{"id":784662,"date":"2026-07-06T21:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784662\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:27:11","slug":"mike-oshea-taylor-elgersma-took-care-of-the-football-for-blue-bombers-handled-himself-very-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784662\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike O’Shea: Taylor Elgersma ‘took care of the football’ for Blue Bombers, ‘handled himself very well’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Bob Butrym\/RFB Sport Photography \/ 3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma saw his first regular-season CFL action on Sunday night and appears to have impressed his head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he took care of the football very well, I thought he made good decisions. Everybody\u2019s going to want to have a play back \u2014 not just Taylor, everybody,\u201d Mike O\u2019Shea told the media in Hamilton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for him. I thought he handled himself very well. I thought there\u2019s some conditions that happen in the game that can make it even tougher, and I thought he battled through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Zach Collaros suffered an upper-body injury on the first play of the second quarter and did not return.<\/p>\n

In a little under three quarters of work, Elgersma completed 11-of-15 pass attempts for 86 yards and one touchdown. The score didn\u2019t exactly occur on a highlight-reel throw \u2014 it was a short shovel pass that Ontaria Wilson took 31 yards to the end zone \u2014 but the rookie passer never put the ball in harm\u2019s way, which was critical.<\/p>\n

The same couldn\u2019t be said for Tre Ford, who replaced Bo Levi Mitchell for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Ford threw an errant pass to defensive back Major Williams late in the fourth quarter, which sparked Winnipeg\u2019s game-winning drive that culminated in a 23-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo to make the score 14-13.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to execute, get the ball in our playmakers\u2019 hands, make sure that I\u2019m not taking any negative plays, and be able to get the next first down,\u201d said Elgersma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of what my mindset was the whole game, is just how can we get one more first down, give our guys a chance to make plays with the ball in their hands. That\u2019s all you\u2019re trying to do, especially as a young quarterback out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cool for (Elgersma) to get his first regular-season opportunity,\u201d said Ford. \u201cShout out to him for coming out with a win. It sucks for our side, but I\u2019m happy he was able to get that opportunity and do what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has been no formal update on the status of Collaros or Mitchell, though it\u2019s clear the latter suffered a serious injury. Mitchell was carted off the field after his left foot appeared to get caught under defensive lineman Jake Ceresna during a sack. The veteran passer has since vowed to return to the field as soon as possible<\/a>, though the extent of his injury remains unclear.<\/p>\n

With the 2026 season off to such a strong start due in large part to the play of the league\u2019s quarterbacks, it was unfortunate to see two former Most Outstanding Players suffer injuries in such quick succession.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo premier starting quarterbacks going down in the same game is not good for the league, so hopefully both guys make a speedy recovery,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about either (injury) right now, but Bo was on a heater, and the league needs that, obviously \u2014 points are up. We believe Zach\u2019s the best quarterback in the league, so when you lose that, the game ends up probably the lowest-scoring game this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never want to see anyone get hurt, but especially two star players in this league, two Hall of Famers in this league,\u201d said Elgersma.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Zach goes down, my mindset\u2019s on getting ready to go execute the playbook. When Bo goes down, you feel for him and feel for that team, but you kind of try and refocus and focus on bringing our energy and execution up after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers acquired Dru Brown from the Ottawa Redblacks almost two weeks ago, though he was left on the reserve roster for Sunday\u2019s game. The choice not to dress him drew some raised eyebrows from fans and pundits, though it doesn\u2019t appear O\u2019Shea was second-guessing himself postgame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was the right decision,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to put him in there and have him have anything less than a full playbook, so I thought that gave us our best chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains unclear who will start under centre for the Blue Bombers this week, particularly given they\u2019ll practice just once ahead of Friday\u2019s game. The practice will be closed to the media and the public, so it\u2019s unlikely the team will name a starter until Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Elgersma got out of his first regular-season CFL action unscathed and in a winning effort. Not many quarterbacks can say the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super grateful for the group around me. Obviously, the O-line played unreal, being able to get some easy completions, let the receivers go do their thing. (Wilson) on that (touchdown), making it happen, and I think just leaning on those guys \u2014 super special for our group,\u201d said the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell) and (receivers coach) Bralon (Addison), they did a great job kind of talking me through what our plans were, and then out there on the field, obviously relying on the guys that have been there before \u2014 Paddy (Neufeld), Stan(ley Bryant), the guys that have been in this league for a long time, and put it in their hands, and they did a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-2) will host the Toronto Argonauts (2-2) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, July 10 with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Argonauts are coming off a 58-36 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, while the Blue Bombers overcame an injury to Zach Collaros to narrowly beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.<\/p>\n

The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 29 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on TSN 1050 in Toronto and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

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John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.<\/p>\n

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