For the first time since July, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers tasted defeat.
Zach Collaros was sacked seven times by a ferocious Toronto Argonauts defense as the Bombers lost 14-11 on Friday night and their eight-game winning streak came to an end.
Winnipeg fell to 10-7 on the season and failed to secure first place in the West, but could still do so this week if Saskatchewan loses to BC on Saturday.
After several encouraging efforts in recent games, the Bombers' offense fell apart, holding less than a hundred yards of net offense in the first half while finding the end zone just once all night.
But despite the offensive difficulties, they still had chances to win the game in the final moments. Collaros dove for the bat on a third-down, last-chance effort, but after a measurement, it was determined he fell a few inches short of turning the ball over on downs.
“I don’t know what they’re thinking about the challenge, whether my foot was out or not,” Collaros said. “I was clearly over the line if my foot wasn't out and I couldn't tell on the screen if my foot was out.”
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The Bombers challenged the call-up, but it was suspended after review.
“I disagreed with the spot, obviously,” coach Mike O’Shea said. “But it’s very difficult at that point the way they score.”
The Bombers finished with 322 yards of net offense, with Collaros passing for 249 yards with an interception on a Hail Mary on the last play of the game.
“We had to make plays early in the game,” Collaros said. “There are opportunities to take the lead in the first quarter. The defense and special teams did a great job. Offensively, we managed to finish plays, score touchdowns, and not turn the ball over in the scoring zone. All those things, right.
It was the first time the Argos won the season series with the Bombers since 2015.
It was also a rare off night for Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo, who missed two field goals. And the Bombers left plenty of points on the field after also being stopped on the Argos goal line.
“Second half better,” said O’Shea. “Not good enough at first. We'll take a look at this tomorrow and make some corrections and that's it.
“I thought we had opportunities to score points and we didn't, but our defense also took away some opportunities. Both defenses, I thought they played very well.
Bombers running back Brady Oliveira had a much quieter night than we're used to seeing, as the Argos, with the league's best run defense, held him to just 64 yards on 12 carries.
“They’re a good defense, man,” Oliveira said. “They have a great defensive line.
“They have great linebackers. I said this during the week. They are a great defense and we knew we had a big challenge ahead of us. But we manage to thrive in these situations. We understood the unity that we got, and at the end of the day, we just didn't play well enough, I would say, in the first half.
With the win, Toronto moved to 9-7 on the season and secured a spot in the playoffs.
It was the fourth consecutive capacity at the Princess Auto Stadium. The Bombers' total home attendance this season will be 280,497 fans, an average of 31,166 per game. Both marks are single-season franchise records.
The Bombers now enter a week off before wrapping up the regular season in Montreal against the Alouettes on October 26th.
