Once again, Bombers fizzle in a game they had to win

By Scott Taylor/Photos by Jeff Miller

Hey kids, it’s pretty much over. And that means it’s almost time for the local burghers in control of Manitoba’s community-owned football team start thinking about the future.

Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field, the Ottawa Redblacks got a one-yard touchdown from quarterback Henry Burris with 45 seconds to play and it held up as the Redblacks beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-20.

Cameron Marshall with no place to go (Photo by jeff Miller)

With the loss, the Bombers fell to 5-12 on the season and are virtually eliminated from the playoffs. They are not mathematically eliminated but they will need a complete and utter miracle to make the post-season.

After B.C. beat Hamilton 40-13 on Friday night to improve to 6-10 on the season, the Bombers absolutely, positively had to win at home on Saturday.

After trailing 16-10 at the half, the Bombers outscored the Redblacks 10-1 in the third quarter to take a 20-17 lead, but Ottawa picked up a field goal late in the fourth quarter and then put their winning touchdown on the board after a 12-play, 76-yard drive that took four minutes and 36 seconds. That brilliant drive gave Ottawa a seven-point lead and a first-place record for 10-6.

Not bad for an expansion team that is in its second season in the Canadian Football League. The Bombers, an 85-year-old franchise hasn’t won a Grey Cup in 25 years. There are thousands of Blue Bombers fans that have never seen their team win a championship — playing in a league that has had only eight or nine teams during their lifetime. Meanwhile, an Ottawa CFL team hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 1978.

This current Bomber operation, from top to bottom is as inept as it’s ever been. In fact, the current coaching staff is 6-20 in its last 26 games with a terrible 5-12 record this season. In the games they’ve had to win, they have been frustratingly inferior to their opposition.

On Saturday, Burris finished with 29 completions on 43 pass attempts for 413 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also carried four times for 11 yards and a touchdown. Burris might have locked up the CFL’s most outstanding player award with this effort. Not bad for a 40-year-old quarterback.

Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols (Photo by Jeff Miller)

Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols finished with 16 completions on 24 attempts for 265 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bombers had only 296 total yards of offence to Ottawa’s 541. Ottawa runningback William Powell carried 22 times for 117 yards. Ottawa had 28 first downs, the Bombers had 14. The Bombers did not get a first down in the fourth quarter.

At halftime, with the Redblacks ahead by six, Burris had 18 completions on 27 attempts for 314 yards while Nichols was seven-for-12 with 142 yards. The Redblacks outgained the Bombers 372 yards to 141 in the first 30 minutes.

“Turnovers again,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told the CJOB post-game show. “Not being on the field long enough. So many things. We just weren’t good enough. This was a playoff game, we needed to be spot on.

“We gotta win a game, find a way to get more points. We gotta hope that two other teams lose back-to-back games. We’re going to be working. We’ll get our game plan ready for Toronto, we’ll be ready.”

Henry Burris directed traffic and probably won the CFL’s most outstanding player award in the process (Photo by Jeff Miller)

So here’s what it means: The Bombers have a bye next week and then, in Week 20, they’ll got to Toronto (Friday, Nov. 6) to face the Argonauts. If they win that game and both B.C. (6-10) and Montreal (6-10) lose both of their final two games, the Bombers will make the playoffs. B.C. goes to Toronto and then finishes the season with Canada at home. Montreal goes to Edmonton next week and the plays host to 2-13 Saskatchewan in the final game of the season.

Yes, the Bombers still have a chance (slim) to play in the own Grey Cup, but the way this team is operated still has to be discussed at the board level.

And maybe, just maybe, the entire board of directors’ performance needs to be discussed at the government level.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com