Death, taxes, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Blue Bombers will compete in the marquee November showdown, facing the Toronto Argonauts and hoping to take home the Grey Cup that has eluded them the previous two years.
Boy, it sure is a fun time to be a sports fan in Winnipeg.
The Blue Bombers overwhelmed the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West final on Saturday, taking a 38-22 victory and firmly proving themselves as the class of the division hours after the Jets improved to an NHL-best 14-1 with a win over the visiting Dallas Stars.
Try as they might, no other team in the West has been able to stifle the Blue Bombers when it matters. The Roughriders managed to win one of their three matchups during Winnipeg’s slow start to the regular season, but the playoff experience that comes from being perennial Western contenders means the Blue Bombers know how to bring it when it the stakes are highest.
For their efforts, they’re rewarded with a trip to Vancouver, where a win on Nov. 17 would truly cement their unprecedented five-season run to the Grey Cup. The start to this season may have been imperfect, but it’s how they end the campaign that will really make the difference.
Here are some takeaways from the CFL’s West final.
The Collaros-Lawler duo is unstoppable
They struck early and they struck often.
Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros found wide receiver Kenny Lawler in the end zone for on the first drive of the game to open the scoring. Then, they decided to do it again — twice.
Lawler’s 177 receiving yards and three touchdowns demonstrated exactly what the receiver is capable of when operating at his best.
Lawler missed eight games after suffering an injury in Week 1 and the Blue Bombers felt his absence, going 3-6 out of the gate. In fact, they had a disastrous start, going winless in their first four.
Upon his return, the Blue Bombers went on a remarkable eight-game winning streak.
His 177 yards against the Roughriders were the most he’s notched all season by a country mile. His next-best total was 130 against the Edmonton Elks, demonstrating the ability to elevate his game come playoff time.
A share of the credit also belongs to Collaros, who easily was the better quarterback on the field Saturday night. The 36-year-old threw for four touchdowns and 301 yards, with 19-of-26 accuracy.
Collaros has quietly been one of the CFL’s better QBs this season, passing for 4,336 yards — second only to Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell — and 17 touchdowns. The 2021 and 2022 most valuable player, Collaros showed he still has the chops to compete with the best of them, even if not up for the top award in the league.
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Blue Bombers defence stifles QB Trevor Harris, Roughriders
The final score read 38-22, but this game was by no means close.
Not only was the Blue Bombers’ offence firing on all cylinders, the defence did its job admirably, allowing just 77 rushing and 283 passing yards. All told, the Roughriders managed 352 net offensive yards to the Blue Bombers’ 482.
Harris managed to throw for one touchdown, though it should be noted that it came in garbage time, after the Blue Bombers had already effectively won the game.
Harris was pressured by Winnipeg’s defence, which impacted his accuracy heavily. He completed 25 of 44 attempts — the 56-per-cent rate down considerably from his season-average 72 per cent. He was also sacked twice and threw one interception.
It wasn’t just Harris who fell victim to one of the CFL’s stingiest defences — all-star running back A.J. Ouellette was held to just 51 yards, though he did manage to get the Roughriders’ first touchdown in the third quarter. It was the lowest rushing total for Ouellette since a pair of 32-yard performances to start the season. Since then, he’s averaged 81 yards.
There were some bright spots with the Roughriders offence that should offer a smidge of a silver lining. Kian Schaffer-Baker, 26, finished the game with 162 receiving yards and 12-of-17 receptions. He was the team’s nominee for most outstanding Canadian after his rookie season in 2021.
Brady Oliveira dominates Roughriders when it matters
Coming into this game, running back Brady Oliveira had less than 50 rushing yards in all three games against the Roughriders.
On Saturday night, the Blue Bombers star finished with 119.
Somehow, between the two teams’ final meeting on Sept. 7 — when Oliveira finished with 43 rushing yards — and now, the Winnipeg native managed to figure out the Roughriders’ defence.
The Roughriders finished the regular season with the best rush defence in the league, allowing on average just 80.3 yards. Oliveira blew that out of the water, rushing for one touchdown in the process.
On a night where Collaros and Lawler were the flashy stars, Oliveira quietly proved why he’s the West’s nominee for most outstanding Canadian and most outstanding player. Even when he’s not the star of the show, he’s still making a difference.
Much like against Saskatchewan, Oliveira will face a tough test in the Argos, who were the second-stingiest rush-defence team in the regular season, allowing 85.1 yards. Can he do it again?
How will Blue Bombers fare without home-crowd boost?
And to think, it almost didn’t happen. If not for a wind storm in the final minutes of a game against Montreal forcing a short punt by the Alouettes, the Blue Bombers might not have clinched first in the West to secure home-field advantage for their one playoff game.
The sell-out crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium no doubt tipped the scales in favour of Winnipeg, which ended the regular season with a 6-3 record at home.
But Saturday was the first and last time Winnipeg can account for that kind of advantage in these playoffs. The Grey Cup will take place at BC Place in Vancouver, providing a neutral site for the Blue Bombers and their opponent, the Argonauts.
You can anticipate some of the dedicated Blue Bombers fans making the trek across three provinces to the West Coast, but expecting the crowd to be pro-Winnipeg would be a mistake. It’ll be a wild-card, but either way, both teams will be feeding off the energy in the building.
It’s worth noting, too, that the Argonauts swept the season series against the Blue Bombers — including a road win to snap Winnipeg’s eight-game win streak late in the season. Even with the Argos down their starting quarterback Chad Kelly, it’ll be Winnipeg’s toughest test, and they Blue Bombers be motivated to prevent a third consecutive year of heartbreak, even without the home-crowd advantage.
It all goes down on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
