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John Woods \/ The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Evan Holm (right) defends and knocks the ball away from Edmonton Elks\u2019 Brendan O\u2019Leary-Orange in the Winnipeg end zone during first half CFL football action in Winnipeg on Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can think of a lot of key moments where they did make the difference,\u201d Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said in the aftermath of a second consecutive defeat at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Shea had no trouble rattling off those key moments and he had plenty to choose from, ranging from a fumble caused by defensive back Michael Griffin to a turnover on downs, to an important tackle that prevented the Elks from scoring a major on third and goal.<\/p>\n
The defence also forced the Elks to settle for three points late in the first quarter after a rare fumble by Brady Oliveira was returned 93 yards, deep into Blue Bombers territory, and that four-point swing allowed Winnipeg to keep things close during the first half \u2014 despite a plethora of self-inflicted wounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed those plays,\u201d said Blue Bombers defensive tackle Cam Lawson. \u201cAnd the turnover on the goal line was huge. Those helped us, especially since we started so poorly. We kind of needed that momentum shift to gain back some of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just (a matter of) fixing all of the mistakes that we made and then going from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elks running back Justin Rankin was a focal point going into the contest and he ran wild during the first half, piling up 95 yards on the ground as the Blue Bombers simply weren\u2019t as sharp as they needed to be when it came to tackling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just (a matter of) fixing all of the mistakes that we made and then going from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trailing 17-7 at halftime (even after a pair of missed field goals from the typically reliable Sergio Castillo), the Bombers\u2019 defence found its groove, limiting the effectiveness of Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo during the second half and holding Rankin to 11 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes of play.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, we bounced back in the second half. We just came in at halftime, talked about a couple of things and made some corrections. We knew that they wanted to lean on the run,\u201d said Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. \u201cIt came down to the fourth quarter, to that last drive. We had them second and 12 or something like that and we just couldn\u2019t convert. Once they got that first down, it kind of just started snowballing for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late drives have been problematic in the early portion of this season, as the Blue and Gold allowed the Calgary Stampeders to march down the field late in the fourth quarter in Week 1 before a late drive of their own was capped by a field goal from Castillo as time expired.<\/p>\n
But in the 37-27 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the Bombers were unable to come up with an important late stop, and that occurred once again in Thursday\u2019s loss to the Elks, who put together a 10-play, 57-yard touchdown drive capped by an eight-yard pass from Fajardo to TJ Luther.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too early to call it a trend, but it\u2019s certainly something Winnipeg will look to improve upon as the team returns to the field on Tuesday to prepare for Sunday\u2019s rematch with Bo Levi Mitchell and the Tabbies.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s important to be taking steps forward, the Bombers also recognize they\u2019ve allowed opposing rushers to eclipse 100 yards in each of the first three games and that there are other areas that still need to be tightened up to reach the high standard the club has set for itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost definitely. You can see some positives in there,\u201d said Jefferson. \u201cAgain, we just have to be better. In the second half. Especially when we take the lead, we\u2019ve got to be able to go out there and play Winnipeg defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt Winnipeg\u2019s early struggles on offence and special teams put the defence in a hole on several occasions, especially during the first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s two (games) in a row now we\u2019ve put ourselves in a hole like that. And that\u2019s on us on offence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t put yourself in a hole,\u201d said Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros. \u201cThat\u2019s two (games) in a row now we\u2019ve put ourselves in a hole like that. And that\u2019s on us on offence.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur defence, I thought, was unbelievable all night, with respect to us putting them in really bad situations. They battled all night long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t One of the things to monitor this week is the status of Blue Bombers defensive end Jake Ceresna, who left Thursday\u2019s game with an undisclosed injury.<\/p>\n Ceresna, who was one of the headliners of the 2026 free agent class, had three sacks against the Stampeders in his debut with the Blue and Gold.<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea was frustrated his group \u201cdidn\u2019t start on time\u201d in all three phases of the game and while he was encouraged by a lot of what he saw during the second half, he\u2019s looking for more from the entire group.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are pros. They understand what they\u2019re capable of, based on the second half,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cAnd they\u2019re not going to look at that and say, \u2018Oh, we should build on the second half, that was really good.\u2019 They\u2019re going to look at it from the lens of \u2018if we did that in the first half, this is a different story.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken 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 Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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