The Canadian Press
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers wanted answers. They got them and then some. And they absolutely, positively won’t like most of the responses.
Calling this trip to Calgary to face the mighty Stampeders a statement game – not so much to send a message to the rest of the Canadian Football League, but to re-establish themselves as a West Division contender – the Bombers jumped out to a 12-3 lead early in the second quarter… and then were rolled over in what became a 39-26 loss in front of 27,800 at McMahon Stadium.
And, somewhat suddenly, this Bombers squad which had gone through a 4-1 stretch has now dropped two straight to fall to 5-5 with the annual Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl doubleheader with the Saskatchewan Roughriders looming on the horizon.
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“I don’t think we countered their counter-punch,” said Bombers cornerback Chris Randle, “We all anticipated a counter. We came in at half (with a 15-12 lead) and it was, ‘All right, expect a counter-punch.’
“We did solid, really good work. And then they came out with some double moves we can anticipate and expect, but when you’re out there you’ve got to execute at a high level.”
Asked in a follow up about what the mood is like in the Bombers locker room now or what they might be saying after two straight losses, Randle added:
“Let’s win the Grey Cup. I mean, there’s no wavering. There’s no time for that. There’s no time to be, ‘Oh, we lost. Oh, we can’t win.’ No, our objective every single day, every single week is to get better and better and win.
“We came out with those intentions, but fell a little short.”
Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell threw for a career-high 452 yards, completing 25 of 42 passes for three TDs, while receiver Kamar Jorden set a Stampeders record with 249 receiving yards, smashing the old mark of 237 set by Herm Harrison way back in 1968.
The Stamps rolled to 511 yards while controlling the ball for 32 minutes and 22 seconds to Winnipeg’s 27:38. But as much as the Stamps delivered a series of counter-punches that Randle referred to, it was also Winnipeg’s inconsistency on offence that was a major part of this defeat. The Bombers got a late score on a Matt Nichols-to-Darvin Adams TD with eight seconds left and did manage 10 points in the final two minutes, but in the end that amounted to scoreboard cosmetic surgery.
Nichols completed 29 of 44 passes for 258 yards with the one TD against two interceptions – one of them a Pick-6 by Stamps D-lineman Ja’Gared Davis in the fourth quarter. But the Stamps also effectively eliminated Andrew Harris and the ground game, as the CFL’s leading rusher was limited to just 13 yards on seven carries, although he did finish with six receptions for 51 yards.
“Pretty frustrating,” said Nichols. “I felt like we came out and did a lot of what we wanted to do them: we controlled the ball, we changed field position, put up some points early. Man… pretty frustrating. I felt like we kind of had them against the ropes and had some opportunities at all different positions, including myself, to make plays. We just didn’t quite make them and fell short against a good team.”
The Bombers rocketed out to a perfect start, forcing the Stamps’ high-octane offence off the field in their first possession and then delivering the first significant punch when rookie pivot Chris Streveler – who was in the game on a second-and-inches play – connected with Ryan Lankford for a 65-yard score. But that would be the Bombers only TD until the late score by Adams in the final seconds.
In between, the Bombers built their 12-3 lead before the Stamps went on a 35-6 run to completely take control of the game. Mitchell hit Jorden, Marken Michel and DaVaris Daniels for TDs. The Bombers offence couldn’t keep up, as five of their 19 possessions were without a first down and seven more featured just one first down.
“Good first half and start of the third quarter,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “But still even in that first half, there were plays that we could have made that we didn’t that could have made for a better first half for us.
“Obviously, the last part of the third and the fourth quarter everything just fell to pieces. We didn’t execute well, we didn’t make enough big plays. They made some big plays and we didn’t. But there were plays to be made early on that could have helped us out.
“We talked about it: you need to win all three phases and you need to make the plays when they come your way.“
The original BlueBombers.com version of this article can be viewed here.
