Courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a score of 40-3 in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,343 fans at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Below are my thoughts on the game.
The offence awakens
Winnipeg’s offence had one of its best games of the year on Saturday as Zach Collaros shone in his return to the lineup, completing 20-of-25 pass attempts for 370 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions.
The veteran quarterback faced very little pressure in the first half as he delivered passes quickly and accurately to the short and mid-range of the field. His lone deep shot, a 44-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Mitchell, came when Hamilton bit hard on play-action and Collaros rolled out to his right, set his feet, and delivered a bomb that defensive back DaShaun Amos was unable to break up.
Dillon Mitchell with his first touchdown reception as a Bomber! #CFLGameDay
🗓️: Tiger-Cats vs. @Wpg_BlueBombers LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, CTV
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/MdqB4Z9u8O
— CFL (@CFL) September 27, 2025
After a relatively slow second quarter, Collaros threw a beautiful deep shot off a double-move to Ontaria Wilson that got Winnipeg down to the one-yard line. Winnipeg’s protection was brilliant on the play as eight players stayed in to block only four Hamilton defenders.
Zach Collaros drops it into the BUCKET! 🪣
Ontario Wilson does the rest all the way down to the one!#CFLGameDay
🗓️: Tiger-Cats vs. @Wpg_BlueBombers LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, CTV
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/VQV5xmNtg5
— CFL (@CFL) September 27, 2025
The run game has to be effective in order for play-action to work, and Brady Oliveira had another solid day, rushing 15 times for 98 yards and catching four passes for 56 yards. Chris Streveler, who faced harsh criticism after completing only three passes in last week’s win over Ottawa, ran seven times for 26 yards and three touchdowns.
It’s amazing what Winnipeg’s passing attack is able to accomplish when the unit is firing on all cylinders — accurate passes delivered on time, protection that provides the quarterback with time to throw, and receivers who can secure the ball and make plays after the catch.
The execution was impressive, clearly, but this also felt like the best offensive game plan the Blue Bombers have had all year. If this can be a sign of things to come, there’s no reason this team can’t make noise in the playoffs, even if they’re forced to go on the road.
Viva la Vaval
Trey Vaval returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, going untouched in the process. Jaylen Smith, Jay Person, and Michael Chris-Ike all had key blocks to clear the lane, then Vaval won the footrace up the west sideline.
Starting the game with a BANG kick return TD to start it from Vaval!
— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) September 27, 2025
The rookie out of Minnesota State finished the game with five total returns for 160 yards and a touchdown.
Now with a league-leading four return touchdowns this season, is Vaval the frontrunner to win Most Outstanding Rookie? He has also recorded 21 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and one interception on the year.
One could also make an argument that Vaval should be named the league’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. One of the frontrunners for that award, Hamilton returner Isaiah Wooden, recorded five kickoff returns for 101 yards.
With four weeks left in the regular season, Vaval has put himself firmly in the year-end awards conversation.
D gets an A
Winnipeg’s defence was very good on Saturday afternoon, limiting the Tiger-Cats to three points and holding Bo Levi Mitchell to 212 passing yards.
Mitchell often had lots of time to survey the field but no one to throw the ball to, forcing him to check it down or take off running.
The Blue Bombers finally got home for a sack when Kyrie Wilson took Mitchell down as he tried to flee the pocket late in the first half. James Vaughters got his first of two sacks in the third quarter when he beat left tackle Brendan Bordner around the edge with speed and brought down Mitchell from behind, forcing a punt. His second sack came in garbage time on backup quarterback Taylor Powell.
It wasn’t a great day for the Blue Bombers against the run as Greg Bell rushed 11 times for 88 yards, including a 30-yard run on Hamilton’s final drive of the first half. Bell also made Tony Jones miss in the open field after catching a pass to convert on second-and-10 early in the second quarter — a rarity for Winnipeg’s middle linebacker.
The unit caught a couple of breaks late in the game when Mitchell missed Kenny Lawler and Tim White in the end zone, both of whom were open at the time. Regardless, the team managed two takeaways when Willie Jefferson and Kyrie Wilson recorded pass breakups on key third-down gambles by the Tiger-Cats.
Kenny returns
Kenny Lawler made his return to Winnipeg and caught only two passes for 34 yards.
Bo Levi Mitchell looked for Lawler deep twice in the second quarter, but both passes fell incomplete as Dexter Lawson Jr. had good position in coverage. Demerio Houston also broke up what would have been a 27-yard reception from Lawler early in the third quarter.
The Blue Bombers have welcomed plenty of familiar faces back to Winnipeg with video tributes, including Andrew Harris, Adam Bighill, and Buck Pierce. Granted, he left once before — Lawler signed a big-money free-agent contract with the Elks in 2022 — but he didn’t dress when Edmonton visited Princess Auto Stadium that year. This was the first time he played a game in Winnipeg as a member of the opposing team.
As such, it was surprising to see the big-play receiver go unrecognized by his old team on Saturday. I’m sure the club’s brass wasn’t thrilled about some of Lawler’s recent comments in the media, but he still helped this team win two Grey Cups and qualify for two more.
Trickery
The Blue Bombers hit a rare trick play late in the first quarter when, in short yardage formation on second-and-short, Chris Streveler rolled out to his right and hit Nic Demski with a short pass that ended up going for 23 yards.
The pass was emblematic of the type of unpredictable, imaginative play-calling promised by rookie offensive coordinator Jason Hogan earlier this year — a prophecy that has gone mostly unfulfilled. It also seemed fitting given that Demski’s streak of 84 consecutive games with a catch was snapped last week when Streveler failed to get him the ball.
Funnily enough, the CFL tweeted a video of Demski making a reception on Saturday with a caption indicating his streak was still intact. As of the publishing of this article, the erroneous tweet is still up.
Making good
Complementary football is typically when one phase of the game makes a big play that helps another — a long punt return that provides the offence with instant field position, a time-consuming offensive drive that gets the defence lots of time to rest, or a safety that puts two points on the board when the offence is struggling.
In a way, Ontaria Wilson played complementary football all by himself midway through the third quarter.
The second-year receiver took a holding penalty that wiped out most of Brady Oliveira’s catch-and-run that went for close to 60 yards and ended deep in Hamilton territory. Two plays later, Wilson made a 56-yard catch on a double-move that gave Winnipeg a first down at Hamilton’s one-yard line, which led to a one-yard touchdown run from Chris Streveler on the following play. The play was initially ruled a touchdown, though upon replay it was clear that Wilson was down just short of the goal line.
Every player makes mistakes, but it’s important to make up for them. Wilson did exactly that on Saturday, ensuring the drive still culminated in a touchdown.
Big blocks
Willie Jefferson continues to be as much of a volleyball player as a football player, tipping a pass on the final play of the first half to keep Hamilton out of the end zone.
The Tiger-Cats gambled on third-and-four from Winnipeg’s eight-yard line, and Mitchell threw to Kenny Lawler, who was bumped by Deatrick Nichols before the ball arrived. On the replay, Jefferson clearly got a hand on the ball, which negated what would have otherwise been a penalty on Nichols for pass interference.
First and long
Winnipeg’s offence got into trouble twice in the first half when penalties forced them into first-and-19 and first-and-20. Brady Oliveira ran the ball out of the shotgun on both ensuing plays, gaining nine yards the first time and 14 yards the second time.
Offensive coordinator Jason Hogan might need to change up his call in that situation as a tendency breaker moving forward, but it worked beautifully both times on Saturday. When you’re able to turn first-and-a-mile into a reasonable distance on second down, it’s much easier to keep drives alive.
Ch-ch-changes
The CFL unveiled a bunch of upcoming rule changes this week, including the shortening of the field and end zones for 2027.
At Princess Auto Stadium, there’s roughly 10 yards between the deadline — the official name for the line at the back of the end zone — and the stadium wall. When that space grows to around 20 yards in 2027, it’ll be interesting to see how the extra space is used.
Knowing how well the Blue Bombers have cultivated a great game-day atmosphere, it seems possible we could see a new field-level party zone or two.
Regardless, hopefully something is done with the extra room — and preferably something more exciting than a bunch of extra advertising boards.
Truth and Reconciliation
The Blue Bombers hosted over 1,000 Indigenous fans from northern communities for Saturday’s game, which was themed to Orange Shirt Day. There were orange t-shirts all around the stadium, orange flags on the airplane that drives around the field when Winnipeg scores, and a drum and dance performance at halftime.
These are all things that have been done at past Truth and Reconciliation games, but head official Ben Major also announced the first penalty of the game in Ojibwe and English, which is pretty cool. Major is fluent in English and French. The next time I run into him, I’ll have to ask him how many total languages he speaks.
Turning leaves
We always complain about it when it’s bad, so it should be noted that the weather for Saturday’s game was perfect for early-fall football. It was 19 degrees at kickoff with a gentle southward breeze and no clouds in the sky.
When the leaves start to turn and the breeze starts to cool down, that’s the best time of the year. It means playoff football is coming.
Bisons watch
As of the publishing of this article, the Manitoba Bisons trail the Regina Rams by a score of 14-8 in a rematch of last year’s Hardy Cup semifinal. Winnipeg native and St. Paul’s High School alumnus Cole Anseeuw made his first career start in place of an injured Jackson Tachinski and has thrown a touchdown pass and an interception.
Fans at Princess Auto Stadium might have noticed the team’s new logo was added to the north end zone alongside a massive ‘University of Manitoba Bisons’ wordmark. The new colour scheme — yellow instead of gold, a different shade of brown, and new blue accents — will take time to get used to, but the logo itself is awesome.
Next up
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-7) are entering their third and final bye week of the season, which is probably much-needed as they’ve not had a break since Week 6. All eyes will be on the Calgary Stampeders (8-6) and B.C. Lions (8-7) when they meet in Vancouver on Saturday, October 4, as the Blue Bombers still have hopes of hosting a playoff game.