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Published Oct 15, 2025 • 4 minute read
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Offensive lineman Pat Neufeld is big on looking at the CFL standings. Photo by Kevin King /Winnipeg SunArticle content
Thought the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had blown their shot at second place in the CFL West with last week’s loss in Edmonton?
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Think again.
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Thought the Bombers were at least guaranteed a playoff spot?
Think a little more.
No thanks, says offensive lineman Pat Neufeld.
“I have no idea what’s happening, standings-wise,” Neufeld was saying on Wednesday. “It’s far too complicated for my simple brain. All the numbers and different scenarios. I’m sure there’s a lot of people that have put time into figuring that out, but not us simpletons in this room.”
Neufeld prefers simple football X’s and O’s, not the spread sheet of possibilities CFL statisticians have produced to cover all the playoff possibilities.
He can’t fathom the worst-case scenario, though, that would come as a result of a four-way tie for second through fifth place between the Bombers, B.C., Calgary and Edmonton.
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“Try not to,” Neufeld said. “I remember (missing the playoffs). It’s not something that is pleasant. Think optimistically about what we’re going to do and channel that energy into having a great game against Sask.”
Here’s how that worst-case scenario could play out. All four teams could be tied at 9-9. The tiebreaker would be the head-to-head records among the tied group.
The Bombers would be 3-4, which would leave the five-time defending West champs out in the November cold.
Willie Jefferson can’t fathom it, either. He’s also never seen such wild, potential swings so late in the regular season.
“Never. Not with me,” the veteran defensive end said. “The only time it’s been close was in ’17 when I did the cross-over in Sask.”
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That’s the most likely possibility for the Bombers: A fourth-place finish and cross-over playoff spot in the East.
But a more unlikely combination of other teams winning and losing could throw a wrench into the probabilities.
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Over in kicker’s corner, Sergio Castillo knew his team could still miss the playoffs. But he didn’t know second-place and a home playoff game were still possible.
“Extreme,” Castillo called it. “The good part is we’re focused… I’m where my two feet are at. A lot of us are like that. Because if we start focusing on all these possibilities, then it takes the focus off what has to be done right here, today.”
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Castillo first broke into the CFL with the Bombers in 2015, when they last missed the playoffs.
That was Neufeld’s second straight playoff-free year in Winnipeg.
This team hasn’t missed them since 2016.
Jefferson hopped on board in 2019 and has rolled to five straight Grey Cups, winning the first two.
“We’ve always been able to get hot at the right time,” Jefferson said. “Like right now. It’s a resiliency thing.”
That resilience has been tested like it hasn’t in years, the Bombers up one week, down the next, with a wobbly 8-8 mark next to their name.
Castillo, a firm believer in signs of the universe, says he saw one going into the season.
It came not from the sun or the moon and stars, but from his head coach.
“Oshe told us at the very beginning of the year, before the season started, this year might be different,” the kicker said. “Maybe he’s a prophet.”
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Mike O’Shea doesn’t recall the context of those words, but he is aware of all the different ways his 11th season at the helm could play out.
“It’s partly my job,” O’Shea said. “But most importantly we’ve got to play good football. And win a game. If you’re constantly relying on other people to do your job for you, you’re going to be disappointed.”
As for whether he’s ever been part of something quite like this…
“I don’t remember,” the coach said. “But I’m sure it’s happened. It’s the CFL. It’s awesome.”
No doubt he’d feel that way if his team won its last two, finished 10-8 and won a tiebreaker with the Lions, currently 9-7. Or if his Bombers were the only team that finishes 10-8, the other three at 9-9. Incredibly, that’s possible, too.
Castillo boots all that aside, looks around at his teammates in the locker-room and likes what he sees, even if he doesn’t have a clue where they’ll end up.
“I’ll tell you who we are: we’re the Winnipeg Blue Bombers,” he said. “Kick some ass. You’ve got to go with that mindset. I’ve been on other teams where it’s just hopeless. You come in here and you smell the locker-room… you smell confidence.”
The kicker inhales to make his point.
“That’s good cologne, right there.”
We’ll see how much staying power it has.
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
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