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WEEK 19 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (10-6) at CALGARY STAMPEDERS (10-5)

THE 4-1-1

Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT, McMahon Stadium, Calgary
TV: TSN 1, ESPN+
Radio: 680 CJOB
Vegas line: The Stampeders are favoured by 7 points.
Home/Road: The Bombers are 3-5 on the road; Calgary is 6-2 at home.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 1W; Calgary: 1W.
Recent history: This is the second meeting between the two clubs, following the Bombers’ 26-24 victory at IG Field back on August 8^th, a game that featured Matt Nichols and Nick Arbuckle as the starting QBs. That result means the Bombers have a 1-0 edge in the season series with Calgary heading into this home-and-home doubleheader to end their schedule before a bye in the final week.
Series (since 1945): The Stampeders lead the all-time series 111-92-0.

3 STORYLINES

1. HIGH STAKES AT HIGH ALTITUDE

The top of the CFL’s West Division is a jumbled mess right now, in all the ways that make the final push to the playoffs so intriguing in this league.

The Bombers, Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders are all at 10 wins, although Winnipeg has played one more game than their rivals. The Bombers have lost their season-series to the Riders, who lost their season series to the Stamps, who are down 1-0 in their season series to the Bombers.

Edmonton, at 8-8, still has an outside shot at catching the Riders if they were to win out – including a doubleheader with Saskatchewan to round out the season – providing the green guys lose Friday in B.C.

Get all that?

All of this means the playoff picture should become a little more clear roundabout 9 p.m. Winnipeg time on Saturday night.

“Man, we’ve just got to win this game,” said Bombers defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. “That’s the biggest thing. Control what you can control. I’ve always been taught that and that’s what I firmly believe that.”

Remaining schedules in the West Division

2. WE ARE WHO WE THOUGHT WE WERE

A special salute to former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green, who this week 13 years ago spit out his famous ‘they are who we thought they were’ quote about the Chicago Bears.

We bring this up because in last week’s win over Montreal, the Bombers re-established their identity by controlling the line of scrimmage and forcing five turnovers.

The Bombers pounded the ball along the ground with 240 yards rushing, and averaged a whopping 7.6 yards on first down.

“When you’re about to crank out that kind of yardage on first down the playbook is limitless,” said Andrew Harris. “You can run play-action, you can run the ball, you can throw deep, especially with the confidence in our short-yardage team to convert those shorter plays. That’s crucial.”

The Bombers rank first in rushing yards per game at 148.9, but last in passing at 215.4. And to all those who believe the Bombers can’t win without being able to throw up a 300-yard passing game…

“A lot of people talk about how we’re too one-dimensional, but I would say everyone else is too one-dimensional by throwing it so much,” said Harris with a grin. “For us, we’re good at what we do. This is how we’re made, how we’re built and I’ve found we’re most successful when we have that emphasis on running the football… and it’s not just myself, it’s a full team effort with different guys carrying the ball, the different looks, the misdirection.”

3. BO vs. STREV

The Bombers are still discovering what they have in quarterback Chris Streveler, who has made just 11 starts through his second year as a professional after joining the club straight from the University of South Dakota, but brings a unique skill set to the line of scrimmage.

Consider that this year he has broken a Bombers record that has stood since 1960 for rushing yards by a quarterback at 641, breaking Ken Ploen’s old mark of 541, set 59 years ago.

The Stamps, meanwhile, have the CFL’s all-time leader in winning percentage for a quarterback in Bo Levi Mitchell, who is 75-17-2 all time – including a 10-2 career mark against the Bombers.

“Bo’s a great quarterback because of the way he approaches the game,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “He’s been in Calgary for a while, he knows his offence, he knows his offensive linemen. So it gets to the point that if he knows he’s going to get a lot of pressure from the outside he steps up behind his centre and his guards to throw those balls.

“And if he knows he’s going against good interior guys and he has a chance to step outside of the pocket, roll out and give his receivers a little bit more time so he can find them and throw a good ball, he’ll do that.”

THE QBS

• Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler is 4-7 as a starter over the last two years and 3-4 this year. This will be his first career start vs. the Stamps.
• Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell 75-17-2 and 10-2 vs. Winnipeg.

NOTABLE:

The Bombers are making two changes to their 46-man roster this week. Added are LS Maxime Latour for Chad Rempel, who was injured in last week’s win over Montreal, and QB Zach Collaros.

The Bombers are dressing three pivots for the first time since the injury to Matt Nichols in mid-August, and Collaros is listed third behind Chris Streveler and Sean McGuire.

3 BOMBERS TO WATCH

#5 Willie Jefferson, DE: Jefferson was doing his disruptive force thing in last week’s win, finishing with two tackles, a sack and three pass knockdowns, upping his league lead in that department.

#80 Janarion Grant, KR/WR: Dangerous every time he touches the ball, Grant had 188 return yards a week ago – including a 74-yard kickoff return – and goes up against a Stampeders special teams unit that has surrendered five return scores this year, tied for the most with the Riders.

#14 Marcus Sayles, DB: The Bombers lamented the fact they didn’t force a turnover in the loss in Regina a couple weekends ago, but Sayles & Co. were dominant last week. The second-year DB had two interceptions and a tackle on Alouettes punter Boris Bede that forces a turnover on downs.

X FACTOR

#88 Rasheed Bailey, SB: Led the Bombers with five catches for 86 yards receiving against the Als and also had the only reception covering 30 yards or more. The Stampeder defence rarely gets beaten deep, but the Bombers need pass catchers who can convert second-down opportunities.

FYI

• Calgary and Winnipeg lead the CFL with five defensive touchdowns this year. Winnipeg’s have come courtesy Winston Rose, Nick Taylor and Marcus Rios on Pick-6s and Marcus Sayles and Kyrie Wilson on fumble-recovery scores.
• The Stamps clinched their 15^th consecutive playoff appearance in Week 15. Winnipeg’s current run of four straight playoff appearances is the league’s second-best total.
• In the past 11 seasons (2008-18), the Stamps have averaged just under 13 wins per season and hosted 10 playoff games, including seven West Finals.
• The Bombers’ Mike Miller is now tied with Wade Miller for No. 2 on the CFL’s all-time special-teams tackles list.