The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 17-16 in front of 32,343 fans at a sold-out Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night. Below are my thoughts on the game.
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy
With their hated rival in town and a playoff spot still not guaranteed, the Blue Bombers played Friday’s game with the focus of a preteen in math class and the execution of a preseason game. Needless to day, it was ugly.
We’ll get into all the details below — the questionable coaching decisions, lousy play calls, penalties, and more — but one thing is clear: barring a dramatic improvement in a short period of time, this team isn’t going to make any noise in the playoffs — if even get there.
The Zach attack ain’t back
Zach Collaros was certainly better than last week, which was arguably his worst game as a member of the Blue Bombers, but far from good enough. He finished the game 15-of-24 for 182 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
“I didn’t like anything (that we did on offence),” said Collaros postgame, visibly frustrated. “We didn’t do anything well.”
The 37-year-old under-threw a number of passes last week and had one big under-throw against Saskatchewan on a would-be touchdown to Ontaria Wilson in the second quarter. He was also almost picked off by A.J. Allen when he threw a pass into double coverage in the third quarter, though the linebacker was unable to corral the ball over the middle.
Collaros was actually intercepted late in the fourth quarter when it looked like he didn’t see DeMarcus Field as the deep defender behind Keric Wheatfall. Winnipeg was down by two points and within field goal range when the turnover occurred, making it a truly unforgivable error.
PICKED OFF BY DAMARCUS FIELDS! #CFLGameday
📅: @sskroughriders vs. Blue Bombers LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/Ibu3lGtw5q— CFL (@CFL) October 18, 2025
The second-worst decision Collaros made came early in the fourth quarter when he looked deep for Keric Wheatfall down the seam in double coverage. Another receiver — I believe it was Wilson — was running a deep route nearer the sideline and was wide open. When Collaros first launched the ball, I assumed it was for Wilson. Instead, it was meant for Wheatfall and fell incomplete.
The protection in front of Collaros left much to be desired — as was the case earlier this year in the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl, Winnipeg’s offensive line struggled personnel-wise against Saskatchewan’s front at times. Antoine Brooks Jr. recorded two sacks on blitzes, coming free
The quarterback also seemed visibly frustrated with Kevens Clercius in the fourth quarter when a throw out to the flat fell well short of the receiver. Collaros has been visibly agitated with teammates at times this season but it’s been a while since we’ve seen it.
Choices were made
I hated the decision from Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea to kick a field goal on third-and-goal from Saskatchewan’s four-yard line late in the first quarter.
With so few of Saskatchewan’s offensive starters in the lineup — more on that in a moment — it would have made more sense to gamble in search of a touchdown. If you don’t score, no problem — you’ve just forced Jake Maier to drive the ball 106 yards the other way accompanied by mostly second-stringers.
The veteran coach defended the decision after the game, saying he wanted to take the points to tie the game 10-10.
“The way the two previous plays went, I just felt like taking points,” said O’Shea. “I’m good with taking the points there — just the gut feel, the flow of the game.”
One quarter later, O’Shea suddenly became a gambling man on third-and-two from the Saskatchewan 47-yard line. Chris Streveler took the field and ran a quarterback sneak, which fell almost a full yard short of a first down.
The decision was costly. Maier completed three short passes after the turnover, then Brett Lauther kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired that gave the Roughriders a 13-11 lead at halftime.
“The (quarterback sneak) prior to that, I think we got three-and-a-half or four (yards),” said O’Shea. “We’d gotten some good yardage from (Streveler) I thought we could replicate that.”
O’Shea has strong trust in Castillo. Having him kick a four-yard field goal but not a 54-yard field goal doesn’t make much sense — especially given that a gentle wind would have been at Castillo’s back for the longer attempt.
Standing tall
If you’re looking for a silver lining from this game, it should be the defence. Winnipeg allowed a measly 169 yards of net offence, generated a sack, and a takeaway. James Vaughters corralled Maier for a 13-yard sack in the second quarter and Jaiden Woodbey recovered a fumble after the Jake Maier haplessly mishandled the ball.
It should be noted that the Roughriders didn’t dress many of their regular offensive starters — again, more on that in a minute — but the Blue Bombers were still smothering.
The Roughriders put up 10 points in the first quarter, though they came off the Trey Vaval fumble and a 54-yard kickoff return from Mario Alford. At the nine-minute mark of the second quarter, Saskatchewan had 10 points but only 11 yards of net offence.
The defence didn’t contain Jake Maier or Jack Coan particularly well (neither of whom are remotely mobile quarterbacks), Demerio Houston took a bad pass interference penalty, and Redha Kramdi should have intercepted Coan just before the three minute warning instead of settling for a knockdown. Other than that, the defence was excellent.
If the Blue Bombers have any success come playoff time, it will likely be thanks to the play of their defence.
Chorus of boos
Chris Streveler was once arguably the most popular player in Winnipeg — on the Blue Bombers, Jets, or any other team — but he was met with a chorus of boos when he was unable to score deep in Saskatchewan territory late in the first quarter.
The dual-threat passer often enters the game in red zone situations and this was no exception as he took over the controls on second-and-goal from the four-yard line. The offence ran the same read-option we’ve seen time and time again in that same scenario and it was unsuccessful. Streveler was forced to pull the ball from Brady Oliveira, ran to his right where he failed to break contain, then threw the ball away to avoid taking a sack.
For the record, the Blue Bombers didn’t even execute this simple play properly as they were charged with illegal procedure for having no end.
It’s hard to tell if fans were voicing their displeasure with Streveler, the play call, or some combination of the two. Regardless, it seems like the time to officially retire the red zone Chris Streveler read-option. With playoffs likely on the horizon, it’s time to introduce some new wrinkles to the offence.
Corn on the Cobb
Gavin Cobb made his first start as a member of the Blue Bombers in place of Nic Demski, who suffered a non-contact hamstring injury last week in Edmonton. Demski should be ready to play come playoff time barring a setback, per source, though Winnipeg needed someone to step up in his absence against the Roughriders on Friday.
The University of Manitoba product finished the game with four catches for 44 yards, which was solid given how offence was few and far between.
It’s not a perfect comparison — Cobb was in for Demski, not Dillon Mitchell — but it’s worth noting that Mitchell, who sat in favour of Keric Wheatfall on Friday, averaged only 2.3 targets per game over nine starts this year. Cobb got two targets just on Winnipeg’s first drive of the game.
For the record, Wheatfall finished the game with just one reception for 23 yards, though he drew a pass interference midway through the third quarter.
Cobb was one of nine free-agent signing the Blue Bombers made this offseason alongside quarterback Shea Patterson, receivers Mitchell, Jerreth Sterns, and Reggie White Jr., defensive linemen Brock Gowanlock and James Vaughters, linebacker Jonathan Jones, defensive backs Josh Hagerty and Enock Makonzo, and returner Peyton Logan.
Of those eleven players, only six are still with the team and a mere three dressed on Friday — Cobb, Sterns, and Vaughters. Logan and Mitchell were both healthy scratches, as they have been for a combined 14 games on the year.
Restriders
For those wondering how many starters Saskatchewan rested on Friday, the answer is nine — if you don’t count cornerback Marcus Sayles being replaced by Tevaughn Campbell, which I’d argue you shouldn’t as the latter was a full-time starter until he suffered a head injury last month, which cost him four games.
Eight of Saskatchewan’s backups started on offence, including quarterback Jake Maier, running back Mario Anderson Jr., receivers Ajou Ajou, Shawn Bane Jr., Dhel Duncan-Busby, and Joe Robustelli, and offensive linemen Braydon Noll and Darius Washington. All four receivers had previously started for the Roughriders, though none would be with the first-team if the club was at full strength.
Miserable start
Most evening games in Winnipeg start at 7:30 p.m. local time but Friday’s contest began 30 minutes earlier, which was presumably done to accommodate the second half of the CFL double-header in Vancouver. Based on how they performed immediately out of the gate, it looked like the Blue Bombers were unaware of the early start.
Kerfalla Exumé, a defensive back with two previous stints with the Blue Bombers, stripped Trey Vaval on the opening kickoff and recovered the loose ball at Winnipeg’s 43-yard line.
On the following play, the Roughriders ran a flea-flicker and Joe Robustelli broke wide open behind the entire Winnipeg defence. Jake Maier threw an ugly ball that hung up in the air forever, which allowed Demerio Houston to get back in coverage, though he badly interfered with Robustelli as the ball arrived, drawing a penalty.
Jack Coan punched in a one-yard touchdown run on the next play. Only 47 seconds had come off the clock. If a baby had been born at the opening kickoff, its umbelical cord would still have been intact when the Roughriders scores.
You’d be hard-pressed to have a worse start to a football game, especially in a rivalry matchup with serious playoff implications (for one of the two teams, at least).
Playoff picture
Winnipeg can still finish as high as second or as low as fifth in the West Division, depending on how the final few games of the regular-season shake out.
If the B.C. Lions beat the Edmonton Elks in the late game on Friday night — which is still ongoing at the time of this article’s publication — Edmonton will be eliminated from postseason contention, guaranteeing the Blue Bombers a playoff spot of some kind.
Winnipeg’s path to second place is rocky at best but it’s still technically there. In order to finish second, the Blue Bombers need to beat Montreal next week, the B.C. Lions to finish no better than 1-1 over their last two regular-season games, and the Calgary Stampeders to lose to Toronto this week and Edmonton next week. The odds of all those things happening are extremely long, though anything can happen in the CFL.
The most likely scenario is that the Blue Bombers will finish fourth in the standings and cross over to the East Division. Winnipeg is one of only two West Division teams that’s never crossed over — the other is Calgary — though the Blue Bombers played in the East Division for 21 seasons over three different stints, most recently in 2013.
Missing the playoffs would be considered an unmitigated disaster given that this team started the season 3-0 and the Grey Cup is being played in their stadium. Fans in Bomberland could probably accept the club falling short of a home Grey Cup if they make the playoffs and play well in a close loss to top team.
If the squad fails to even make the postseason, fans will have every right to be irate.
Selling out
The Blue Bombers hosted consecutive sellout No. 13 on Friday and have only one game to go to sell out the entire 2025 regular-season. With only 1,400 tickets left for next week’s game — and a home playoff game looking unlikely — Winnipeg appears set to sell out all of 2025, which is a pretty remarkably achievement.
Full-season CFL sellouts have been done before but I don’t believe one has ever been done at a venue the size of Princess Auto Stadium. The Blue Bombers didn’t sell out the first year the building was open in 2013, nor did the Roughriders sell out the first year of Mosaic Stadium in 2017.
Fans deserve a special mention for staying engaged despite the steady rain that started coming down late in the third quarter. It’s one thing to sit outside when it feels like nine degrees. It’s another to do that while soaking wet.
Kids vs. Mascots
Friday’s halftime show pitted youth members of the Transcona Nationals against mascots from around Winnipeg, which included Buzz and Boomer, Goldie and Goldette, Churchill, the Green Drop, and a few more I didn’t recognize.
Aside from dogs, which will always be objectively the best halftime show, this was easily the best halftime of the year. Hopefully, it becomes an annual tradition. The crowd seemed particularly engaged, ooh-ing and aah-ing with each deep throw or big run.
Next up
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) will host the Montreal Alouettes (9-7) on Saturday, October 25 with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT to finish their regular-season. The Alouettes have a game between now and then as they’ll visit the lowly Ottawa Redblacks on the afternoon on Saturday, October 18.
If Montreal win this week, which seems highly likely, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats would have to beat Ottawa next week in order to clinch first place in the East Division. If the Tiger-Cats were to lose that game against the Redblacks, the Alouettes would then have a chance to leapfrog them for first place in the East Division with a win over the Blue Bombers.
In other words, it’s pretty likely that Montreal will send their backups to Winnipeg next week, though that’s not guaranteed and could remain unclear until the Redblacks and Tiger-Cats play on Friday, October 24. Regardless, stay tuned to 3DownNation for all the latest news, insight, and analysis on the CFL playoff picture and more.
