The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-6) hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-9) on Friday night from Princess Auto Stadium. Former Edmonton head coach Chris Jones made his debut as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive coordinator.
The two teams have been going in opposite directions as Winnipeg was riding a two-game winning streak and Hamilton was on a three-game losing streak. This game was all over the place and it came down to the wire.
First Quarter:
Early in the first quarter, Winnipeg’s offense took a major hit. Offensive lineman Stanley Bryant appeared to be normal before going down on one knee. The training staff attended to him and tried to help him off the field. He went down again and a stretcher was brought out.
The medical staff were giving him IV fluids as he appeared dehydrated and ice packs. He was conscious as he was wheeled off the field and taken to a local hospital. Asotui Eli replaced him at left tackle.
When play resumed with 11:37 left, the Blue Bombers marched down to the Ticats’ 35-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Sergio Castillo kicked a 43-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 10:01 left of the first quarter capping off a six-play drive for 36 yards.
Winnipeg’s defense dominated the first quarter only allowing 10 yards. Hamilton’s offense did not register a first down in the quarter and their time of possession of the first quarter was two minutes and fifty-seven seconds.
Winnipeg’s offense had the ball for the final 2:28 of the first quarter. On the final play of the first quarter, quarterback Zach Collaros threw a six-yard pass to Ontaria Wilson at the Ticats’ 12-yard line. The Blue Bombers led the Ticats 3-0.
Winnipeg had 90 yards on offense (28 yards passing, 62 yards rushing) and 7 first downs. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 4 of 9 passes for 28 yards. The offense had the ball for 12 minutes and 3 seconds. Hamilton had 10 yards on offense (4 yards passing, 6 yards rushing). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 1 of 2 passes for 4 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo kicked an 18-yard field goal extending Winnipeg’s lead 6-0 with 13:51 left capping off a four-play drive for 35 yards.
Hamilton’s offense put together their best drive of the first half. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw two passes for 50 yards before the drive stalled. Kicker Marc Liegghio made a 27-yard field goal and the Ticats trailed the Blue Bombers 6-3 with 11:25 left of the second quarter.
Hamilton’s defense gave up 60 yards before coming up with a turnover. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw a high pass over Brady Oliveria and Hamilton defensive back Jamal Peters made the interception for a 4-yard return to their 17-yard line.
Hamilton’s offense made a nice trick play when Bo Levi Mitchell faked a handoff to Greg Bell before tossing the ball to Tim White. White got a couple of nice blocks in front of him for a gain of 31 yards. Running back Greg Bell rushed for a gain of four yards before Winnipeg’s defense shut them down and forced them to punt the ball.
After Winnipeg’s offense went two-and-out, the special teams came up big. Winnipeg punter Jamieson Sheahan punted the ball 50 yards to returner Jordan Byrd. Byrd got hit hard by Michale Ayers losing the football in the process. Winnipeg linebacker Tony Jones scooped up the ball before scoring a 27-yard touchdown for a 13-3 lead with 2:52 left before halftime.
Hamilton’s offense quickly had a two-and-out giving Winnipeg’s offense the ball with 1:56 left before halftime. They went on a seven-play drive for 24 yards before kicker Sergio Castillo made a 41-yard field goal for a 16-3 lead at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 176 yards on offense (106 yards passing, 83 yards rushing, 13 yards lost), 0 for 2 in the red zone, and 13 first downs. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 10 of 19 passes (53%) for 106 yards, one interception, and two carries for 9 yards. Running back Brady Oliveria had 10 carries for 61 yards and one catch for 8 yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made 4 catches for 49 yards, and Nic Demski made two catches for 21 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made one sack. They were penalized three times for 35 yards. Their time of possession was 21 minutes and 52 seconds.
Hamilton had 88 yards on offense (54 yards passing, 41 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), 0 for 1 in the red zone, and three first downs. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 3 of 8 passes (38%) for 54 yards.
Running back Greg Bell had three carries for 10 yards, and one catch for 4 yards, and wide receiver Tim White made two catches for 50 yards, and one carry for 31 yards. Hamilton’s defense made two sacks. They were penalized four times for 43 yards, and their time of possession was 8 minutes and 8 seconds.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, both defenses made quick work forcing two-and-outs. On Hamilton’s second possession of the third quarter, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and running back Greg Bell led the offense to a five-play drive for 47 yards marching down to the Blue Bombers’ 10-yard line. On the next play, Mitchell handed the ball off to Greg Bell. He made a nice juke move before scoring a 10-yard touchdown and the Ticats trailed the Blue Bombers 16-10 with 7:35.
On the second play for Winnipeg’s offense, quarterback Zach Collaros attempted to throw the ball to Kenny Lawler but Richard Leonard stepped in front of Lawler to make the interception at the Blue Bombers’ 50-yard line. Hamilton’s offense went back to work going two plays for 7 yards before kicker Marc Liegghio made a 50-yard field goal and the Ticats trailed the Blue Bombers 16-13 with 5:18 left of the third quarter.
Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira had three carries for 34 yards before Zach Collaros completed a pass to Nic Demski for a 1-yard loss. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 45-yard field goal for a 19-13 lead with two minutes left of the third quarter.
Hamilton’s offense had the ball for the final two minutes of the third quarter. They marched down to the Blue Bombers’ six-yard line. On the final play of the third quarter, running back Greg Bell followed his offensive line before making a nice cutback to score a six-yard touchdown. The Ticats led the Blue Bombers 20-19 capping off a four-play drive for 70 yards to end the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball to their 48-yard line. On the next play, Hamilton defensive end Nick Usher sacked Zach Collaros for an 8-yard loss forcing third down. In the next two series, both defenses forced two-and-outs with Hamilton getting the ball back with 7:38 left of the game.
Hamilton’s offense went on a four-play drive for 33 yards before the drive stalled. Kicker Marc Liegghio attempted a 45-yard field goal but he missed it wide left and Winnipeg returner Lucky Whitehead returned the ball for 23 yards to their 12-yard line.
After both defenses forced two-and-outs, Winnipeg had the ball back with 2:32 left of the game. However, on the first play, quarterback Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Ontaria Wilson was batted up in the air by Jonathan Moxey and intercepted by Kyle Wilson on the Blue Bombers’ 36-yard line. The offense could not move the ball and kicker Marc Liegghio made a 45-yard field goal for a 23-19 lead with 1:48 left of the game.
Winnipeg’s offense had a minute and 38 seconds to work with. They went on a 10-play drive for 68 yards to the Ticats’ 10-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler giving the Blue Bombers a 26-23 with 19 seconds left.
Hamilton was unable to move the ball to get into field goal range and ran out of time. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers survived to beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 26-23 for their third straight win, and the Ticats have now lost four straight games.
Final Stats:
Winnipeg had 321 yards on offense (177 yards passing, 165 yards rushing, 21 yards lost), 1 for 3 in the red zone, and 23 first downs. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 18 of 36 passes (50%) for 177 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and four carries for 15 yards.
Running back Brady Oliveira had 18 carries for 120 yards, and one catch for 8 yards. Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made 6 catches for 72 yards, while Kenny Lawler made 2 catches for 17 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Sergio Castillo made 4 of 4 field goals with a long of 45 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 28 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and 6 tackles on special teams. They were penalized 5 times for 50 yards.
Hamilton had 285 yards on offense (220 yards passing, 72 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), 2 for 3 in the red zone, and 11 first downs. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 14 of 28 passes (50%) for 220 yards. Running back Greg Bell had 12 carries for 41 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one catch for 4 yards.
Wide receiver Tim White made 7 catches for 134 yards, and one carry for 31 yards, while Brendan O’Leary-Orange made 2 catches for 31 yards. Kicker Marc Liegghio made 3 of 4 field goals with a long of 50 yards. Hamilton’s defense made 49 tackles, two tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions, and 10 tackles on special teams. They were penalized 6 times for 63 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Despite the win, Winnipeg suffered three major losses all on the offense with Stanley Bryant, Brady Oliveria, and Gabe Wallace. If those guys are going to miss time, the offense is in trouble.
Winnipeg’s offense played decent and made the plays when it counted to win the game. Winnipeg had a 13-point lead going into the second half and they got lucky. Winnipeg nearly gave this game away but their defense made several stops forcing the Ticats to punt the ball.
Brady Oliveria had a nice game getting 120 yards rushing but he still has no touchdowns this season. Winnipeg needs to make adjustments on the offensive line or else their luck might run out.
Like Winnipeg, Hamilton struggled in the first half but managed to fight their way back in the second half thanks to Greg Bell. Bell did a nice job with 41 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He needs to be featured more on the offense. The other change the Ticats need to make on offense is starting Taulia Tagovailoa.
Bo Levi Mitchell had decent numbers but he is not getting the job done. Tagovailoa is a mobile quarterback who can do more on offense than Mitchell and Hamilton needs to make this change before the next game. With the way the season is going, Hamilton is going to have the first pick of the 2025 CFL Draft.
Lastly, both defenses did a nice job stopping the offenses and keeping this a low-scoring game. Hamilton defensive coordinator Chris Jones was not bad but we won’t know how good the Ticats’ defense is until they play a good team like Montreal and they have a tough test next week.
Next week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Toronto Argonauts on Monday at 2:30 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.
