Matt Nichols had just finished his post-game media scrum late Friday night when he snaked his way through a throng of reporters before heading back into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room.
As he exited, he made a casual comment to Darren Cameron – the club’s Senior Director of Public and Player Relations – about the 31-14 win over the Montreal Alouettes being the 100th game in his Canadian Football League career.
While it would be more than a little melodramatic to say his 100th was the biggest in his career, it certainly does rank up there as one of the most important given everything that was swirling around him and his football team heading into the matchup with the Als.
Nichols was under the microscope after the Banjo Bowl, and the Bombers were on the verge of having their 2018 season being flushed should they have started off the final third of the season with a fifth-consecutive loss.
And so what unfolded Friday – with Nichols completing 18 of 25 passes for 256 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions in the victory – was mammoth both to the pivot and his squad.
Look, it’s been said and written a bazillion times – a bazillion and one, now – that the CFL is a quarterback-driven loop and that the work of the man who handles the ball on virtually every snap is critical. The performance of Nichols Friday wasn’t legendary by any means, but it did represent a return to his trademark game: he protected the football, he made some timely throws after quick decisions and moved the offence in a contest that was more of a slugfest than a 17-point differential in the score might suggest.
“I’m very happy for him and I know his teammates are,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea after the game. “That’s the Matt we’ve come to know and come to rely on. I thought he did a great job, a really good job.”
A couple of throws/moments really stood out about Nichols’ performance:
- On the Bombers first two possessions he was 6-of-7 for 67 yards with a 10-yard TD strike to Andrew Harris, as the home side jumped out to an early 10-zip lead. The importance of that start can’t be overstated, given what Nichols & Co. would have heard from the home crowd had they opened with a poor start.
- With the Bombers up 13-6 late in the second quarter, Nichols stepped up against pressure to fire a perfect pass to Darvin Adams that covered 49 yards, setting up a seven-yard TD run by Kienan LaFrance that put Winnipeg up 20-6 before the intermission.
- As the Als closed to within one score at 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Nichols and the offence then authored a drive that was so reminiscent of 2016-17. The Bombers took possession at their own 34-yard line with 8:33 left in the game, and nine plays later, were up 24-14 after a 43-yard field goal. But that drive took 5:26 off the clock, featured three second-down conversions and was vintage Nichols.
“Without seeing the drive again on film, it felt like that was a control process all the way down the field to put ourselves in field goal range,” said O’Shea after the game. “Certainly, giving five minutes of rest to the defence is going to be helpful for later on in the game.” - And late in the game with just 1:39 remaining, Nichols connected with Kenbrell Thompkins for a 42-yard pass to the Montreal five that was then punched in two plays later by Chris Streveler. Game, set, critical match won.
“I don’t know how many drives we had tonight, but I know we had a least five scoring drives,” said Nichols (the Bombers had 12 possessions, six of them generating TDs or field goals). “When you do that as an offence you’re going to give your team a chance to win. I felt like we did a good job of flipping field position at times and had some good drives when we needed them, especially the last two we went on – the first one was big, going down and getting a field goal, converting a couple of second-and-mediums that were big plays for us.
“Kenbrell made a couple great plays, ran a couple great routes. The last one… I love the confidence from LaPo (offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice) to send one downfield at the end of the game to throw that dagger in it. Credit to the coaches, players. Everyone executed well and I thought we did a solid job tonight.”
More on the Bombers win Friday night – a victory which improved their record to 6-7 – in our weekly collection of post-game notes and quotes we call UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
THE GAME’S LEADING RECEIVER WAS THOMPKINS… who finished the night with five receptions for 94 yards, including four second-down conversions. Thompkins, the former NFLer, has shown these flashes of skill in seven games now as a Bomber and his emergence as a threat in the receiving corps could be massive.
It also means his new nickname – ‘Taxi Thompkins’ – might be gaining traction.
If you recall, Thompkins was injured in the Banjo Bowl loss to Saskatchewan and was taken from the field on a stretcher to hospital. But by game’s end he was amazingly back on the sidelines in his full gear, although he did not re-enter the fray.
“They put me on a stretcher. Nobody wants to get put on a stretcher and into an ambulance,” explained Thompkins. “But once we got to the hospital the symptoms weren’t too bad. They evaluated me and said I was good to go. When we walked outside the first thing we saw was a taxi and the ambulance was gone. I didn’t know how we were going to get back, so we flagged him down. I asked him, ‘Can you take us back to the stadium?’ And he said, ‘Jump right in.’
“I guess when we pulled up to the tunnel and someone saw us jump out of the taxi they made a big deal out of it. Now they call me ‘Taxi Thompkins.’ I’m going to take that and run with it now. We’re on the move.”
The second-down conversion totals might mean more than the yardage total for Thompkins, because they indicate the growing trust Nichols has in his newest target.
“Unbelievable. And in big moments,” said Nichols, when asked to comment on Thompkins’ handiwork. “We had a big second and medium. He ran a great route and we converted on that. Two plays later we had another one where he ran a slant against T.J. Heath who, in my opinion, is one of the best DBs in the league against tight man (coverage) and he gave me a spot to throw the ball.
“Obviously, at the end he made a big play on the deep one. He’s added another dimension to our offence and he’s a guy that I talked about when he first started playing that has a bright future in this league and on this team.”
ANOTHER PLAYER WHO IS ALSO DEVELOPING THAT TRUST WITH NICHOLS… is Drew Wolitarsky. The second-year Canadian finished the night with three catches for 57 yards, with two of those receptions also second-down conversions.
He’s also emerged as more than just a Canadian the club ‘hides’ at the wide receiver position on the wide side of the field. Wolitarsky now has 33 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns and now has 11 second-down conversion catches.
“It’s an honour,” said Wolitarsky of his growing role. “I love being in that position to make those plays and helping to get the crowd fired up. That’s what you play for. I relate it to an investment and gaining the trust of your quarterback. I told him this week, ‘throw it my way and I’m going to catch everything that comes to me.’ That’s the kind of guy I want to be, especially for Matt. He’s going to put it there for you, you’ve just got to be there to make plays.
“Being in the room after a win like this… it’s a great feeling, man. We were going through a struggle, dude, and things weren’t going our way. We were making mistakes that weren’t like us and it was frustrating, it really was. It takes a great team to stick together and not point fingers. I’m proud and honoured to be on this team. We’re all relieved, but mostly proud, because we know we didn’t give up on each other.”
ONE MORE RECEIVER NOTE BEFORE WE MOVE ON… Weston Dressler returned to the lineup Friday after a four-game absence, and while he hardly dominated – he finished with three catches for 27 yards – he did join an elite CFL club with the 700th reception of his career.
That 700 club now has 13 members – Geroy Simon (1,029), Nik Lewis (1,050), Ben Cahoon (1,017), Terry Vaughn (1,006), Darren Flutie (972), Allen Pitts (966), Don Narcisse (919), Milt Stegall (854), Ray Elgaard (830), Derrell Mitchell (821), Alrand Bruce (767), Rocky DiPietro (706) and now Dressler at 701.
“Those are numbers to look back on when it’s all over,” said Dressler. “Right now, it’s kinda just a number. But when you hear ‘700’ it’s like, ‘Man, that’s a pretty big number.’ It’s overwhelming for me to put it perspective at the moment.”
JOHNNY MANZIEL HAD HIS MOMENTS FRIDAY, BOTH GOOD AND BAD… but the game is one Bombers defensive end Craig Roh certainly won’t forget. Roh finished the night with seven tackles and three sacks – he would have added a touchdown on a fumble recovery, but it was called back on a penalty – in a superb effort for the vet.
“It’s just fun,” said Roh, who conducted his post-game interview while having hats and tuques thrown at him by teammates – he had a sack-trick, after all – before donning a ball hat and tuque. “Any time you get back there, it’s an amazing feeling. And to get a guy like that, a guy who was a Heisman Trophy winner and a lot of eyeballs on… that’s always fun to get those guys down when a lot of people are watching.”
Asked about his creative sack dances, he said they come from the ‘Fortnight’ game and “it’s been a while since I got a sack, so I wanted to whip all of them out.”
THE BOMBERS GOT TO MANZIEL FIVE TIMES… forced the fumble in the end zone that was called back and picked him off once, as Marcus Sayles sealed the game with an interception with 1:57 remaining. It was the third interception of the season for Sayles, tying him with Kevin Fogg for the team lead.
“That feels good,” said Sayles. “It felt like they had been running that same play for a while… I don’t know what receiver was out there, but he ran a good route. But our defence did their job and I was able to get credit for that.
“It’s very exciting. After the last four games we needed to have this good chemistry and a bond to come together like this. Hopefully a play like that and a game like this can help us for the rest of the season, because I know we’ve got some tough opponents towards the end. Now we’ve got to keep this train going.”
There was one pick that also got away, earlier, as Chris Randle stepped in front of another Manziel pass that had Pick-6 written all over it, but couldn’t squeeze.
“Man, I dreamed about that play,” said Randle afterward. “I fantasized about it… maybe I dreamed too much about it and thought I had it already.
“But to respond defensively… to be able to be there and stand up where a couple games those opportunities went the opposite way. We’re getting better and to win in that fashion, we’ll take it.”
AND, FINALLY… we’ll go back to Nichols for the last word here. The Bombers are on the road for the next two games – to Edmonton and then Ottawa – and you could sense that Nichols would have enjoyed the victory… and then be the first in the film room again to get prepared for the trip to Edmonton.
He talked about having to beat the best to be the best after the game, but also spoke about the notion that Friday’s win was a bit of an exhale, given the circumstances heading in to the game.
“There’s some of that because you’re celebrating a win with your team, which we haven’t got to do in a bit,” Nichols said. “Aside from that… we kind of talked about that with my game. I don’t feel overwhelmed with excitement. I feel like we did what we’re supposed to do. That feels normal.
“We’ve won a lot of football games here the last couple of years. That right there is the normal feeling to me. When you lose… I hate losing way more than I enjoy winning. I’m going to think about a couple of plays all night that I wish I would have made, not the number of plays we did make. That’s just kinda how I’m wired. I’m excited about the win and looking forward to another challenge next week.”
