The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4) hosted the Calgary Stampeders (2-3) on Friday night from Princess Auto Stadium. After missing last week’s game with a Thorax injury, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros was back as the starter.
Many fans and the media expected this game to be a low-scoring game. What they came away with after the game was much more than anybody had anticipated.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Calgary went on a five-play drive for 76 yards ending when backup quarterback Tommy Stevens scored a one-yard touchdown using the quarterback sneak. The Stampeders led 7-0 with 11:53 left.
Two plays into Winnipeg’s first possession of the game, quarterback Zach Collaros intended to pass the ball to Drew Wolitarsky but Calgary defensive back Tre Roberson got in front of him to make the interception and returned it for four yards before he was tackled on their 52-yard line.
On the second play for Calgary, quarterback Jake Maier tried to complete a pass to Marken Michel but he underthrew the ball, and Winnipeg defensive back Tyrell Ford was there for the interception. Ford returned it for 42 yards before he was stepped out of bounds on the Stampeders’ 30-yard line.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw a seven-yard pass to Josh Johnson before the drive stalled. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 31-yard field goal and the score was now 7-3 Calgary with 8:44 left of the first quarter.
Moving ahead into the action, Winnipeg’s defense made another big play. On the sixth play for Calgary, running back Payton Logan ran with the ball for an eight-yard gain before Winnipeg defensive back Deatrick Nichols stripped the ball away from him and it was recovered by Lucky Ogbevoen on their 46-yard line.
For the second time in the first quarter, Winnipeg took advantage of the turnover when kicker Sergio Castillo kicked a 57-yard field goal with no time left of the first quarter. The Stampeders led the Blue Bombers 7-6. Calgary had 127 yards on offense (90 yards passing, 37 yards rushing. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 4 of 7 passes for 90 yards, and one touchdown. Winnipeg had 50 yards on offense (46 yards passing, 14 yards rushing, 10 yards lost).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 38-yard field goal extending the Stampeders lead to 10-6 with 10:45 left. Controversy happened on Winnipeg’s next series.
On the fourth play from scrimmage, quarterback Zach Collaros completed a pass to wide receiver Nic Demski. Demski ran with the ball and the whistle blew while the play was going on. The refs ruled it an incomplete pass and head coach Mike O’Shea challenged the call. He won the challenge but the Blue Bombers lost two yards on the play.
When play resumed, Winnipeg went on a four-play drive for 57 yards ending with kicker Sergio Castillo making his third field goal of the night for 28 yards. The Stampeders led the Blue Bombers 10-9 with 6:20 left of the second quarter.
On the next series, Calgary went on a two-play drive for 36 yards resulting in kicker Rene Paredes making a 41-yard field goal for a 13-9 lead with 4:16 left. Then, Winnipeg went on a four-play drive for 70 yards ending when quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ontaria Wilson putting the Blue Bombers up 16-13 with 2:24 left before halftime.
Winnipeg’s defense continued to make big plays in the first half. Calgary quarterback Jake Maeir attempted a pass to Marken Michel but defensive back Deatrick Nichols intercepted the ball taking it back for a pick-six 55-yard touchdown extending Winnipeg’s lead 23-13 with 1:55 left of the second quarter.
Calgary came right back. First, running back Dedrick Mills found an opening created by the offensive line to rush for a gain of 53 yards on the Blue Bombers’ 32-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Jake Maier threw a deep pass to Erik Brooks for a 32-yard touchdown. The Blue Bombers lead was down to 23-20 with 1:14 left of the second quarter.
On the final play of the second quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 22-yard field goal and the game was tied 23-23 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Calgary had 297 yards on offense (178 yards passing, 119 yards rushing). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 10 of 18 passes (55%) for 178 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and one carry for three yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had 8 carries for 104 yards, and made one catch for 8 yards, while backup quarterback Tommy Stevens had two carries for three yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made one catch for 53 yards, while Reggie Begelton made two catches for 34 yards. Calgary’s defense made one sack, one interception, and one fumble recovery. They were penalized two times for 25 yards.
Winnipeg had 192 yards on offense (180 yards passing, 22 yards rushing, 10 yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 12 of 19 passes (63.1%) for 180 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira had four carries for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made four catches for 44 yards, and one touchdown, while Nic Demski made four catches for 36 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. They were penalized twice for 38 yards.
Third Quarter:
The game settled down in the third quarter. Winnipeg had a chance to retake the lead with 12:57 left but kicker Sergio Castillo missed a 57-yard field goal wide right. Both defenses were doing a good job for the majority of the third quarter.
Calgary defensive back Tre Roberson intercepted Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros for the second time with 7:15 left of the third quarter. Calgary’s offense could not advance the ball and punted it back to Winnipeg.
Winnipeg went on a four-play drive for 33 yards before backup quarterback Chris Streveler scored a three-yard touchdown using the quarterback sneak putting the Blue Bombers back on top 30-23 with 3:06 left of the third quarter.
Calgary had the ball for the final 2:43 of the third quarter. On the last play, running back Dedrick Mills rushed for a gain of three yards to the Blue Bombers’ 33-yard line. The Blue Bombers led the Stampeders 30-23 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
On the fourth play of the fourth quarter, Calgary backup quarterback Tommy Stevens rushed to his right side before scoring a three-yard touchdown and the game was tied again 30-30 with 12:40 left. It was a nine-play drive for 80 yards.
Winnipeg responded by going on a five-play drive for 44 yards before kicker Sergio Castillo made a 33-yard field goal putting the Blue Bombers up 33-30 with 9:41 left of the game.
Calgary answered back by going on a four-play drive for 70 yards ending with quarterback Jake Maier throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to Marken Michel to take a 37-33 lead with 7:07 left in the game.
On Winnipeg’s next, they took their time chewing up the clock with an eight-play drive for 92 yards ending when quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski. Winnipeg successfully converted the two-point play making it 41-37 with 3:06 left to go in the fourth quarter.
All Calgary had to do on their next series was eat up the clock and score a touchdown to prevent Winnipeg’s offense from going back out. However, Winnipeg’s defense was up to the challenge when Jake Thomas sacked Jake Maier. Calgary would put their faith in the defense by punting the ball back to Winnipeg.
The Blue Bombers successfully got two first downs before taking two kneel downs to end the game. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Calgary Stampeders 41-37 in an entertaining game that left the fans and media speechless. Calgary remains winless on the road this season.
Final Stats:
Winnipeg had 444 yards on offense (344 yards passing, 116 yards rushing, 16 yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 27 of 36 passes (75%) for 344 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Running back Brady Oliveira had 15 carries for 109 yards, while backup quarterback Chris Streveler had three carries for seven yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made 13 catches for 201 yards, and one touchdown, while Nic Demski made seven catches for 60 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Sergio Castillo made four field goals with a long of 57 yards.
Winnipeg’s defense made 38 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. They were penalized three times for 46 yards.
Calgary had 458 yards on offense (316 yards passing, 149 yards rushing, seven yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 20 of 31 passes (65%) for 316 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and one carry for three yards.
Running back Dedrick Mills had 15 carries for 131 yards and made two catches for 9 yards. Backup quarterback Tommy Stevens had three carries for six yards and two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Clark Barnes made five catches for 80 yards, while Marken Michel made four catches for 27 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Rene Paredes made three field goals with a long of 41 yards. Calgary’s defense made 44 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and six tackles on special teams. They were penalized four times for 40 yards.
Final Thoughts:
This game was very entertaining showing you what the CFL is all about. The league stands by the motto of “no lead is safe” and that is the truth when comes to this league. Both quarterbacks were not bad. Yes, they did make some mistakes but they recovered from those mistakes getting their teams into the endzone. The difference in this game was Winnipeg successfully getting the two-point conversion. Calgary could’ve won this game but their offense could not make the plays when they needed to. They gambled by punting the ball and it failed.
Both defenses combined with five turnovers and three sacks in this game. The one thing that both defensive coaches did not do much of was blitzing the quarterback. For the most part, their front four were able to penetrate the offensive line and get to the quarterback.
While many will celebrate the 78 combined points in this game, both teams’ defenses need to improve because they gave up plenty of yards in this game. That is something neither team can afford if they want to make a playoff run.
My big complaint about this game was the referees. The blown whistle during the Nic Demski play, who picked up the first down was ruled an incomplete pass. They should have let the play finish before reviewing the play to make sure that Demski made the catch.
There was no reason for Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea to challenge the play when it should have been an automatic review by the command center.
Despite the Blue Bombers winning the challenge, the refs should have done two things. Either reward Demski with the first down or replay the down. Luckily, the Blue Bombers were able to get the first down and eventually made the field goal. The CFL should implement a sky judge using a retired official to oversee calls like these so they can be corrected on the spot.
Next week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday at 9:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Calgary Stampeders host the B.C. Lions on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
