We understand fully and completely the timing might not feel right, here in this moment. Not with the wound still very much festering and the pain undoubtedly lingering.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2022 season, for many, will be remembered only by what unfolded in the 109th Grey Cup, a 24-23 loss to the Toronto Argonauts that brought to a full stop the quest for a third consecutive championship.
More specifically, it will be remembered by what transpired in the final 14 minutes and 16 seconds of that game, not long after Janarion Grant’s Grey Cup record 102-yard punt return touchdown on the first play of the final quarter put the Blue Bombers up 23-14.
As to what happened after that, well, there’s a sense that hurt will take years to heal. It’s an opportunity lost, no doubt, and a shock to the systems of everyone in Bomberland who has become so accustomed to winning.
All that said, as we open our Blue Bombers ’22 In Review series looking at the Top 5 stories of the year, let’s all try to step back from that fateful final quarter in Regina for a bigger picture take on the whole season. And it was certainly about more than just the final 14 minutes and change in the Grey Cup.
Among other notable accomplishments from the ’22 season:
- The Blue Bombers set a franchise record with 15 wins, finishing the year with Canadian Football League’s best mark at 15-3. Over the last two regular seasons, the club is a remarkable 26-6.
- Three players were honoured at the Most Outstanding Player Awards for the second straight year, with Zach Collaros (Most Outstanding), Stanley Bryant (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman) winning in back-to-back years and with Dalton Schoen saluted as the Most Outstanding Rookie. Head coach Mike O’Shea was also named the CFL’s Coach of the Year for a second successive season.
- Two local products – running back Brady Oliveira and slotback Nic Demski – were among those who enjoyed career seasons. Oliveira cracked the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career while Demski pulled in 64 passes for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns – in just 13 games – in posting the best totals in his career.
Also enjoying banner seasons statistically were Collaros and receiver Rasheed Bailey while veterans Willie Jefferson – the first player to reach the 50-quarterback sack/50 pass knockdowns mark since the league started tracking those stats – and Adam Bighill, now seventh on the CFL’s all-time tackles list, only added to their legacies. Ditto for all-time special teams tackles leader Mike Miller, who added to his total with a team-best 16 takedowns on the kick cover units.
Some other numbers that should not be glossed over…
- The Blue Bombers are 23-2 at home in the last three regular seasons; 25-2 if the two Western Final victories are included and on a remarkable 28-2 run at IG Field since the fall of 2018.
- The club is a jaw-dropping 25-5 over the last three years against West Division opponents, a number that grows to 29-5 if the playoff wins over the last three postseasons are included.
All those accomplishments will find a place somewhere in the Blue Bombers record book, both in the team and individual player categories.
Yet, a striking image still overrides so much of it – that of a morose Blue Bombers locker room after the Grey Cup loss; a scene that included collective chins on chests and eyes filled with tears.
“This is what it feels like to be on the other side,” said cornerback Winston Rose after the setback. “At the end of the day, they made more plays than us. That’s a championship game right there.
“But I ain’t going to lie: this one hurts. This one hurts. This one hurts. It hasn’t truly hit me yet. We set a franchise record for wins this year, but this is the one that really counted. This just hurts to the core.”
