The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have found their mojo again. And the men so critical in that discovery are wearing Nos. 15 and 4 in blue and gold.

Matt Nichols returned to the Bombers offensive huddle to spark a fire in the attack, while Adam Bighill ignited the defence in a 41-19 pounding of the B.C. Lions in front of 25,567 on a steamy night at Investors Group Field that offered more glimpses at this team’s upside.

The win improves the Bombers to 2-2 and into a log jam with the Edmonton Eskimos – who fell to the Toronto Argonauts earlier on Saturday – and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, behind the unbeaten Calgary Stampeders, 3-0, in the Canadian Football League’s West Division.

The Lions, meanwhile, fall to 1-2.

Nichols, making his first start of 2018 after injuring his knee a week before the season opener, completed 16 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a TD strike to Darvin Adams while Bighill picked off two passes against his old club – including a 54-yard Pick 6.

It was all part of a night in which the Bombers got contributions from almost everyone on the roster as Winnipeg jumped out to a 28-10 halftime lead and then put it into cruise control in the second half.

“I thought all three phases played great,” said Nichols. “Our defence did an outstanding job tonight and the offence… it took us a little bit to get going, but then we had four drives in a row with touchdowns. We were moving the ball well, running the ball, making plays to move the chains. I thought we did some good things.

“And then for me, personally, I felt great. I felt like I missed a few throws that I usually don’t miss. I guess that comes with not playing for a few weeks. I didn’t feel like I should have missed those throws, but I’ll just continue to get better and make sure I’m better next week.”

Bighill, meanwhile, finished with six tackles, including a tackle for a loss and two interceptions, in his first game against his old club.

It was his first two-interception game as a professional.

.@Wpg_BlueBombers LB @Bighill44 had some words for his former team after he recorded a pick-six against them 😲🤫 pic.twitter.com/hCOUhxFUkt

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) July 8, 2018

“There are plays I can be better… I think I missed a tackle or two,” said Bighill. “Those always bug me. But, defensively overall, we really executed. We wanted to get back to executing… last game in Hamilton we didn’t feel like we executed very well.

“I mean, every defence has got weaknesses and it’s our job to execute and making those weaknesses smaller and make it harder on the offence to try and move the ball down the field. We did a great job of that tonight.”

To that point, the defence limited the Lions to just 265 yards offensively – 66 of that coming on a late fourth-quarter drive with some Bomber regulars on the bench – while picking off three passes (Chris Randle had the other), registering four sacks and limiting the Lions to just a 29 percent second-down conversion rate.

At the same time, Nichols helped lead the Bombers on four touchdowns on four straight possessions midway through the first quarter into the second with the strike to Adams, two short TD plunges by Chris Streveler and a TD run by Andrew Harris.

Harris, FYI, had 101 yards at halftime and finished with 109 total – he carried only once in the second half – while pulling in four more passes for 22 yards. The Bombers finished with 152 yards along the ground, including 33 from Streveler on just five carries.

“We got in a rhythm and those five guys in front of me were doing a great job,” said Harris, making sure to give a shout-out to the offensive line. “I was able to make some guys miss and accumulate yardage, but it was a great game all round.

“(Nichols) was pumped up before the game in warm-up and we just rallied around the guy. He’s definitely our leader and our guy and it was just great to have him back.”

THE BIG STAT

4: Touchdowns scored by the Bombers on four straight possessions midway through the first quarter and into the second. That turned a 3-0 early Lions lead into a 28-3 advantage for the Bombers.

FYI

The Bombers two inactives were OL Manase Foketi and CB Brandon Alexander… WR Drew Wolitarsky was injured in the second quarter and replaced by rookie Daniel Petermann – who then pulled in a pass for 24 yards from Chris Streveler – before Wolitarsky returned on the next possession… Adams finished with a season-high 66 yards on three catches, although Adarius Bowman was held off the stat sheet… Justin Medlock hit both of his field-goal attempts on the night and is now 8-for-9 on the season… Winnipeg took six penalties for 60 yards, with three of those penalties coming in the final minute as tempers flared.

NUMBERS GAME

101: Rushing yards for Harris at halftime, on 11 carries. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time since posting back-to-back century games last August against Edmonton and Hamilton.

43: The longest run for Harris on the night and his longest since a 58-yard scamper in 2014.

0: Sacks allowed by the Bombers, the first blank sheet since last October 21^st vs. Toronto.

173: Passing yards allowed by the Bombers.

8: The number of Bombers who caught passes against the Lions: Darvin Adams, Weston Dressler, Nic Demski, Mike Miller, Kienan LaFrance, Andrew Harris, Daniel Petermann and Drew Wolitarsky.

STRANGE PLAY

Bombers kick returner Kevin Fogg fielded a kickoff four yards in the end zone and then threw an offside pass to Maurice Leggett, with the play ruled dead at the Winnipeg 14-yard line. The Lions opted to have the Bombers scrimmage from there, rather than let them concede the single point and scrimmage from their own 35-yard line.

The explanation from CFL Operations is here:

Play #64: #Bombers were called for an offside pass. BC declined the penalty to have WPG scrimmage where the play went dead instead of the 35 where they would get the ball if they accepted the penalty and took the score. The #BCLions took field position over the single point. #CFL

— CFL Football Operations (@CFLFootballOps) July 8, 2018

THE COACH SAYS

“Good effort. They needed that. They needed to go out and play well. All three phases needed to go out and play well. Matt needs to come in and feel good and feel comfortable; special teams needs to cover and tackle (Chris) Rainey, the O-line needs to block, the defensive backs need to cover.  It all fell into place. You want to win games and you want to play well.” – Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

NEXT: The Bombers are on the road for two straight weeks, beginning next Friday in Vancouver and then a week later in Toronto. Winnipeg’s next home game is against the Argos on Friday, July 27^th.