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![\"MIKE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3635137_web1_250903-Bombers-Oliveira-0003.jpg\")
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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (20) said the club is embracing the underdog role this season after hosting the Western final the last four post-seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou start doing that you\u2019ll get lost in it. There are too many scenarios,\u201d said offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan after Tuesday\u2019s practice, their second day back from their final break.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just focus on what we can handle and what we can do week in and week out.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is uncharted territory for many members of the Blue and Gold. In recent years, they\u2019ve made a habit out of clinching the West Division\u2019s crown around this time. All bets are off now, though, as they have three games remaining \u2014 starting with Saturday\u2019s road tilt in Edmonton against the Elks (6-9) \u2014 and every single one of them is going to have major post-season implications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exciting,\u201d said defensive end Willie Jefferson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in this league for a long time, and I\u2019ve seen teams make it to the playoffs in many different ways and have seen seasons end in many types of ways. This is fun, right? You never know what\u2019s gonna happen, but you don\u2019t want to look too far ahead. You want to stay locked in and focused on what your team needs to do that week to win that game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers (8-7) currently sit in fourth place in the West behind Saskatchewan (11-4), B.C. (9-7) and Calgary (8-7). If the season ended today, Winnipeg would be the crossover team \u2014 which would be a first for the franchise \u2014 and play the Montreal Alouettes (8-7) in the Eastern semifinal. They could also climb all the way way up to the No. 2 seed in the West and host a playoff game if they can close out the regular season with a trio of victories.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever it ends up looking like for us this year, it\u2019s good for us \u2014 it\u2019s perfect,\u201d said running back Brady Oliveira. \u201cHosting the West obviously is fun and it\u2019s great for this fan base, but if you look at the last number of years, it obviously hasn\u2019t worked out for us so maybe we need another path. Maybe that is having a little chip on our shoulder and being underdogs and road dogs and going into people\u2019s places and spoiling it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The good news for Bomberland is the club is showing signs that they might just be peaking at the right time. They enjoyed their most complete game of the season two weeks ago when they smacked the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 40-3 in front of the diehards at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter if we won by 20, 30, 40 or 50,\u201d said Oliveira. \u201cFor me, I was just waiting to see an offence put together an entire game like that and the whole team come together with all three phases and be dominant. We have a very tightknit locker room, and we just worked through the tough times, and we knew that we would eventually break through.\u201d<\/p>\n
The challenge now is to carry that performance through their week off and into Edmonton.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little hard, so you\u2019ve got to look back at the tape to remember what you did because it is a week and a half ago now, but you definitely want to build off of it,\u201d said Hogan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just going into the bye week off of that win is the good momentum that we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Elks will likely finish last in the West for the second time in three years, but they are fresh off a 27-25 win over Saskatchewan and beat Calgary 31-19 earlier in September. The Double-E are 5-5 since veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo became their starter in Week 8.<\/p>\n
The last date the Bombers had with the Elks was back in Week 4 in a 36-23 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re fiery, they play hard, they don\u2019t give up. Cody\u2019s kind of settled some things down with his veteran leadership and with some of the things he\u2019s good at that maybe Tre Ford wasn\u2019t,\u201d said defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re a different football team. They\u2019re dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re also desperate. With a loss, Edmonton\u2019s already slim playoff hopes will nearly evaporate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can expect everybody\u2019s best,\u201d said Hogan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow there\u2019s no tomorrow for a lot of teams, so you got to crank it up just a notch.\u201d<\/p>\n
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Taylor Allen 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
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