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News July 30, 2026

Game Recap | B.C. 35 Wpg 19

The Blue Bombers fell to 4-4 Thursday night in a 35-19 loss to the B.C. Lions; photos by Cameron Bartlett

@EdTaitWFC

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will limp into their second bye week of the Canadian Football League season — literally and figuratively — on the heels of two ugly losses and with more pointed questions being asked than answers being provided.

So, to sum all this up as succinctly as possible: things haven’t just gone sideways in Bomberland, the last two weeks represent a clear and obvious regression.

Facing a Lions squad playing a rookie QB in Kaiden Salter and so many injuries their infirmary could be stacked from floor to ceiling with wounded bodies, the Blue Bombers served up an absolute dud in a 35-19 loss to the B.C. Lions which completely spoiled another picturesque night for the 31,509 in attendance Princess Auto Stadium.

As a result, the Blue Bombers have completely faceplanted to a 4-4 record after consecutive embarrassing losses on their own turf by 22 and 16 points.

“S–t wasn’t good enough. Offence, defence and special teams — wasn’t good enough,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “The second half, we came out and couldn’t do it. We’ve got to be better.

“We’ve got to keep coming in and chopping wood. We’re a good team, a resilient team, we’ve got some good players in all three phases. We’ve just got to come in, get it fixed and get it together.”

Two numbers that best represent what was an epic fourth quarter collapse by the Blue Bombers:

First, Winnipeg actually led 19-13 with 6:18 left in the game and then were out-scored 22-zip to the finish line.

And, second, the club surrendered two long rushing touchdowns to Zander Horvath covering 58 and 35 yards in that final 6:18 as part of a 377-yard rushing effort by the Lions.

That 377 rushing yards against, FYI, is a new inglorious Blue Bombers record, topping the old mark of 349 yards surrendered along the ground in a game against the Edmonton Eskimos way back in 1956.

“It was just bad defence. Really, really bad defence. Horrendous,” said defensive tackle Jake Ceresna. “Defensively, we’ve all got to be better. We’ve all got to look in the mirror and figure out what we’re doing wrong and make sure we’re all on the same page. I really feel like there’s a lot of miscommunication amongst us while we’re out there.

“It’s on us. We’ve got to play better. Defensively, that’s on us.”

More thoughts on the Blue Bombers ugly fourth loss of the season from our view in the press box…

5 INSTANT TAKEAWAYS

1 In being pulverized by the Lions ground game the Blue Bombers gave up 160 yards rushing by the rookie Salter in his first start and then 191 yards and three scores on 17 carries by Horvath, while Emani Bailey chipped in with 26 yards on six carries.

B.C. averaged — AVERAGED — 11.4 yards per rush while cranking out 453 yards of net offence.

2 The game ended for the Blue Bombers without Dru Brown, who exited with just over nine minutes remaining and Winnipeg up 16-13 after a seven-yard run. Brown finished the night 18-of-21 for 180 yards and a TD strike to Tim White. Taylor Elgersma entered the game in relief and finished 1-of-4 for 10 yards, rushed twice for seven yards, fumbled once and was sacked once as the Lions threw everything at the rookie QB.

3 Winnipeg worked to establish the run early as Brady Oliveira finished the first 15 minutes with seven carries for 48 yards. He would end up with 107 yards on 19 carries and one catch for nine yards, but the Blue Bombers settled for field goals of 16 and 12 yards on their first two drives and, while taking a 6-0 lead, also kept the door open for a Lions rally, which they did with a TD on the final play from scrimmage of the first half.

“I’ve got to look at myself right away — I’ve got to be better,” said Oliveira. “I thought there were definitely some missed opportunities out there and I felt like we could have scored on two of the runs. That starts with me. I’ve got to keep my feet up. I think I let the guys down up front; they played one heckuva game.

“Everything feels like a blur right now. In crunch time we’re not staying on the field. Again, I’m going to look at myself and how can I be better.”

4 The Blue Bombers lost the turnover margin again, finishing -1, and have been a minus in all five home games this season with a combined total of -8.

5 Winnipeg limited the Lions to just 129 yards passing, as Salter was just seven-of-15 for 96 yards. But B.C. head coach Buck Pierce called an excellent game to utilize his legs, and the rookie pivot did provide the spark the Lions, now 2-5, were seeking.

The Lions led 20-19 with 2:55 left when Horvath, on a second-and-three from the B.C. 52-yard line, burst through the line of scrimmage and then sprinted 58 yards for a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion to put them up 28-19.

The final spike in the coffin was the 35-yard TD run by Horvath that featured more missed tackles.

377 — It doesn’t get uglier than the almost 400 yards rushing surrendered by the Blue Bombers defence. Lots of grotesque numbers on a night like this, but the historical component to giving up the most rushing yards in franchise history is telling, seeing as this club came into existence in 1930.

The Blue Bombers now head into their second bye week of the season and return to host the Ottawa RedBlacks on Friday, August 14th with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled start.