A win is a win.
It was the furthest thing from pretty, but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will take it any way they can get it at this point. After getting punched in the mouth in three consecutive games, the Blue and Gold outlasted the Toronto Argonauts 40-31 Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.
The Bombers, now 4-3, will need a much better performance this Saturday when they head to Calgary to try to avoid a three-game series sweep at the hands of the Stampeders (5-3).
FRED GREENSLADE / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Trey Vaval (23) celebrates his kick return touchdown against the Toronto Argonauts during first half CFL action in Winnipeg, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
Before the focus shifts to Cowtown, let’s revisit the victory with this week’s edition of 5 Takeaways.
VALUABLE VAVAL
If you weren’t familiar with Trey Vaval before, you certainly are now.
The rookie return specialist was brilliant, taking back both a kickoff 93 yards and a punt 97 yards to the house for a pair of much-needed first half touchdowns for the home side.
Despite fumbling twice this year, the 24-year-old out of Minnesota State Mankato showed in the first six games that he has the potential to be a dangerous returner. After the game, head coach Mike O’Shea and several players commented on how they thought it was only a matter of time before Vaval took one the distance.
After failing to come to terms on a new deal with now Argos returner Janarion Grant — who owns the franchise record with eight return touchdowns in Blue and Gold — last year, the Bombers cycled through several options at the position without finding anyone that stuck.
It’s safe to say the void has been officially filled with Vaval. He’s the first Bomber since, you guessed it, Grant to score twice on returns in a single game (Aug. 8 vs. Calgary) and only the 17th player to do it in CFL history. It was rather fitting that Grant was in the building Friday to see his feat duplicated.
NO STREVY NO
Chris Streveler owes the Bombers defence, and Trey Vaval, of course, a round of drinks.
Leading 37-31 with less than three minutes on the clock, the backup quarterback had the ball at Toronto’s 14-yard line in a first and 10 situation. The Bombers very easily could’ve ran the ball twice before trotting out trusty kicker Sergio Castillo for a chip shot to seal the deal.
Instead, they got greedy and trusted Streveler — who was under centre as starting pivot Zach Collaros is out with a neck injury — to make a play with his arm and it failed miserably. He forced a pass to the corner of the end zone to 5-foot-8 Jerreth Sterns that ended up getting intercepted by Argos defensive back Tarvarus McFadden.
It was the type of error that could’ve blown the game for Winnipeg, but fortunately for Streveler and Co., the defence stood tall and forced Boatmen quarterback Nick Arbuckle into five straight incompletions on their final two drives to close out the game.
The night also started out rough for Streveler as he put the Bombers in a 7-0 hole minutes into the first after throwing a pick-six to linebacker Cameron Judge. He also made a poor decision in the third when he chucked a ball deep to a blanketed Keric Wheatfall for an easy interception.
FRED GREENSLADE / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quarterback Chris Streveler (17) makes a pass against the Toronto Argonauts during first half CFL action in Winnipeg, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
When Streveler’s good, he shows flashes of a guy that could be a full-time starter in this league, but when he’s bad, he can make your offence look like a fish out of water. He completed 17-of-21 passes for 173 yards to go with his three turnovers. He also churned out 25 yards on the ground, highlighted by a nine-yard rushing score late in the first.
It goes without saying, but if Collaros is out for an extended period, Streveler needs to be much better. It’s unlikely that third-stringer Terry Wilson — who has one CFL passing attempt and one USFL start to his name as a pro — would be any better.
When you’re spotted 21 points from your special teams and defence, a single-digit victory at home over a club with a losing record isn’t worth applauding.
CAN’T STOP COXIE
The Bombers are community-owned, but in these past two games, they’ve been owned by Damonte Coxie.
Last week, the Argos receiver set a career-high in receiving yards with 145 on six grabs and a touchdown. His personal record didn’t last for long as Coxie exploded for 187 yards on nine catches with two second half touchdowns Friday.
The Bombers made some adjustments in the secondary this week by benching field-side corner Marquise Bridges and moving safety Jamal Parker down to that spot. Redha Kramdi took over at safety while his old dime back job went to Michael Griffin who was called up for his first start.
Coxie should’ve scored three times as there was a play in the third quarter where boundary corner Terrell Bonds panicked and pulled the open pass catcher down to the turf in the end zone for an easy pass interference call.
Both of his touchdowns — a 16-yarder followed by a 56-yard bomb — came against Vaval who was forced into action on defence when Parker left with an injury. Parker declined to be interviewed in the locker room postgame. It’ll be a major blow if Parker has to miss any time.
“Trey is a rookie. Slowly but surely, he’s gonna get his feet wet and be better,” said Kramdi. “But I think the communication as a unit was better. We tackled better as a unit as well.”
JEFFERSON JUGGERNAUT
He may be 34, but Willie Jefferson is still one of the most dominant players in the CFL.
The defensive end gave Arbuckle headaches all night with four pass knockdowns — the Bombers had nine overall — which is an absurd stat for a lineman.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Blue Bombers Willie Jefferson runs a drill during Bombers training camp Sunday morning at Princess Auto Stadium May 11, 2025
His biggest play came towards the end of the first half when he ripped the ball out of Arbuckle’s hands and second-year defensive end Jay Person, who didn’t dress in any games last year, scooped up the ball and sprinted 28 yards to give the Bombers a 24-10 lead.
The Argos boast one of the worst offensive lines in the league and it showed as they only managed a pathetic eight yards rushing, but to Winnipeg’s credit, their D-line took full advantage, especially on the final two drives when they found a way to knock down three passes at the line of scrimmage. Fellow defensive end James Vaughters, who had a sack and fumble return TD last week, also sacked Arbuckle. The Argos went 6-for-18 on second down, which was a big drop from their previous meeting against the Bombers where they went 14-for-26.
“We got some playmakers,” said Jefferson. “If we can get our hands on the football, and just play together and communicate, anything’s possible.”
NOT COOLEY
Quinton Cooley is no special teams ace.
The rookie American running back dropped the opening kickoff before pouncing on the loose ball. Then in the fourth, with the Argos doing everything in their power to kick it to anyone but Vaval, Cooley allowed a kickoff to bounce in front of him before failing to track it down and the Boatmen jumped on it at the Winnipeg 37-yard line trailing 37-31 with eight minutes remaining. Two plays later, Bombers linebacker Tony Jones did Cooley a huge solid by picking off an Arbuckle pass.
In Cooley’s defence, he’s being asked to step out of his comfort zone as he didn’t return kicks at Liberty University. With that said, when you’re the No. 2 tailback behind Brady Oliveira, you need to contribute on special teams.
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca
Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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