that loss,” said O’Shea of his players. “They flipped the script in the second half and Montreal’s a good team, we still had some adversity and we battled through it.
“I think this is something we can build off of and as I’ve said before, and every coach will say the same thing, it’s easier to correct after a win than after a loss.”
Nichols threw for 358 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions in the win, but his most impressive play was the second-last of the game when he out-waited the pass rush and took off for a 15-yard run, carrying defenders until he was dragged down at the one.
On the next play, with the clock showing zeroes, Harris plowed his way through the line, able to keep his momentum moving forward before finally crossing the plane of the end zone.
Harris finished with two touchdowns and also led the team with 93 receiving yards on nine catches, while Nichols’ late-game composure was nothing new for the Bombers’ head coach.
“He’s a terrific leader,” said O’Shea of Nichols. “We have a lot of leaders but Matt is the de facto leader on this football team. Our offence does a great job of running the hurry-up, we’re not wasting a lot of time at all when we’re caught in bounds on catches, we’re right up to the line. There’s only a second or two being run off the clock when we snap the ball.
“They’re well-prepared. LaPo does a good job of preparing these guys for hurry-up tempo offence and they were spot on in the last 1:40.”
The Bombers head east next week for a clash with the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday, Aug. 4. In the meantime, there will at least be a couple of days to soak in what could be the game of the season and more.
“Can’t take anything away from that effort and the finish and the win and they should celebrate it tonight with their teammates because that was incredible,” said O’Shea.
