Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night by a score of 32-21 at Hamilton Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.

Team Ted

Ted Goveia passed away early on Friday morning at the age of 55. The native of Burlington, Ont. was hired as the general manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in December after an eleven-year run with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Friday’s game, dubbed the ‘Team Ted’ game, was supposed to be an opportunity to wish Ted well in his battle against cancer. Instead, it served to memorialize him.

I wrote a memorial about Ted and will publish another in the coming days as I speak to his longtime colleagues about what made him so special. Steve Milton also wrote an excellent obituary for the Tiger-Cats website. Please read everything written about Ted — he deserves to be remembered.

Congratulations to the Tiger-Cats on an excellent in-game tribute to Ted and credit to Winnipeg for matching up to $25,000 in donations to the Hamilton Sports Group Foundation in Ted’s memory.

If I can really hammer one thing home for fans in Winnipeg, it’s this: many people have played key roles in the team’s recent run of success, but there’s no way the Blue Bombers would have gone to five straight Grey Cups if it weren’t for Ted. Period.

No air

Chris Streveler made his third start of the season in place of the injured Zach Collaros and the results were mixed at best as he completed 18-of-29 for 241 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. A lot of that yardage came late in the game once the result was all but decided.

On Winnipeg’s opening drive, defensive back Jamal Peters sniffed out a hitch screen from Streveler and looped behind receivers Keric Wheatfall and Ontaria Wilson to intercept the ball and return it 39 yards into the red zone. One play later, Greg Bell caught a seven-yard pass from Bo Levi Mitchell to score a Hamilton touchdown.

Jamal Peters with the opening drive interception! #CFLGameDay
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Watching the replay, it’s tough to blame Streveler for the pick, though it speaks to how predictable Winnipeg’s play-calling was coming out of the gate. With Zach Collaros out of the lineup, the offence kept things simple to start with run-pass options and quick screens. When the defence doesn’t have to respect the deep passing game, it’s easy for them to stick around the line of scrimmage and try to jump quick throws.

DASHAUN AMOS TAKES IT AWAY! #CFLGameDay
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Streveler’s second interception, which came late in the first half, was unforgivable. Nic Demski ran a hook route against what looked like man coverage and simply wasn’t open as halfback DaShaun Amos blanketed him. The quarterback tried to force the ball in anyway and was picked off near midfield. Three plays later, Bo Levi Mitchell threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Tim White.

WINNIPEG RESPONDS!

Keric Wheatfall strides in for six!#CFLGameDay
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It wasn’t all bad for Streveler as he threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Keric Wheatfall in the first quarter, though this play was due more to Hamilton’s incompetence than Winnipeg’s brilliance. The Tiger-Cats left Wheatfall completely uncovered on third-and-short and took two penalties — one for offside and one for too many men — both of which were declined. With that said, it’s important to take advantage of opponent mistakes and that’s exactly what the Blue Bombers did on this play, cashing in for a major.

Streveler didn’t commit any turnovers in the second half but he also didn’t generate much through the air until it was too late. He finished the night with only four pass attempts over 20 yards, three of which came after the three-minute warning and the game was out of hand. If you can’t push the ball downfield until the game is decided, it’s tough to get wins.

Head coach Mike O’Shea is stubborn to a fault, so an in-game quarterback change was probably never going to happen barring injury. However, after a poor first half, one could argue that Terry Wilson should have been given the chance to play the second half. The quarterback is in his second season and deserves the chance to show what he can do.

The Blue Bombers have now turned the ball over a league-worst 36 times this season. If you’re looking for the primary reason they won’t be hosting the West Final again in 2025, that’s it.

Entering this week, only two CFL quarterbacks had started multiple games this year and won them all: Davis Alexander and Chris Streveler. After Winnipeg’s loss on Friday night, Alexander now stands alone.

Bully ball

For all the Tiger-Cats stacked the box defensively, Winnipeg was still able to run the ball effectively as Brady Oliveira ran 15 times for 116 yards. Chris Streveler was also productive with his legs, running 11 times for 82 yards and a score.

Brady’s on a roll! He’s got 82 rushing yards already!#CFLGameDay
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Oliveira’s best run, a 30-yard scamper in the second quarter, came when left guard Gabe Wallace and centre Chris Kolankowski built a double team on defensive tackle Casey Sayles and Wallace peeled off at the perfect moment to swallow linebacker Kyler Fisher. Oliveira took advantage of the lane, going virtually untouched until he was brought down by defensive back Jamal Peters.

Despite the strong individual performance, Oliveira looked visibly frustrated along the sideline late in the game. Knowing how much the league’s reigning M.O.P. hates to lose, I don’t blame him for feeling upset.

Against the Law-ler

Kenny Lawler made it clear to Taylor Allen of the Winnipeg Free Press that he wasn’t looking to leave the Blue Bombers in free agency this offseason but he felt disrespected by the team, claiming they limited his private training business and didn’t offer him a contract extension until a day before free agency.

Lawler caught seven passes for 97 yards against his old team to lead the Tiger-Cats. He wasn’t dominant but he was certainly dangerous as always.

Though it’d be nice to hear from the club’s brass regarding how things went down, one thing is for sure: losing Lawler hasn’t worked out for Winnipeg. Dillon Mitchell has been a bust, catching 14 passes for 107 yards on the season, and Dalton Schoen suffered a second torn ACL in as many years.

Houston, we don’t have a problem

The Blue Bombers made a change in their secondary this week, starting Demerio Houston at boundary cornerback over rookie Trey Vaval. The results were positive as Bo Levi Mitchell was held to 230 passing yards and Hamilton generated zero explosion plays.

The Tiger-Cats tested field-side cornerback Dexter Lawson Jr. early and often with mixed results. The 25-year-old, who played 13 games over two seasons with Hamilton, provided tight coverage on a deep shot to Shemar Bridges in the first quarter, which fell incomplete. The Tiger-Cats challenged for pass interference but the call on the field stood.

Hamilton rolled Lawler to Lawson’s side of the field and he drew early two targets, both of which fell incomplete. The Tiger-Cats continued to pick on Lawson into the second half and had some success, though it was far from a poor outing from the defensive back.

Winnipeg’s defence gave up a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and looked exhausted as Greg Bell gobbled up yards along the ground.

It was far from a brilliant performance but the unit was much better than the score would indicate. Hamilton scored two touchdowns on short, turnover-aided drives, then cashed in with a late score once fatigue set in. You have to play complementary football to win and the Blue Bombers didn’t do that at all on Friday night, managing only 25 minutes in time of possession with two costly turnovers.

Going onside

The Blue Bombers momentarily appeared to recover an onside kick with a little over 90 seconds remaining as Sergio Castillo booted the ball high and Nic Demski disrupted Kenny Lawler from making a clean catch. The ball then took a Winnipeg bounce and special teams ace Nick Hallett jumped on it to secure a first down for his team.

After a review from the replay centre, which occurred automatically, Demski was charged with illegal interference. Looking at the video, the Winnipeg receiver probably arrived a fraction of a second early but overturning the play seemed a little extreme. If the goal is to fix clear and obvious officiating mistakes, this wasn’t one.

The Blue Bombers tried another onside kick on the following play, this one to the opposite side of the field, but it was knocked out of bounds by Shemar Bridge to secure the ball for Hamilton. There was brief confusion after the play when Cameron Lawson was charged with an offside penalty and head official Andre Proulx announced a third kickoff would take place. After a short interaction with the Hamilton bench, the penalty was declined and the Tiger-Cats scrimmaged on first down.

Slipping away

The field at Hamilton Stadium was dry on Friday night, which is why it was odd to see so many members of the Blue Bombers struggle to maintain their footing.

Brady Oliveira slipped on a run in the first quarter and an outlet route in the fourth quarter, Dexter Lawson Jr. fell in coverage on Tim White in the second quarter and on a tackle attempt in the fourth quarter, and Chris Streveler slipped while trying to avoid a late sack from linebacker Devin Veresuk.

The next time the Blue Bombers make a trip to Steeltown, they’ll have to ensure they’ve got their footwear on point to avoid similar problems. It didn’t look like Tiger-Cats had the same issue.

Falling down

After getting swept in the annual Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl for the first time since 2018, much has been made about how the Blue Bombers have officially fallen off. While their season is far from over, it should be noted that, for the first time this year, the club now has a worse record than it did at the same point of last season.

After 13 games last year, Winnipeg was 7-6. After their loss in Steeltown, the Blue Bombers are now 6-7.

The team is also clearly trending in the wrong direction. Winnipeg started 2-6 in 2024 but won nine of their last ten games to finish first in the West Division. In 2025, the Blue Bombers started 3-0 but have lost seven of their last ten games to fall below .500. With a playoff berth nowhere near secured, that’s simply not good enough.

Horns up

The Manitoba Bisons will open their home football schedule against the undefeated Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday, September 13 with kickoff slated for 5:00 p.m. local time. The Herd is 0-2 to start the season after suffering tight road losses to the UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos.

If you’re looking for some extra live Canadian football, get down to Princess Auto Stadium. The weather forecast is beautiful, the tickets are affordable, and it should be a fun game.

Next up

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-7) will visit the Ottawa Redblacks (4-8) on Saturday, September 20 with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The teams met at Princess Auto Stadium in mid-August and the Blue Bombers won 30-27, overcoming a late scare when Kalil Pimpleton returned a missed field goal 117 yards to tie the game with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter.

The Redblacks are currently playing against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver, so check back to 3DownNation for all the latest on that game.