MONTREAL – After five straight trips to the Grey Cup and championships most recently in 2019 and 2021, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be returning home earlier than they want.
“It’s still a loss. They played better than us. A little better start and maybe a few more plays in the second half,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.
“They all feel terrible. I know they would have felt a lot worse if they didn’t come back in that third and worked so hard – I mean, they just came out in the second half with a different kind of resolve, which is no consolation, I just know they would feel a whole hell of a lot worse if it continued the way it did in the first time.”
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The Bombers tallied three touchdowns in six minutes to start the third quarter, erasing a 19-point deficit and taking a two-point lead over the Alouettes for the first time all game before eventually Montreal took control once again.
Winnipeg ended up in the Eastern Semi-Final as they crossed over to the East after finishing fourth in the West with a 10-8 record. No crossover team has reached the Grey Cup in 13 attempts.
“It was impressive to see. They just went out there and made some plays and were determined to get back into it. We made it a regular football game again, you end up being plus-two at a certain point and it’s just a regular football game,” said O’Shea.
“From there, you know. It didn’t work out.”
Zach Collaros, a player who was Grey Cup MVP with the Bombers in 2021 and has been a part of the team since 2019, finished the game with over 300 passing yards and a touchdown, but despite leaving it all on the field still feels his side could have done more.
“We didn’t make enough plays in the game. We had opportunities. There’s always places you want back or scoring plays, plays that keep drives alive. All those things you reflect on,” said Collaros.
“I’m sure there’ll be things that we look back at and say what if, but Montreal did a good job, very good job, and so I don’t wanna take anything away from them, but I’m sure there’ll be things that we feel like we left out there.”
While the loss will sting for a while, winning two Grey Cups with the team and being part of what many would call a CFL dynasty will be part of Collaros’ life forever, no matter what his playing career holds in the future.
“It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of great memories, playing in those games,” said Collaros.
“It’s about the work, it’s about the process of it all, and [I am] just so blessed to have gone to work for the last six seasons with this group…. it’s just been incredible. That’s what makes it so, so, so hard.”