Winnipeg’s dominant victory secured them the Division West title despite four weeks remaining in the 14-game regular season.
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers offense against the Blue Bombers defense would be the most compelling matchup in the CFL right now.
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The Blue Bombers (10-1) continue to look like they can do exactly what they want to do when they want to do it, as they won their eighth straight and fourth this season by three touchdowns or more while dispatching visiting BC. Lions (4-6) by a 45-0 count at IG Field on Saturday.
Winnipeg’s triumph secured the West Division title despite four weeks remaining in the 14-game regular season.
It is the Blue Bombers’ first Western banner since 1972. They have won seven Eastern titles in that time, the last in 2011, as part of the rebound between the two divisions in various CFL league lineups.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Lions and they have been outscored 114-19 in their last three setbacks. They are certainly in jeopardy when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs. BC had not been shut out in a game since a 28-0 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on October 25, 1970.
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NEXT GAME
Saturday
BC Lions vs. Toronto Argonauts
1 pm, BMO Field, TV: TSN, RADIO: AM730
Lions quarterback Michael Reilly was 15 of 31 for 131 yards with an interception. TSN’s Sara Orlesky reported from the bench that the plan was for him to be exited in the fourth quarter for Nathan Rourke, but Rourke suffered an injury and Reilly ended up finishing the game.
BC’s running game, which has struggled all season, showed some flashes at the beginning of running back James Butler, but had to be abandoned as the game progressed. Butler finished with 41 yards on six carries.
The Bombers are now giving up a measly 11.45 points per game.
The Lions have four games left, starting with a visit to the Toronto Argonauts next Saturday. They have considerable work to do.
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This is some of what we learned about them on Saturday.
Beginning of blisters
The first 24 plays of the game included a 44-yard punt return by Winnipeg’s Janarion Grant, a 14-yard touchdown by Kenny Lawler between two BC defenders, a 52-yard catch by Darvin Adams that would have been a touchdown if it wasn’t for an inning behind BC’s Marcus Sayles and a 17-yard touchdown reception from Rasheed Bailey that saw him hit the base of the studs.
He was 14-0 with 4:10 to play in the first quarter and BC, seemingly in need of a brilliant start to gain confidence, did the exact opposite.
In the first quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed 7 of 8 for 147 yards with two touchdowns. He finished the game 16 of 20 for 267 yards and three touchdowns.
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Small Advances for Leos Recipients
BC receiver Bryan Burnham finished with four receptions for 30 yards. He has now recorded receptions in 92 consecutive games.
He was attacked eight times.
Veteran wide receiver DeVier Posey, who signed with the Lions on Oct. 8 to help make up for Lucky Whitehead’s injury loss, made his first start of this second season with BC on Saturday. He made a catch for four yards. He was attacked five times.
Posey, who was the 2017 Gray Cup MVP with the Argos, signed with BC midway through the 2018 campaign after being cut by the Baltimore Ravens, and helped the Lions overcome a 3-6 start to finish. 9-9 and qualify to cross to the East semi-finals.
Including a 48-8 playoff loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats that season, Posey had 31 receptions for 411 yards with three touchdowns in nine games with BC.
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He played 2019 with the Montreal Alouettes and started this season with Hamilton before being released.
Whitehead, the offseason addition to the Lions who had 36 receptions for 665 yards in eight games, broke his hand Oct. 1 in a 30-9 loss to visiting Winnipeg and required surgery. The Lions said he would be out for two to four weeks.
Harris is missing, but no problem
With Andrew Harris (knee) on the six-game disabled list, the Blue Bombers passed the tasks of getting the ball to second-year running back Brady Oliveira. Oliveira finished with 65 yards rushing on 17 carries. He had a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, marking his first major in the CFL.
Harris missed the first three games of the season with a calf injury, so Oliveira had some experience as a leading running back. He entered the game with 300 yards rushing on 61 carries on the season. Much of it came in two sets; he racked up 126 yards on 22 carries on opening night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and then added 105 yards on 16 carries last week against the Edmonton Elks after Harris went halfway with his injury.
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Mike’s milestone
Winnipeg long snapper Mike Benson, who had been with BC from 2014 to 2018, played his 100th game in the CFL on Saturday. Benson starred in one of the Lions’ most successful social media initiatives when he and kicker Richie Leone were the leaders of the Stadium Cribs, which saw special teams colleagues video tours of CFL venues in the spirit of the show. MTV.
The Lions’ 1st and Now podcast even did a Stadium Cribs reunion last October.
The 34-year-old Benson is a Winnipeg native and signed with the Bombers in February.
Kicker Castillo a la ‘Peg
The Lions traded the rights to kicker Sergio Castillo to Winnipeg on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick. Castillo, who was a 2019 CFL All-Star, was not dressed for the Bombers on Saturday.
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He played for the New York Jets in 2020 and then in training camp for the Tennessee Titans this season before being released. BC kept his CFL rights during his playing time in the NFL.
The Winnipeg Sun reported this week that the Blue Bombers expect Castillo to arrive in Winnipeg next week, when the Blue Bombers say goodbye. He will have to complete a mandatory seven-day quarantine, and the earliest he could be in Winnipeg’s lineup is Nov. 6, when they host the Montreal Alouettes.
He is expected to replace Ali Mouinada, who was 8-of-15 on shooting from the field as of Saturday and had made just two for 30 yards.
The Sun reported that conditions in the draft pick that BC receives from the Bombers are tied to the end of Winnipeg this season.
BC’s kicking game has been solid this season. Jimmy Camacho was good on Saturday on 14 of 16 field goal attempts, including six of 40 or more yards.
Also this week, Winnipeg signed running back Shaq Cooper, who played five games for the Lions this season before being released on October 14; and defensive back Winston Rose, who played with the Lions in 2018, the Blue Bombers in 2019 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 and three preseason games this year. Neither Cooper nor Rose dressed for the Bombers on Saturday.
Reference-theprovince.com