The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers completed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night, but the Stamps’ passing attack looked sharp once again despite the team suffering their first loss since Week 17.
Bo Levi Mitchell had his best game since returning from injury back in Week 13, throwing four touchdown passes against zero interceptions while completing 31 of 40 passes for 350 yards. Eric Rogers and rookie receiver Hergy Mayala each caught a pair of touchdowns, and Reggie Begelton racked up a game-high 98 receiving yards.
The Stamps had an opportunity to strengthen their hold on first place in the West, but the road loss to Winnipeg means the team no longer controls their own destiny for winning the division. The Saskatchewan Roughriders now sit atop the West at 11-5.
“They played a great game,” Mitchell said after the loss. “They were physical; they had big plays themselves. We didn’t do the things at the end of the game to put it away, which is our job.”
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Zach Collaros ultimately made the difference for the Bombers in his first start with the team, as he constantly found a way to respond every time Mitchell and the Stamps pulled ahead.
“The effort’s there, but we got to understand that trying hard is not good enough,” head coach Dave Dickenson said. “Look in the mirror, let’s go ahead and get back to work. This game isn’t going to win a Grey Cup. It’s not going to lose a Grey Cup either, we got to keep working. It might be a tougher path, we understand that. Just work harder and see what happens.”
Calgary was leading multiple times against the Bombers, but Janarion Grant returned a missed convert to give Winnipeg two crucial points while also shifting momentum to begin the final comeback in the fourth quarter. The Stamps’ offence came up short with a chance to put the game away with just over two minutes remaining, but Mitchell had an important message for the team after the game.
“You want to take care of what you can take care of, and we didn’t,” Mitchell said. “I told the guys that it doesn’t matter what road we take to get there, it doesn’t have to be the same every single year. We got a chance to get to the dance and go make something happen.”
Mayala continued to emerge as a major weapon for the Stamps, with his two scores against the Bombers giving him four touchdowns in the last three games. The 24-year-old first-round pick caught all seven of his targets for 83 yards and is now up to 459 receiving yards on the season. He continues to earn the trust of Dickenson and Mitchell with every week that passes.
“I thought H (Hergy) was great again,” Dickenson said. “I feel like he is a major weapon in our offence. We’re using the whole field with him. He’s making some tremendous catches, looks fast, playing confident. I feel like he’s taken another step forward for us which gives us that weapon we need.”
The Calgary Stampeders will take on the BC Lions in their final game of the regular season. They will head on the road to face the Lions next Saturday at 10:00 p.m. EDT in Week 21 action.
