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\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 courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 36-34 at TD Place Stadium on Sunday night. Below are my thoughts on the game.<\/p>\n
Dru\u2019s revenge<\/p>\n
Dru Brown made his return to Ottawa almost exactly one month after he was traded to the Blue Bombers. Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie suspected Brown had an axe to grind<\/a> heading into the game, though the veteran quarterback said all the right things about his former club despite Dinwiddie publicly questioning his arm strength<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2191 what lands at 3 p.m. daily<\/p>\n 3DownNation Newsletter<\/p>\n \t\tLatest news, exclusive analysis, and more daily at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n \t\tLatest news, exclusive analysis, and more daily at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n \t\t\tFree. Unsubscribe anytime. By signing up you agree to receive daily emails from 3DownNation, If revenge is a dish best served cold, Brown let it sit at room temperature for most of the night before fervently dousing it with liquid nitrogen in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old completed 27-of-43 pass attempts for 317 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the win, which looks good at first glance. However, as is often the case, the numbers don\u2019t tell the full story.<\/p>\n Ottawa\u2019s defenders squandered four opportunities to intercept Brown. Three of his passes hit defensive back Shakur Brown in the hands \u2014 one in the third quarter, one in the fourth quarter, and one in overtime. Diont\u00e9 Ruffin also had a chance at a game-winning pick in overtime, though he was unable to squeeze it.<\/p>\n Winnipeg\u2019s receivers weren\u2019t always at their best for Brown. Ontaria Wilson should have come down with a 42-yard bomb near the start of the second quarter, though appeared he tracked the ball incorrectly after hand-fighting with the defender. Tommy Nield also whiffed on a catchable ball in the third quarter, which cost Winnipeg a first down and a 27-yard gain.<\/p>\n Dinwiddie was an excellent collegiate quarterback at Boise State University and played professionally for the better part of a decade. He\u2019s also a two-time Grey Cup-winning head coach and a former CFL Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n Despite all the criticism he\u2019s taken for choosing Jake Maier over Brown, some of which has come from this publication, Maier was the better passer on Sunday. He was far from perfect and his statistics were worse than Brown\u2019s, but he was the better quarterback on this particular night.<\/p>\n Defence doesn\u2019t dish<\/p>\n It was a shaky night for Winnipeg\u2019s defence, which allowed Ottawa\u2019s league-worst offence to put up 34 points and 420 net yards, the latter of which far surpassed a previous season-high.<\/p>\n After giving up field goals on three straight possessions, the Blue Bombers defence broke down near the end of the first half, giving up a five-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with a one-yard plunge from Bryson Barnes.<\/p>\n It was undeniably a letdown, though the unit played nearly 19 minutes through the two opening quarters. When you\u2019re on the field that much, fatigue will inevitably set in.<\/p>\n The defence gave up a bunch of yardage in the third quarter before slamming the door when it mattered most.<\/p>\n First, Kyrie Wilson snuffed out a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal to force a turnover on downs at the one-yard line. On the next possession, Jake Kelly intercepted an errant throw from Jake Maier at the back of the end zone to keep Ottawa off the board.<\/p>\n Winnipeg generally tackled well, which has been a problem at times this season, and pressured Maier with some consistency. Evan Holm also made a sensational knockdown in overtime, breaking up what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass to Keelan White.<\/p>\n However, the unit gave up far too much in the passing game as Kalil Pimpleton and Ayden Eberhardt were left open downfield for big plays. The front six also got manhandled in the run game a few times, which was a surprise given how poorly the Redblacks ran the ball through their first five games.<\/p>\n Triple overtime<\/p>\n The CFL made a change to its overtime format this offseason to eliminate ties<\/a>. If the score remains even after both teams have two possessions in overtime, the game is now decided on a series of two-point converts.<\/p>\n The league only had four ties occur from 2016 to 2025, which likely left most fans and pundits believing it\u2019d be a long time before this rule was needed. However, this is the CFL where chaos reigns supreme \u2014 it only took seven weeks for this exact circumstance to arise.<\/p>\n It seemed like there was a lot of confusion about how the shootout would be conducted, with head referee Ben Major\u2019s on-field explanation leaving a little to be desired. TSN also didn\u2019t seem quite sure how the format worked. A board explaining it would have been helpful for viewers, many of whom were likely unaware the change was made in May.<\/p>\n In the end, the shootout was far more compelling than a tie. Ties are for funerals, weddings, and soccer. In football, there should always be a winner and loser.<\/p>\n Where\u2019s Brady?<\/p>\n There was lots of hand-wringing before the season started regarding the play-calling of offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, who has led pass-heavy attacks throughout his CFL career.<\/p>\n Sunday felt like the first time this concern may have been well-founded. Brady Oliveira recorded only seven carries in regulation and wasn\u2019t a factor in the passing attack, making only one grab for four yards.<\/p>\n The star running back only got eight carries in Week 2 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but that made sense at the time \u2014 Bo Levi Mitchell was on fire, forcing the Blue Bombers to throw the ball early and often to try to keep up.<\/p>\n This game felt different. Ottawa was without Nyles Morgan, their middle linebacker and leading tackler, which should have allowed Winnipeg to make hay on the ground. That didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n Winnipeg\u2019s offensive line struggled to generate rushing lanes for Oliveira, and there weren\u2019t any creative play designs to help him find space. He finished the game with 10 carries for 48 yards, 20 of which came on an impressive first-down romp in overtime.<\/p>\n The Blue Bombers are paying Oliveira a fortune relative to what CFL running backs typically make. When he\u2019s in the lineup, he should be the focal point of the offensive attack, not an afterthought \u2014 especially when the passing game is struggling.<\/p>\n Costly errors<\/p>\n Winnipeg made a critical error on special teams near the end of the first quarter when Charles-Elliot Bouliane, a fourth-round pick out of the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, committed roughing the kicker against Ottawa punter Noah Gettman.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t appear Bouliane intentionally hit Gettman, though the replay clearly showed he struck the specialist\u2019s plant leg. The penalty was essentially a turnover, as the Redblacks were given a fresh set of downs and eventually kicked a 27-yard field goal.<\/p>\n Tommy Nield had a disastrous play at the start of the fourth quarter, when he was charged with illegal procedure and an illegal block. The two infractions wiped out a 13-yard completion to Dante Daniels, which would have given Winnipeg a first down at Ottawa\u2019s three-yard line.<\/p>\n The CFL outlawed crackback blocks in 2018. A veteran like Nield should know better than to put a shoulder into a defensive back running towards their own end zone.<\/p>\n Sergio Castillo had a blunder of his own in the fourth quarter, booting the ball out of bounds on a kickoff to give Ottawa possession at its 50-yard line. Winnipeg\u2019s defence slammed the door as Willie Jefferson got home for a sack, but it still cost the team field position at a key juncture.<\/p>\n There were other key mistakes from the Blue Bombers, including a failed third-and-one QB sneak and a grade-two roughing the passer penalty (more on those in a moment).<\/p>\n However, the biggest challenge for Winnipeg was arguably the play of future Hall of Fame left tackle Stanley Bryant.<\/p>\n The 40-year-old had another tough outing, struggling one-on-one against former NFL pass rusher Luiji Vilain, who made his first career CFL start. Bryant was beaten for multiple pressures and took two holding penalties in the first half, though both were declined.<\/p>\n When a team is struggling offensively and defensively, its only hope is playing \u201cclean\u201d football, which means smart, mistake-free football. Winnipeg didn\u2019t do that and wouldn\u2019t have come away with a win had the Redblacks not dropped four would-be interceptions.<\/p>\n Coming up short<\/p>\n Winnipeg was perfect on short yardage over their first five games but got stuffed on their opening possession when Bryce Perkins was stopped short on third-and-one.<\/p>\n It was a relatively long yard, as Dru Brown was forced out the near the sideline after scrambling on the previous play. The offensive line didn\u2019t get a substantial push and C.J. Reavis stopped Perkins shy of a first down, giving the Redblacks possession in Winnipeg territory.<\/p>\n Perkins may not have been to blame for failing to reach the first down \u2014 it\u2019s tough to say for sure without seeing the film \u2014 but it\u2019ll be interesting to see if he stays on the roster once Zach Collaros is ready to return (more on that in a moment).<\/p>\n Taylor Elgersma is currently the No. 2 behind Dru Brown. If the team wants to keep the rookie on the active roster, he\u2019ll have to do short yardage when he inevitably becomes the No. 3. If the club wants Perkins to continue with short yardage, Elgersma will have to go to the reserve roster.<\/p>\n That\u2019s so Fletch<\/p>\n Michael Fletcher made his first career start in place of injured nose tackle Cameron Lawson and the results were mixed.<\/p>\n The Appalachian State standout got off to an excellent start. He recorded a sack on Ottawa\u2019s first possession, beating Drew Desjarlais one-on-one with a push-pull. He then shot a gap on the next drive to tackle Greg Bell for a three-yard loss.<\/p>\n Things took a turn for the worse in the third quarter. Fletcher shot the A-gap between Samuel Carson and Sean McEwen but went helmet-to-helmet on Jake Maier, drawing a grade-two roughing the passer penalty that cost his team 25 yards.<\/p>\n Winnipeg has needed more defensive linemen to step up and Fletcher appears capable of being an impact player. He just needs to play smarter.<\/p>\n Willie Jefferson was excellent again amid a strong start to the season<\/a>, making one tackle, one sack, and one pass knockdown. One might ball that stat line a Willie Jefferson hat trick.<\/p>\n Mr. 200<\/p>\n Mike O\u2019Shea coached regular-season game No. 200 with the Blue Bombers on Sunday.<\/p>\n The native of North Bay, Ont. was already the longest-tenured and winningest coach in franchise history, and is now the first to reach that particular milestone. The only two other Winnipeg head coaches to reach 100 regular-season games are Bud Grant (160) and Cal Murphy (138).<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea is now just the second head coach to reach 200 regular-season games with the same team. He has joined Wally Buono, who reached the milestone with the Calgary Stampeders (234) and B.C. Lions (216).<\/p>\n With the win, the 55-year-old now has a 121-79 regular-season record in Bomberland.<\/p>\n Zach hits the six<\/p>\n The Blue Bombers moved Zach Collaros to the six-game injured list on Saturday, raising questions about the seriousness of his neck injury.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, head coach Mike O\u2019Shea told the media he doesn\u2019t think Collaros will be out for the full six games. The 37-year-old hasn\u2019t practiced since the injury occurred and it seems unlikely he\u2019ll do so in the immediate future.<\/p>\n As the team is heading into a short week, they\u2019ll practice only once. According to a schedule released to the media, the practice will be closed and quarterbacks will not be made available for interviews. As such, don\u2019t expect any comprehensive updates anytime soon.<\/p>\n With all due respect to Collaros, the team doesn\u2019t particularly need him for the foreseeable future and it seems wise to let him rest up.<\/p>\n After next week\u2019s game against Calgary (more on that in a moment), the Blue Bombers will play the B.C. Lions, who will likely be without Nathan Rourke<\/a>. They will then go on bye before another matchup with the lowly Ottawa Redblacks. All three games are at home.<\/p>\n RIP<\/p>\n
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