It’s official, Winnipeg Blue Bombers Nation: you can now make plans for the afternoon of Sunday, November 11th because the blue and gold have earned a ride in the Grey Cup derby.
Yes, on a night when Investors Group Field and an announced crowd of 25,173 was shrouded in a dense fog, the club’s playoff picture became crystal clear after a 29-21 victory over the Calgary Stampeders secured a spot in the postseason for the third straight November.
The win, the club’s fifth straight, improved the Bombers to 10-7 – two points ahead of the B.C. Lions – and eliminated the Edmonton Eskimos from the playoff picture with one game remaining next Saturday in the Alberta capital.
Winnipeg will either finish third in the West and be on the road for the West Semi-Final or finish fourth and cross over to the East Division Semi-Final against either Hamilton or Ottawa.
“We put ourselves in position for a win-and-in game in a playoff atmosphere,” began Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols, who was sensational in completing 24 of 33 passes for 358 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. “And to come out and perform the way we did as a team is very encouraging moving forward.
“Obviously, it’s very exciting that we don’t have to leave it until the last game of the year against a dangerous Edmonton team. That’s something we didn’t want to do. And so to be able to go out and handle business like that under those circumstances just shows where this team’s at. We’re ready to keep working and try to get to that ultimate goal.”
The Bombers followed the same blueprint that has worked so effectively during this five-game win streak, with a balanced offence backed by a stingy defence that continues to evolve into a Canadian Football League force while forcing more turnovers.
The forced turnovers also came in critical areas of the field, with Jovan Santos-Knox punching the ball away from Chris Matthews at the Bomber five-yard line in the first quarter and the Stamps up 3-0, and with Adam Bighill then forcing a Don Jackson fumble at the Calgary 19-yard line that led to a Chris Streveler TD in what was a 20-point third quarter.
The third turnover came with some controversy, as a Bo Levi Mitchell pass to Eric Rogers on a third-and-five from the Bombers five which would have been a touchdown was ruled incomplete and then held after video review.
“Those are huge momentum shifts in the game and are securing points for our offence,” said Bighill. “Those are the things you have to do to help change the momentum in games and beat great teams. (Stripping the ball) is something we’ve preached since Day 1, but funny enough, sometimes opportunities present themselves more than others. I found myself in a few different positions to try and get the ball out these last few weeks and it’s great to be able to execute.”
Winnipeg cranked out 503 yards of offence, controlled the ball for 33 minutes and 16 seconds – to Calgary’s 26:44 – while forcing three turnovers. During the win streak the Bombers have a +12 takeaway-giveaway ratio (17:5).
“We’ve been working hard all season, but the last five weeks especially, to just go 1-0 every week,” said Andrew Harris, who had 86 yards along the ground on 15 carries and 44 more yards receiving on five catches. “I’ve been talking about complete football and today I felt like we really did that… it’s just complementary football. I’m just so proud of the guys to beat a team like that in that kind of fashion at this point in the season. It’s big for us.”
THE BIG STAT
5: Consecutive wins for the Bombers after falling to 5-7 with a loss in the Banjo Bowl. It’s the longest win streak by the club since cranking out five straight last July 27-August 24.
FYI
The Bombers two inactives were WR Corey Washington and LB Kyrie Wilson… The team did make a late change to the lineup, as safety Taylor Loffler was moved to the one-game injured list after apparently suffering a lower-body in Wednesday’s closed-to-the-media practice. Veteran Jeff Hecht started in his place and finished with three tackles… Harris suffered a dislocated finger on his left hand early, but after having the digit put back in place and taped up, finished the game. “It’s sore,” said Harris, albeit with a grin, afterward. “I felt like my finger came right off, but I’ll be all right. I was able to finish the game and carry the ball in my right hand all game and protect it.”
NUMBERS GAME
10,026: Career receiving totals for Weston Dressler, after pulling in four passes for 53 yards. He becomes the 17thplayer in CFL history to hit the 10K mark in receiving yards.
125: Consecutive games in which Dressler has had at least one reception.
358: Passing yards for Matt Nichols, his first 300-yard game since last year’s playoff loss to Edmonton.
48: Turnovers forced this season by the Bombers, most in the CFL.
4: Forced fumbles by Adam Bighill this season, including one Friday, most in the CFL.
8: Tackles by Jovan Santos-Knox, most on the Bombers.
9: Rushing TDs by Chris Streveler this season, third-most in the CFL behind Toronto’s James Franklin (14) and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly (13).
