Jason Halstead/CFL.ca
WINNIPEG – It can be tough to pinpoint an exact moment where a football game goes wrong for the losing team, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will tell you that it came down to the finer details.
The Bombers were shut down by the Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Semi-Final, dropping the game 39-32 on Sunday evening.
Matt Nichols posted strong numbers, throwing for 371 yards and three touchdowns. The offence showcased a pair of 100-yard receivers in Weston Dressler and Matt Coates but were limited in the second half.
In the end, the battle came down to turnovers according to Nichols. The Bombers gave the ball away on two different turnover on downs as well as a fumble and those are the moments that add up in a loss.
“I think that when you look at the game, my quick memory of it happening… when it came down to it, some of the things didn’t go our way. They did a good job of not turning the ball over and I think everything comes down to that,” said Nichols. “It’s something we preach around here. You can look at all the stats and the passing yardage, whatever you want, you win games when you win the turnover battle and we didn’t do that tonight and I think that’s really what made the difference.”
The score was tied at halftime but the Esks exploded for 29 points in the second half. While the final score put the Bombers down by just seven points, that was largely thanks to a last second touchdown in the game’s closing moments.
“I honestly think that a couple of the big things for us, it’s a cliché thing but it’s a game of inches,” said Nichols. “I felt like we had them on their heels two or three times marching the ball down the field. It just ended up in three third-and-twos instead of third-and-ones which makes a dramatic difference.”
“Right from the jump, the little details, the little mistakes, that’s what cost you games and gets you behind the eight-ball,” said Andrew Harris. “I felt like we did a lot of great things tonight and just comes to those little details and mistakes, that’s the difference.”
Stung by the injury bug during the final weeks of the season, the Bombers are now left to reflect on what could have been with a healthy roster. The team finished second in the West Division after posting a 12-6 record and hosted their first playoff game since 2011 and the first ever at Investors Group Field.
