Photo: Samantha Keen/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night by a score of 30-28 in front of 32,343 fans at Princess Auto Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.
Dru and Gold
Dru Brown made his fifth start of the season in place of Zach Collaros, who was moved to the six-game injured list earlier this week.
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The 29-year-old was razor-sharp out of the gate, carving up Toronto’s secondary for two early touchdown throws. Dorian Singer was his favourite target early-on, and he scored on a nice touch pass into the end zone. Tim White also scored on a 22-yard catch-and-run over the middle.
Brown also scored a six-yard rushing touchdown. Though he’s not known for his running ability, it was a brilliant read from Brown, who immediately recognized that Toronto didn’t have an interior floating defender.
This was when the magic ran out. Winnipeg struggled to sustain drives heading into halftime, and then Brown threw an interception early in the third quarter. It was a sign of things to come.
The pick was ugly. Nic Demski was the intended target over the middle of the field but there were three defenders in the area, two of whom had a better shot at the ball than Demski. Alex Teubner recorded the interception, which was the first of his CFL career.
Brown made another key error early in the fourth quarter when he overthrew Singer on a deep ball. The speedster had gotten behind his defender and looked poised for a 50-yard gain. Instead, he was only able to get one hand on the ball, which fell to the turf for an incompletion, and the Blue Bombers were forced to punt.
The veteran quarterback had a chance to hit Nic Demski for a first down with 18 second left in the fourth quarter but underthrew the ball, which landed in the outstretched arms of defensive back James Ceasar.
Brown got strong support from the running game, as Brady Oliveira recorded 18 carries for 139 yards.
It wasn’t enough.
Despite the strong start and good ground suppport, Brown finished the night 16-of-28 for 193 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The majority of his yardage was recorded in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
Explosions
Winnipeg’s defence was coming off its best performance of the season, and looked relatively sharp again despite giving up a handful of explosion plays.
The unit faltered only once in the first half, when Tyler Kahmann exposed a bust in coverage and Chad Kelly hit him in stride for a 56-yard score. The play accounted for most of Toronto’s first-half net yardage, as the unit was otherwise held in check. Evan Holm took accountability for the breakdown postgame.
The second half started with a bang when Kelly found Damonte Coxie for an 84-yard touchdown. It was a broken play, which saw Kelly scramble and buy just enough time for Coxie to sprint downfield after breaking off his initial route.
Watching the play develop in real time from the press box, it looked like the throw was going to be almost impossible to make. The pocket had broken down, and it Kelly had to throw slightly across his body facing pressure.
As it turns out, the 32-year-old made the throw perfectly. It was the type of pass only a small handful of CFL quarterbacks can make, and it got the Argonauts seven points.
Chucking it deep down the field didn’t always turn out well for Kelly, as he was intercepted early in the second quarter.
The pass was intended for Makai Polk but took an odd bounce off Jake Kelly and landed in the arms of Deatrick Nichols. It was a strong performance from Jake, who also recorded what may have been the first Kelly-Kelly sack in CFL history.
Toronto’s quarterback was intercepted again in the third quarter when Michael Fletcher struck his arm mid-throw, resulting in a pass that floated end-over-end into the end zone. Evan Holm made his first interception of the season to give Winnipeg its second takeaway of the game.
It was a massive play. Not only did it take points off the board, but it made up for an interception that was negated earlier in the drive when Cameron Lawson was charged with roughing the passer.
The defence put together a particularly nice play early in the fourth quarter, when Toronto had possession on second-and-eight from Winnipeg’s 12-yard line.
Kelly looked for Coxie on a slant, and Major Williams drove hard on the ball to get the knockdown. The rookie defender was able to be aggressive because defensive end David Reese dropped into zone coverage in the flat, providing outside leverage in case Coxie’s slant turned into a whip route.
In all, Winnipeg’s defence held Toronto’s offence to 23 points and 17 first downs, which should have been good enough to win this game.
Costly misses
Sergio Castillo’s streak of 26 consecutive field goals came to an end early on Friday night, as he missed from 45 yards out on Winnipeg’s opening drive. Janarion Grant returned the miss 128 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring against his former team.
Watching the play live, it was immediately evident that Grant might score. Gabe Wallace, Winnipeg’s left guard who is listed at 327 pounds, appeared to be the only player to that side of the field playing contain. No disrespect to Wallace, but that was never going to happen.
With the CFL’s field set to shorten next season, you have to wonder if Grant’s return was the last return we’ll ever see over 114 yards. Even those will be exceptionally rare, as the uprights being moved to the back of the end zone will mostly eliminate missed field goal returns.
If it was the last ultra-long return we’ll ever see in the CFL, I’m glad it went to Grant. At age 32, the two-time All-CFL selection and three-time Grey Cup champion is still a dangerous return threat. You could make a case that he belongs in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Grant now has 16 return touchdowns in his career, which puts him second all-time behind Henry ‘Gizmo’ Williams. Wildly, this was his first career missed field goal return touchdown. The rest have come on punts and kickoffs.
Castillo missed another field goal shortly before halftime, this one from 55 yards. The ball was kicked into the wind and fell short of the uprights. Grant was chased out of bounds at the 37-yard line on the ensuing return.
Long yardage
Bryce Perkins is tasked with running short yardage, though the offensive package may have to be renamed “long yardage” after he romped for a 76-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The 29-year-old broke contain off the right side, getting key blocks from Michael Chris-Ike, Kevens Clercius, and Brady Oliveira. He then won the footrace all the way to the end zone.
Given how many explosive plays the Argonauts generated on offence, it felt like Winnipeg would eventually need at least one to win this game. As it turns out, one wasn’t enough.
It should be noted that Perkins was listed as the No. 2 quarterback this week, which means he would have theoretically taken over the controls if Dru Brown got hurt. When Zach Collaros missed time earlier this season, Perkins was the No. 3 behind Brown and Taylor Elgersma.
D’oh
Winnipeg took several costly penalties against Toronto, one of which was truly inexplicable.
Early in the fourth quarter, the home side was called for too many players on a 32-yard field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu. The Argonauts were called for delay of game on the previous play, which made it third-and-seven instead of third-and-two.
Too many players is never an acceptable penalty to take at the professional level, especially after a timeout. When you get additional time, your personnel should be more organized — not less.
The penalty gave the Argonauts a first down deep in Winnipeg territory. The defence got another stop, but it shouldn’t have needed to.
This is the type of error that championship teams simply don’t make.
Playoff picture
It’s rare that an interdivisional game feels like a playoff preview, but it seems relatively likely that Winnipeg and Toronto will meet at BMO Field in the East Semi-Final on October 31.
The Blue Bombers can still mathematically finish as high as first place or as low as fifth place in the West Division, though this loss will make it tough to finish higher than fourth, especially if the B.C. Lions defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Friday night’s late game.
Meanwhile, the Boatmen are essentially locked into second place in the East Division. They can still technically catch the Montreal Alouettes for first place, but that would require a shocking collapse from the Larks. Toronto can’t finish any lower than second.
The Blue Bombers have historically struggled at BMO Field, so the Argonauts wouldn’t be an optimal playoff matchup. With that said, it’s probably preferable to travelling to Regina, Vancouver, or Edmonton.
Walking wounded
Defensive lineman Jake Ceresna left Friday’s game moments before halftime and didn’t return. He left the field under his own power but appeared to heavily favour his left leg.
The 32-year-old has recorded 17 defensive tackles, one tackle for loss, seven sacks, and one forced fumble through 14 games this season.
Truth and Reconciliation
Friday night marked the annual Orange Shirt Day game in honour of the upcoming National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Winnipeg hosted over 1,200 members of the Indigenous community with the support of some corporate sponsors. Both teams wore orange uniforms pregame, which also featured drum and dance performances. There was also a round dance at halftime.
Curiously, the Argonauts had their Indigenous logo on only some of their helmets, while others donned the usual logo. I can’t imagine that was intentional.
Big Bluto
The Blue Bombers honoured their 1988 and 1990 Grey Cup teams during halftime. Both squads will be formally inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Around 30 players were present, including legendary offensive lineman Chris Walby.
Though he initially took the field donning a black t-shirt, the big man proceeded to disrobe for reasons that remain unclear. He saluted the crowd topless, which drew a raucous cheer when shown on the video screens.
Photo: John Hodge/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The CFL could be around for another thousand years, and there’d never be another Bluto.
The soon-to-be 70-year-old simply refuses not to have fun.
Horns up
The Manitoba Bisons (2-1) are set to host the UBC Thunderbirds (2-1) at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday, September 26 at 5:00 p.m. local time. It should be an entertaining, competitive football game that impacts the Canada West playoff picture.
This is Manitoba’s last home game until October 31, which will conflict with the CFL’s East Semi-Final. If you’ve been planning on getting out to a game this year but have yet to do so, make it this one.
Tickets are under $20 for adults, while children, alumni, and current students all get in free.
Next up
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-7) will visit the Montreal Alouettes (11-3) on Saturday, October 3 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Alouettes are currently on bye, so they will not see the field again until Winnipeg comes to town.
The two teams last met near the end of August, when the Blue Bombers got a surprise 44-28 upset win at Princess Auto Stadium. Montreal should be motivated to get revenge, as they’ve yet to clinch first place in the East Division, giving them lots to play for in the standings.
John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster.
