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October 25, 2018

Game Preview | CGY vs WPG


GAME 17 | CALGARY STAMPEDERS (12-4) at WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (9-7)

THE 4-1-1

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Investors Group Field
TV: TSN, ESPN+
Radio: CJOB
The forecast: Cloudy, High of 7C with an overnight low of 3C.
Vegas line: The Bombers are favoured by 3.5 points.
Streaks: Calgary: 2L; Winnipeg: 4W
Home/Road: The Bombers are 5-3 at home; the Stampeders are 5-2 on the road.
Series: The Stamps lead the all-time series (since 1945) 111-92-0.
Recent history: The Bombers fell 39-26 to the Stamps in Calgary back on August 25th. Winnipeg has lost nine straight home games to the Stamps dating back to the 2009 home opener – a game that featured Stefan LeFors as the starting quarterback and Mike Kelly as the head coach. Winnipeg is just 2-9 in its last 11 games against Calgary dating back to 2013.


3 STORYLINES

1. WIN AND THEY’RE IN

There are still 22 different playoff possibilities in the West with two weeks remaining in the regular season, but the task is simple for the Bombers: win one of their final two games and they are in the playoffs. The Bombers will finish either third and travel to Saskatchewan or Calgary for the West Semi-Final or finish fourth and cross over to the East Division. Should the Bombers lose both games, they would be eliminated from the playoff picture.

“We’ll just go out there and play our game and not worry about any of the other stuff,” said slotback Nic Demski. “We just worry about what’s in this room, what our challenge is and what we have to take care of. We’re excited for this week. We know what’s at stake.”

They also know that what they did before the bye week – win four straight – doesn’t carry over to Friday night against the Stamps. How do they create that momentum again?

“It’s all about practice,” Demski added. “We’ve had, I’ll say, a ‘loud’ week of practice. Everybody has been competing out here. We’re just going to go out there and ball out on the weekend.”

2. NO GO, BO

Bo Levi Mitchell has tortured a lot of teams in the CFL, but he has made the Bombers his own personal punching bag over the last few years. His first career win as a starter came against the Bombers and his numbers against Winnipeg are absolutely jaw dropping. Get this: he is 10-1 against the Bombers and has thrown for 300 yards or more in eight of those 11 starts, including seven straight.

Oh, and one more: in the Stamps win earlier this year, he threw for a career best 452 yards and three scores.

“He does a lot well,” said Bombers linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox. “He gets the ball out well, he keeps his eyes downfield even if the pressure’s coming. So you know he’s dangerous no matter what – if you’re in his face or not in his face. You’ve got to get to him and get him down. He’s a great quarterback.”

3. ENCORE NUMBER FIVE?

As much as the Bombers have protected the football during their win streak and limited penalties, the key has been what they’ve done on defence. In fact, let’s hammer that home with this fact: Winnipeg now ranks second in points surrendered this year at 22.8, behind only the Stamps at 20.3. And it’s been eons since a Winnipeg defence could boast those numbers.

“It starts off with really building our chemistry,” said Adam Bighill earlier this week. “We’ve had a lot of the same guys in our lineup and we’ve learned from our mistakes and just built together. It’s understanding our gameplan, executing it, not giving up big plays and really making the offence have to earn everything. Everyone’s doing a great job of getting after the quarterback and affecting his rhythm. In this league, that’s what you’ve got to do.”


THE QBS

  • Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols is 37-26 in his career as a starter and 29-14 since taking over from Drew Willy in July of 2016. He is 0-8 in his career in games against Calgary.
  • Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell has a remarkable 68-14-2 career record as a starter, including going 10-1 in games against the Bombers.

ROSTER SHUFFLE

The Bombers are making just one change to their 46-man roster this week, adding DE Jackson Jeffcoat and moving DE Gerald Rivers to the one-game injured list. New OL Geoff Gray is also on the one-game injured list after signing last week.

3 BOMBERS TO WATCH

#33 Andrew Harris, RB:  He’s in a dogfight with Ottawa’s William Powell for the CFL rushing title, with his career-best 1,269 yards just 93 shy of his REDBLACKS rival at 1,362. But in the first meeting between Calgary and Winnipeg earlier this year, Harris was limited to just 13 rushing yards on seven carries.
#4 Adam Bighill, LB: Bighill was the best player on the field in the Bombers’ 31-0 spanking of Saskatchewan when the team last played and continues to fuel his case as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He’s also now very much in the conversation with Harris as the club’s Most Outstanding Player.
#15 Matt Nichols, QB: His game has settled since tossing two Pick-6s in the Banjo Bowl loss to the Riders, with five touchdowns and just one interception in the four games since. More of the same from the veteran pivot will go a long way in the Bombers extending their win streak.

X-FACTOR

#94 Jackson Jeffcoat, DE: The Bombers are hoping Jeffcoat can shake off whatever rust might have settled in after a six-game stint on the injured list. The Jeffcoat they saw before the injury, after all, was impressive as he had 18 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass knockdowns and two tackles for a loss in the 10 games before he was injured.

CRITICAL NUMBER

1: With one win in their last two games – this one against Calgary or next Saturday afternoon in Edmonton – and the Bombers will qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Weston Dressler needs 27 receiving yards to reach 10,000 for his career. That would make him the 17th player in league history to reach the 10K mark. Dressler also has a catch in 124 consecutive games, tied with Jamel Richardson for the sixth-longest in CFL history. Tony Gabriel is in the fifth spot at 131.
  • With just a tie against the Bombers, the Stamps would clinch first place in the West for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five years. Calgary has earned a playoff spot for 14 straight years, the longest active streak in the CFL and sixth longest in league history.
  • The Bombers have had seven games this year in which 10 or more of their points have come off turnovers. They lead the league with 141 points off turnovers, or 28 percent of their total points.
  • Interesting stat: the last Bombers QB to lead the club to a win over Calgary was Dan LeFevour last November 3rd. The Stamps, who had already clinched first in the West, countered by starting Andrew Buckley in that game.