The deeper dive will come on the weekend when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will press play, pause and rewind over and over and over again in examination of their second win of the Canadian Football League season.
But in the moment – the right here and right now of an all-over-the-map 41-37 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in front of 29,467 diehards at a steamy Princess Auto Stadium – there were so many thumbs up developments that will clearly out-shine some of the warts.
The Blue Bombers have now won two straight to dig further out of the hole they had tumbled into to start the season and improved to 2-4. Critical in the victory was the work of Zach Collaros, Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson, Brady Oliveira and a defence that bent but punched back when it mattered most in what was a classic three-down slobber-knocker.
“Always feels good to win at home,” said Collaros, who finished 27-of-36 for 344 yards with touchdowns to Wilson and Nic Demski and was picked off twice. “We can play better, we all can play better… myself, first and foremost. But it’s good to get a win at home. Unbelievable crowd here at Princess Auto Stadium. It was awesome.
“Gotta cut down on the turnovers – that starts with me, but it felt good to sustain some drives there, finish in the end zone there three times.”
Indeed, a Blue Bombers offence which had averaged just 19 points through the first five games exploded Friday night for 41 and three touchdowns – two through the air – while the defence chipped in with three turnovers including a Pick-6 from Deatrick Nichols.
On top of that, Wilson had a bust-out game for the ages with 13 receptions for 201 yards and a TD while Oliveira rushed 15 times for 109 yards.
“We’re finding our stride on offence,” said Oliveira. “Whenever you have a player like Zach in the huddle and at the helm… it’s just his presence. It was like that last week, too, with Strev (Chris Streveler). Both our quarterbacks have a presence and an aura in that huddle that is so contagious.
“To have a guy like Zach in the huddle… he was back slinging it. And then we’ve got Pokey – that was his ‘Welcome to the CFL’ moment and then Demmer (Demski), gets the monkey off his back.
“We battled. Total team win. That was a good Western showdown right there. It’s always a battle against Calgary. It was hot out there tonight. We battled. We were throwing punches back and forth and whatever it takes… we found a way to win. That’s us. Good teams find ways to win.”
More on the Blue Bombers second win of the season from our view in the press box…
ATTENTION… POKEY WILSON HAS ENTERED THE CONVERSATION:
The Blue Bombers have been patient with Wilson, the Florida State product, as he learned on the job through the first five games. And Game 6? Dynamite. His 13 catches was the second-most in franchise history (tied with James Murphy (1986) and Derick Armstrong (2007) and just two shy of Eugene Goodlow’s 15-reception effort in 1981.
“Just an amazing game… that’s all I can describe it as – amazing,” said Wilson. “I’ve never been over 200… 200, that’s a milestone… Being able to be out there and play the game and get your experience level higher and from Game 1 until now it just feels like everything is coming a little bit slower for me.
“There are way more great things to come. Definitely.”
FIRST @CFL TOUCHDOWN FOR POKEY#ForTheW pic.twitter.com/x7GkT3agVd
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) July 13, 2024
A PASSING GAME COMES ALIVE:
The Blue Bombers had been struggling to be dangerous again through the air, as we had pointed out in our Game Preview, managed just one TD through the first five weeks. That changed in a big way Friday as Collaros found his mojo again, even with the two picks. That’s what gunslingers do and with the Blue Bombers trailing 37-33 with seven minutes left and backed up to their own eight-yard line, the veteran pivot pieced together a nine-play, 105-yard drive that was capped by the TD pass to Demski and a two-point convert again to the Oak Park product.
That was critical, FYI, because as the Blue Bombers and Stamps have tied the season series, Winnipeg has the tiebreaker now by one point. All that could be important but what is vital is Collaros flashing his old form.
“We love Zach,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “There’s just so much fight in him all the time. You’ll never not believe in that guy. You might not realize if you’re not in our room, but you’ll always put your faith in the guy.”
KEY MOMENT
A classic like this typically ends with a critical moment at a critical time. In this one it came with 55 seconds left and the Blue Bombers holding their 41-37 advantage. On a second and 10 from their own 39, Collaros connected with Demski for an 11-yard gain that then led to two game-ending kneel downs.
KEY STAT: 344
Collaros threw a couple picks, yes, but got it done when it mattered most on a night when he threw for 344 yards and the offence finished with 444 net yards. His 344 yards passing was his highest total since throwing for 389 last October against B.C.
NEXT: The Blue Bombers head out on the road for back-to-back trips out of Manitoba, beginning next Friday in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders with an 8:30 CDT kickoff.
That’s followed by a trip to Toronto and a showdown with the Argonauts on Saturday, July 27th with a 6 p.m. CDT start. The Blue Bombers are back at home on Thursday, August 1st against the B.C. Lions, with the ball put on the tee at 7:30 p.m.