There are a gazillion different metrics the Canadian Football League uses to measure offensive production and efficiency, but the most revealing might just be the simplest:

When a team gets inside an opponent’s red zone — the 20-yard line and in — how often is the offence in punching the ball past the goal line for a touchdown? And to be quite honest, it’s an area that still needs some significant work for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, now 5-5 overall through 10 games this season.

The key numbers, as evidence:

Winnipeg has 13 red zone touchdowns – last in the league, with Hamilton and Ottawa the next lowest at 17
Winnipeg has 29 red zone opportunities – 8th, with Hamilton last at 27
Winnipeg has 62 red zone plays in total — last in the league, with Ottawa first at 91

We could go deeper with this, but you get the gist: Winnipeg’s offence, ranked seventh overall in average points scored at 24.7, is struggling to finish and too often settling for short Sergio Castillo field goals. That was certainly the case in last week’s 22-19 loss to the Edmonton Elks when the Blue Bombers made three trips to the red zone and came away with zero touchdowns, marking the first time this season they hung up a bagel from the opponent’s 20-yard line and in, including settling for a Sergio Castillo 15-yard field goal after failing twice with passes from the seven, getting nada on a third-and-three gamble from Edmonton’s five on the next possession and then taking another Castillo 20 yarder when the team failed on a second and five from the Elks’ 12.

“It feels great being able to march down there like that but, of course, it always comes down to execution,” explained receiver Tim White, who has five touchdowns overall and two of the 13 in the red zone. “We had man coverage on the third-down gamble, and we’ve just got to execute better, set guys up in positions. We haven’t done that yet.

“It’s literally right there for us and we’ve just got to continue to take our shots. I love when that when it was third down, we went for it with coach giving us an opportunity. We’ve just got to maximize when we get down there.”

The other basic number here is this: Winnipeg’s 29 red zone opportunities — again, ranked eighth overall — pales in comparison to Edmonton’s 42, the most. More red zone opportunities = more opportunities to get out of this funk.

“Without a doubt we’ve got to stay on the field more,” said White. “You look at that last game and the second half (when the club had just two first downs and 19 net yards of offence) that’s a fault of our own. We have to be better on first down. We have to execute better. We need to take all this information we’re gathering and put it on the field and be better.

“We’ve just got to keep taking shots.”

The information gatherer and play caller is offensive coordinator Tommy Condell and in his session with the media on Tuesday attempted to explain his unit’s inconsistency.

“You always want to score touchdowns. Period. End of story,” Condell said. “We have to look at it from that. I don’t think you can ever go through a game and sit there and you don’t score and then the frustration (takes over). If you’re leading with frustration or coaching through frustration, you’re wrong.

“… We’ve got to be able to learn from it. I’ve got to be able to communicate the execution and what the problem was, and we need to go forward. If I go out there with a frustrated mindset or anything like that, that would be wrong. I want them to play with freedom, let’s make sure we’re physical and violent and let’s go. Let’s go and let’s be able to attack and not sit back and be scared of an execution problem. You can’t play like that.”

Condell’s full interview is here:

OUCH REPORT: Safety Redha Kramdi practised for a second day while LT Stanley Bryant was also back at his post. RB Brady Oliveira and SB Nic Demski were spectators while DB Deatrick Nichols, injured in the loss to Edmonton, was absent — although head coach Mike O’Shea didn’t rule him out for Friday’s game against Montreal.

The daily injury report is here:

Injury Report: August 25, 2026#ForTheW | @DoctorsManitoba pic.twitter.com/YgEq7auEm6

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 25, 2026

THE COACH SAYS: Mike O’Shea’s full interview is here:

ICYMI: Another sensational conversation on our latest edition of The Huddle today, this one featuring Sergio Castillo. It’s worth the watch if you can find the time and check it out here: