We knew that this game was going to be different. The Bombers would have their starting quarterback in, and the Lions would not. But for everything that was different, the outcome was the same; a decisive Bomber victory.

The Bombers posted their second straight win of the season on Saturday night when they beat the Lions. In my previous article I had said that there were 3 keys to a Bombers win, and they executed all of them. They did not play down to their opponent. They stopped the run, in particular Butler. While they did not completely protect the football as Collaros tossed 2 TDs but also 2 INTs, the Bomber’s defence did create a scoop and score. For BC, there was just not enough offence to win the game. In fact, it took the Lions until the fourth quarter to score a major.

While the Bomber’s offensive statistics are not going to jump off the page, they played Blue Bomber football; get the lead and put clock killing drives together. I will not fault you if you look at the Bombers stats and wonder how the score was 27-14 for the Bombers. But the answer is ‘simple consistency.’ There is no panic. They do not play outside themselves trying to do things that they are not good at. They know what their strengths are and they play to their strengths.

Will the Bombers have a stinker game this season? I fully expect it. It will happen when a team forces the Bombers to play in a way that they are not designed to play. But even then, do not count out this team that can continuously put up 3 points from more than 50 yards out. You do not need much offence when you can get points from that distance. And when you have a defence that can shut teams down, this Bomber team looks tough to beat.

What should jump off the page is that the Bombers were in second down territory 18 times, while BC had 23 second downs. That means the Bombers were converting first downs or scoring more often than BC.

Castillo was also impressive, going two for two with a long of 55 yards. Combine that with Sheahan’s punting average of 46.5 yards, and the Lions did not have much to work with. None of this should sound like a surprise to anyone; that is the Blue Bomber’s identity. They put up wins. They care about wins more than how the offensive statistics look; and they have all bought into that. There is no stat-padding…and that is what makes them dangerous.

But I have to ask you, who’s touchdown did you like better? Jamal Parker with his scoop and score, or the big man Tui Eli with his one catch for 5 yards and a touchdown? Remember, Eli was on the depth chart as a centre! Yet he showed some great hands to reel in the ball.

I was wrong with one prediction. I thought the game would be close decided by 10 points or less, or a blow out decided by at least 21 points. Somehow, the game ended up right in the middle of all that with a 27-14 Bombers victory.

Hot Takes
The Lions are in trouble without Rourke. They go into Saskatchewan this week (who is 3-0), and then Montreal in Week 5 (a team that is 3-0 right now as well). In Week 6 they get some reprieve as they play Edmonton. But if Rourke is not back before Week 6 I think the Lions fall to 1-4.

For the Bombers, they should give Oliveira all the rest, rehab and medical attention he needs. There is absolutely no reason to rush him back in to play. Cooley and Peterson look very capable for Winnipeg at the running back position.

And my last hot take…I do not miss Buck Pierce. I really like what Jason Hogan has been bringing to the table. It should be mentioned that Hogan is not new to the Bombers. For the previous three years he was their running backs coach…so he was in on the offence. I would really like to know what he was thinking in the 2024 Grey Cup when the Bombers did not run the ball. Hopefully, if the Bombers find themselves back in the Grey Cup, Hogan has learned what not to do.

Make sure to check out all the highlights from the game, because it sure was a great one…at least for Bomber fans!

Or if you want a little more, the Bombers have a condensed version of the game.

In a few short days the Bombers will host Edmonton, and they will once again be tasked to not play down to their opponents. As of right now, there are already over 30,000 tickets sold to that game so it should be another raucous affair!

What was your favorite play of the game? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this.

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