“We’ve had four straight sellouts, hopefully we can make it five. Man, there’s nothing better.”
1st Half - Zach Collaros 8 throw
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions have done this dance before, with the three regular-season matchups featuring two dominant knockouts and an absolute drag-‘em-out slobber knocker that went to overtime.
Now these two Canadian Football League heavyweights will do it all over again in the West Final at IG Field on November 11th with the victor earning a trip to the 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton.
The Lions knocked off the Calgary Stampeders 41-30 in Vancouver Saturday in the West Semi-Final and for the second straight November, will be in Winnipeg for the divisional final. The Blue Bombers, meanwhile, earned the first-round bye and homefield advantage by finishing first in the West at 14-4 and are now one win away from their fourth straight appearance in the Grey Cup and a shot at a third championship in four seasons.
“They had a heckuva regular season with the record they put up,” said safety Brandon Alexander of the Lions. “They came here for our first meeting of the season and really put one on us. They came back and we were able to get it back again and then that last one was a dogfight right until the end.
“They bring their challenges. Vernon Adams loves to throw the ball and he’s been very accurate this year and led the league in passing yardage. All his receivers are healthy and even his receivers that aren’t always in the lineup are solid and are making plays when they come in. They are well-oiled. They know how to play.
“In that last game, the overtime win, early on it felt like it was going to be a slugfest. Not necessarily knockout punches, just a bunch of jabs, hooks. They came out swinging and scored a couple of times before we got on the board, and we had to fight back. That’s who we are.”
Winnipeg won two of the three meetings between the clubs this year and will now lean on their loyal fan base for an edge when it matters most. The Blue Bombers are 31-3 at IG Field since 2019 – including West Final wins over Saskatchewan in 2021 and B.C. last year.
“It’s all positive vibes in our locker room, so it didn’t really matter who we were going to play,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “Our fans, our staff, our organization, this city all thrive on the energy we bring out on game day.
“When we come running out of that tunnel with the smoke going and the music playing you can just feel the love and energy and excitement that’s in the stadium. It makes you want to go out there and give it all for your teammates first and then for our fans. We always want to give them the best that we can.
“We’ve had four straight sellouts, hopefully we can make it five. Man, there’s nothing better.”
Here’s the goods on this West Final matchup:
BLUE BOMBERS (14-4) VS. LIONS (12-6)
All-time playoff series:
- Last playoff meeting: 2022 West Final, November 13th, IG Field – Blue Bombers 28, Lions 20
- The Blue Bombers are 4-6 in 10 playoff meetings against the Lions all-time, including last year’s win in the West Final, and the other victories coming in the 2002 West Semi-Final, the 1988 Grey Cup and 1984 West Final.
THE 2023 SEASON MATCHUPS
Head-to-head: The Blue Bombers won the season series 2-1
Game 1: June 22nd – B.C. 30 Winnipeg 6
Location: IG Field, Winnipeg
Full story: Read here.
A brief recap: The Blue Bombers got walloped – at home, no less – in a game that set off some alarm bells in Winnipeg. Adams, Jr. completed 20 of 30 passes for 241 yards and TDs, while B.C. had seven sacks – three by Mathieu Betts.
Quotable: “We’ve got to be more physical. It comes down to that. They punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t recover from it. We have to play better from the get-go, from the opening whistle. The first quarter was a rough start and then we were playing from behind at that point.” – centre Chris Kolankowski.
Game 2: August 3rd – Winnipeg 50 B.C. 14
Location: IG Field, Winnipeg
Full story: Read here.
A brief recap: The Blue Bombers pulled even with the Lions in the West Division standings at 6-2, evened the season series at 1-1 and avenged the loss in June with a dominant win. Winnipeg led 27-4 at halftime and put up six TDs against a Lions defence that had been stellar through the first two months. Zach Collaros threw for 369 yards and three TDs as Winnipeg cranked out 576 yards of net offence.
Quotable: “That was fun, man. From the start to the finish, it was a total team effort. We started fast. We played an entire 60 minutes, and the offensive line did a great job tonight from start to finish. They were moving guys, they were physical, we were playing smart, we’re on the same page. It’s hard to win in this league. We put it on ‘em, and it feels good.” – running back Brady Oliveira.
Game 3: October 6th – Winnipeg 34 B.C. 26
Location: B.C. Place, Vancouver
Full story: Read here.
A brief recap: The Blue Bombers captured the season series and took the edge in the battle for first – secured a week later when the Lions fell to Calgary – with a dramatic win in Vangroovy. Winnipeg trailed by 10 points with less than three minutes remaining before getting a TD in overtime from Brady Oliveira and a two-point convert from Kenny Lawler in the rally.
Quotable: “That’s simply a good win against a good opponent. And we needed to get this ‘W.’ Hey, hat’s off to them, that’s a really good team, but we buckled down to make our plays. When we were going into overtime it was, ‘This is what we want.’ We thrive on that. I told the guys, ‘Let’s get it going. There’s no better time than now. That’s belief.” – defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat.
5 Notable numbers from Blue Bombers vs. Lions
534.5: In their two wins over B.C. this year the Blue Bombers averaged 534.5 yards of net offence – including 576 yards in the 50-14 win in August, the second-highest output of the season to the 603 put up in the Banjo Bowl victory over Saskatchewan. In their loss to the Lions, the Blue Bombers managed just 235 net yards of offence – their lowest output of the season and lowest since a 233-yard output in a loss to Toronto in August of 2021.
16-297-1: Kenny Lawler wasn’t in the lineup for the first Blue Bombers vs. Lions meeting back in June but popped off the page in the final two games. In those contests he had 16 receptions for 297 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the OT win. That includes his seven catches for 200 yards in the win in August.
110.2: The QB-efficiency rating for Adams, Jr. in his two games against the Blue Bombers this year (he did not throw a pass in Winnipeg’s win in August). Adams, Jr. was 20-for-29 for 237 yards with two TDs and no picks in June and 19-for-33 for 352 yards and 1 TD in the OT loss in Vancouver last month.
4/6: Betts, B.C.’s dominant defensive end, had four sacks in three games against Winnipeg this season, including three in the first meeting. And over his final five games he had six sacks to give him 18 on the season and set a new record for QB kills by a Canadian.
8-85: Blue Bombers RB Brady Oliveira had one catch in each of the first two meetings vs. B.C. this year – with 52 yards on 10 carries in Game 1 and 67 yards on nine carries in Game 2 – but in the critical October victory pulled in eight passes for 85 yards while also rushing 11 times for 67 more.
