The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have skidded into their bye week with black smoke billowing from the exhaust, the engine spitting out flames and more questions about the man behind the wheel of the offence.
In other words, the pit crew has a whole pile of work to do to get things right again, following a 32-27 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a sold-out Investors Group Field crowd of 33,134 in the 15th Banjo Bowl.
The loss was Winnipeg’s fourth in a row – the worst slide since the summer of 2015 – and now leaves the club at 5-7, just two points ahead of the 4-6 B.C. Lions for fourth place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division.
“We had an opportunity and we played well enough to win,” a frustrated Andrew Harris told a media scrum afterward. “We just had letdowns and didn’t have full details and finish and it ends up being a losing game.
“We are good. We are a good football team. It’s frustrating because we are good and I know that. And as much as the media or the league or whoever wants to say we’re not, we are good. It’s just details we need to sharpen on and be able to finish. But talking about it and doing it are two different things. We’ve all got to take a look in the mirror in this bye week and rest up and get stronger as far as getting our bodies right. This season is still wide open, the West is wide open still. Again, we’ve just got to look in the mirror and come back with a vengeance.”
What will follow this team into and out of the bye week are some festering storylines after a game in which Matt Nichols was pulled after throwing three interceptions in the first half – two of them Pick 6s – with Chris Streveler throwing two of his own.
The three Nichols interceptions led to 17 Riders points – with Willie Jefferson returning one pick 97 yards for a touchdown and Samuel Eguavoen taking the other 103 yards for a score – while a Louchiez Purifoy theft led to a field goal.
The two Streveler picks, meanwhile, led to two more field goals, as the Riders translated those five interceptions in 23 points.
“It’s unfortunate. On one of them I was trying to throw it away and got hit as I was throwing it, the other one I was throwing the hot throw and Willie was at the line of scrimmage… it was just bad luck, I guess,” said Nichols. But overall, I didn’t play good enough. I felt like I let this team down. This team deserved better than that today. I don’t know… I’ve just got to find a way to be better.”
Nichols was pulled at halftime after completing 10 of 20 passes for 165 yards and the three interceptions. Streveler went 10 of 20 for 160 yards with a TD strike to Daniel Petermann and the two picks.
On the final Nichols interception – with the Bombers first and goal from the Riders seven-yard line – he attempted to throw the ball away rather than get sacked. Asked afterward if that was an example of trying too hard to make a play, Nichols said: “I don’t feel like I was doing anything different. I’ve just got to find a way to be better. Not many people know the feeling I have right now, feeling like you completely let your team down. It sucks, but I’m going to keep working and trying to get better.”
The big question going into the bye and when the club returns to face the Montreal Alouettes on September 21st will be who takes the first snap from centre – Nichols or Streveler?
Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was asked that question after the game, and while he suggested that ‘Matt has won a lot of games for us’, would not make a heat-of-the-moment decision.
“Our intention right now is to just take a deep breath and look at the film,” he said. “I don’t think Matt was off on everything. There were a couple he’d like to have back and there’s a couple of plays that Saskatchewan made. They’re a good defence. They get their hands on a lot of footballs, redirect them… I can’t say for sure what the plan is going forward. We’re going to make sure we make a good decision and let the emotion of this loss disappear before we make any rash decisions. That wouldn’t be good for anybody.”
And here’s Nichols when asked if he thought he would be starting the next game:
“I honestly couldn’t say. That will obviously be Coach O’Shea’s decision. I would love to be. I feel like with the way I’ve played in this league I can turn this thing around. But ultimately that’s out of my hands. If I am, I’m going to be fully ready to go. If I’m not, I’ll be fully ready to support Chris or whoever is playing.”
The offensive struggles spoiled what was a solid effort by the Bombers defence, who got a Pick-6 of their own from Anthony Gaitor when he stepped in front of a Zach Collaros pass and returned it 55 yards, and then got another critical turnover late in the game when Jeff Hecht crushed the Riders QB, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by Adam Bighill and led to the Petermann score.
They also forced a fourth-quarter two-and-out that led to a Justin Medlock field goal that gave the Bombers a 27-26 lead with seven minutes remaining. But, as has been the case during this four-game skid, the club couldn’t make the critical plays in the critical moments.
“It’s tough to win a game when you lose the turnover margin like that and they get points off them,” said O’Shea. “That’s any game against any opponent. I don’t think it’s anything more than that.”
THE BIG STAT
23: Saskatchewan points off the five Bombers interceptions – two touchdowns directly on returns and two field goals.
FYI
The Bombers two inactives were DB Kevin Fogg and OL Jermarcus Hardrick… Fogg was replaced by rookie Robert Priester, who was solid in his CFL debut and finished with three tackles… With Hardrick and Manase Foketi both shelved, the Bombers started Pat Neufeld at right tackle and Michael Couture at left guard… RB Timothy Flanders also dressed for his first game of the season… The Bombers had a scare in the first half when receiver Kenbrell Thompkins had to be taken from the game on a stretcher after an awkward play in which his head collided with the turf. Thompkins was back on the sidelines in his full gear after being examined by doctors, but did not return to the game… The Riders lost Collaros in the second half on the hit by Hecht, and he was replaced by Brandon Bridge, who did drive the club into position for the winning field goal… Riders DE Charleston Hughes had his streak of consecutive games with a sack end Saturday afternoon. He had gone eight straight games with a sack.
NUMBERS GAME
21: Rushing yards by Andrew Harris, on 21 carries, after piling up 158 yards a week ago. He now has 984 rushing yards this season.
221: The total yards generated by the Riders five interceptions, including returns for TDs covering 103 and 97 yards.
3: Pick 6s in the game, two by Saskatchewan, one by the Bombers.
19-237: The combined penalty total and yardage by the two teams – 12-132 by the Riders; 7-105 by the Bombers
4: Consecutive losses by the Bombers, a first since the end of the 2015 season and start of 2016 when the club dropped five in a row.
