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The Bombers struggled mightily in the first three quarters against a winless Redblacks side which put them in a 26-9 hole heading into the fourth.<\/p>\n
It felt like a done deal that Ottawa was going to snap their dreadful skid, but this is the CFL, and crazy things are known to happen in the final 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Blue and Gold woke up just in time and somehow managed to force overtime en route to a 36-34 victory to improve to 4-2. The Redblacks continue to stumble under Ryan Dinwiddie\u2019s leadership and are now 0-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a team that doesn\u2019t give up,\u201d said Bombers receiver Ontaria (Pokey) Wilson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna keep fighting until the clock says 0:00.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before we shift gears to Friday\u2019s tilt between the Bombers and Calgary Stampeders (2-4) at Princess Auto Stadium, let\u2019s revisit their most recent outing with 5 Takeaways.<\/p>\n
DRU DAY<\/p>\n
Dru Brown played it cool all week long.<\/p>\n
The Bomber quarterback was asked over, and over, and over again about returning to Ottawa \u2014 a place where he started for two seasons \u2014 and he dodged each question like Charles Roberts used to dodge defenders.<\/p>\n
But when he got back to the locker room after the game, it was obvious this one meant a bit more as he was swarmed by his teammates in celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s only human. He\u2019s going to have some elation, some joy, and his teammates are really happy for him because they understand how this week could go,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re put under a lot of pressure and put under the microscope and asked a lot of questions that you might not want to even answer, but he handled himself like a pro. His teammates recognize that and they\u2019re happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown, who was traded to Winnipeg a month ago, didn\u2019t have his best stuff. The offence was stuck in neutral for most of the evening and they paid for it by entering the fourth down big.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing changed,\u201d said Wilson on Brown\u2019s demeanor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was cool, calm and collected. He was like \u2018We\u2019re gonna go out there and win this freakin\u2019 game.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown and Co. turned it around late and put 17 points on the board to send the game into OT.<\/p>\n
If Redblacks corner Shakur Brown could catch \u2014 he dropped three interceptions \u2014 Brown\u2019s statline (27-of-43 for 317 yards and two touchdowns) would\u2019ve looked much different, and more importantly, Winnipeg likely leaves town with a loss.<\/p>\n
Even though he got away with a few reckless throws, Brown did just enough to show Ottawa, most notably head coach\/general manager Dinwiddie, that choosing Jake Maier over him likely wasn\u2019t the best decision.<\/p>\n
PLAYS OF THE GAME<\/p>\n
The Bombers wouldn\u2019t have been blasting tunes in the locker room and enjoying a win if it wasn\u2019t for two clutch plays by the defence.<\/p>\n
The first came early in the third quarter from linebacker Kyrie Wilson. The Redblacks had the ball at the Winnipeg one-yard line \u2014 with help from Bombers defensive tackle Michael Fletcher being penalized 25 yards for an unnecessary roughness major a few plays earlier \u2014 and tried to punch it in three times with short-yardage quarterback Bryson Barnes.<\/p>\n
Barnes was stuffed each time, and on his final attempt, it was Wilson who wrapped him up short of the goal line to cause a turnover on downs.<\/p>\n
Then there was the second overtime mini-game where the Redblacks were a touchdown away from ending the game on a walk-off. Maier fired a deep pass into the end zone to Keelan White, but Bombers halfback Evan Holm was there to save the day with a pass breakup. The Redblacks settled for a field goal which led to the game being settled in a two-point conversion shootout.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t It wasn\u2019t an A-plus performance by the defence, but when their backs were up against the wall, they delivered.<\/p>\n MESSY, MESSY, MESSY<\/p>\n A win is a win at the end of the day, but the Bombers certainly did everything they could to make it as hard as possible on themselves.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of all their uncharacteristic mistakes:<\/p>\n \u2014 Short-yardage quarterback Bryce Perkins failed to convert on a third-and-one on the opening drive (Perkins was a perfect 20-for-20 entering the night).<\/p>\n \u2014 Rookie linebacker Charles-Elliot Bouliane was called for roughing the punter late in the first quarter which led to Ottawa keeping the ball and eventually kicking a field goal.<\/p>\n \u2014 Receiver Tommy Nield was penalized for illegal procedure and an illegal block at the start of the fourth which wiped out a catch by tight end Dante Daniels that would\u2019ve put the Bombers on Ottawa\u2019s three-yard line. Nield also had a brutal drop in the end zone in overtime which almost resulted in an INT for former Bombers corner Demerio Houston.<\/p>\n \u2014 With the Bombers trailing 26-19 with seven minutes remaining, Sergio Castillo blasted a kickoff out of bounds to give Ottawa possession at midfield. Thankfully for him, defensive end Willie Jefferson sacked Maier to spoil their generous field position.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget Fletcher\u2019s penalty which was already mentioned.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll never see a team play a perfect game, but you can\u2019t have that many obvious blunders and expect to win.<\/p>\n RUNNING AWAY FROM THE RUN<\/p>\n Yes, the Bombers trailed for most of the contest, but running back Brady Oliveira only finishing with 10 carries for 48 yards \u2014 with 23 of those coming in overtime \u2014 against the worst run defence in the CFL is rather shocking.<\/p>\n Entering the week, the Redblacks were allowing opposing rushing attacks to scamper for a league-high 135.8 yards per game.<\/p>\n Oliveira, the highest-paid tailback in the league, hasn\u2019t rushed for 100-plus since Week 1.<\/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 NEW OVERTIME FORMAT<\/p>\n For the first time in CFL history, a game was decided by alternating two-point conversion attempts from the three-yard line.<\/p>\n The new overtime format was introduced this season. The CFL\u2019s version of a shootout takes place if two overtime mini-games can\u2019t declare a winner and that was the case on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Bombers scored easily on their two conversion attempts before safety Redha Kramdi snuffed out Ottawa\u2019s second try by breaking up a pass intended for White.<\/p>\n It was a bit quirky, but would anyone rather see a game end in a tie?<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t 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
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