Published Aug 20, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 12\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n The last time the Winnipeg Blue Bombers travelled to Montreal they experienced some divine intervention to nail down top spot in the CFL West.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. 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Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n This time they\u2019d just like to get back on the straight and narrow path that eventually leads there.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s tilt kicks off the second half of the season for a 5-4 team that\u2019s already had enough ups and downs to make any stomach queasy.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d like to hope that we go on a nice little run here,\u201d running back Brady Oliveira said. \u201cLet\u2019s try and win out. It\u2019s obviously tough. But we\u2019ve done it before\u2026 we\u2019ve gone on nice little runs where we\u2019ve won a ton of games in a row. Our focus, which I think is great, is not worrying about the second half of the season. It\u2019s worrying about now, about beating Montreal this week and forgetting about who we play after that.<\/p>\n \u201cHave the tunnel vision and have those blinders on.\u201d<\/p>\n It was just last season when the Bombers rolled up eight straight wins, seven of them to start the second half, squashing the memory of a 2-6 start and setting up a memorable regular-season finale in Montreal.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That\u2019s when a sudden, late-game squall blew back an Alouettes punt and set Winnipeg up for a last-play, 51-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo. The 28-27 win put a bow on an 11-7 record and put the Bombers on the doorstep of a fifth straight Grey Cup appearance.<\/p>\n \u201cGod is a Bombers fan,\u201d is how TSN broadcaster Duane Forde called it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a crazy one,\u201d quarterback Zach Collaros recalled just before boarding the team\u2019s charter flight on Wednesday. \u201cThe wind changing, it got dark. It was weird. Their punter shanked one, and Serge did what Serge does.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for this team to start doing more of what this team does.<\/p>\n Oliveira averaging 59 yards per game on the ground isn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n After seasons of more than 1,500 and 1,300 yards, the Winnipegger has just 413, averaging nearly a yard less per carry than he did the last two years.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Of course he missed two games, but averages are averages.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we just finish this thing off right and make sure we\u2019re winning games, the numbers are irrelevant to me,\u201d Oliveira said.<\/p>\n Not that he\u2019s given up reaching those heights again.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I could do that every single year. And yeah, I want to win football games. But I still don\u2019t see that out of the picture. I\u2019m going to get going and it\u2019s just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n If the passing game was carrying this team, the numbers from the top player in the CFL last year wouldn\u2019t matter so much.<\/p>\n But Winnipeg\u2019s air attack is ranked in the bottom half of the league in yardage and touchdowns, second-last in big plays, dead-last in efficiency and interceptions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a (long) ways to go,\u201d Collaros, with a league-worst 9-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, acknowledged of the offence. \u201cWe just need to continue to believe in what our core tenets are, and that starts with physicality and executing and paying attention to the details. All those things that sound cliche but really what makes a great football team and a great offence.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cThe rest will come with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Collaros has missed time, too, and has a receiving corps in transition, without Dalton Schoen for one more game.<\/p>\n Which brings us to the other side of the ball, also injury depleted but showing more warts than the injury-depleted unit did a year ago.<\/p>\n Giving up 290-plus passing yards per game including chunks of 30 or more every week isn\u2019t typical Winnipeg defence.<\/p>\n Last week it showed signs, giving up a big pass to Ottawa on the first play and the first play alone. There were long Ottawa drives, but there was also a goal-line stand and a critical stop at the end, producing another long Castillo game-winner.<\/p>\n A potential turning point?<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say, \u2018Oh, this is the moment,\u2019\u201d defensive back Evan Holm said. \u201cIf we can be consistent and get the ball to Zach and Co., we\u2019re going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Oliveira sees last week\u2019s heart-stopper as just what the doctor ordered to end a turbulent first half of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cTotally. This team has been in some tight games this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve faced a lot of adversity. Down the stretch we\u2019re going to start playing some really good football teams, teams that are going to be up at the right time, championship-calibre teams. We can use what we\u2019ve learned in the past to benefit us down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliveira didn\u2019t mention what\u2019s immediately down that road \u2013 the back-to-back, annual clashes with rival Saskatchewan, who, at 8-1, have what the Bombers want: first place.<\/p>\n One of his questioners did, though.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I know we\u2019ve got the Labour Day and Banjo Bowl. Those are my favourite games of the year, trust me. Those are two massive games. The most exciting games of the season to play in as a player. But still need to stay in the moment, handle Montreal first.\u201d<\/p>\n Collaros allowed himself to peek into the distance, too, for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully they\u2019ll be important,\u201d he said of the games with the rival Riders.<\/p>\n Two points on Thursday, even without a biblical gust of wind, would be a godsend.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-85891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Running](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SptsW03_Oliveira-scaled-e1704937821696.jpg\")
Running back Brady Oliveira. Photo by Kevin King \/Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.3.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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