Can the Bombers build on last week’s win?

For perhaps the first time since the start of the season, there's a lot of optimism in Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers snapped a four-game losing streak with an emphatic 34-12 beatdown of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week in quarterback Buck Pierce's return to the starting lineup, and they looked more like the 2011 team that went to the Grey Cup than the 2012 edition that's limped through this season. They got a break heading into Saturday's game against Toronto (7 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) too, as Argonauts' quarterback Ricky Ray was hurt early last week against Montreal and the Boatmen looked pretty awful without him; they're now relying on Jarious Jackson, who hasn't inspired a lot of confidence thus far. Will that be enough of an edge for Winnipeg to continue their winning streak and keep their playoff hopes alive, or will the Bombers fall back to earth Saturday night?

There are some things Winnipeg fans can be optimistic about. For one, they received some decent quarterback play last week thanks to Pierce's return, something that's been sorely lacking this season. Pierce was efficient and effective, completing 21 of 31 passes (67.8 per cent) for 288 yards and a touchdown without a turnover. The ground game also looked very solid against the Tiger-Cats, with the much-maligned offensive line doing an impressive job of blocking and paving the way for Chad Simpson to collect 134 yards on 19 carries (7.1 yards per carry). The defence effectively shut down Henry Burris and the high-flying Hamilton passing game, and that also bodes well. There should be a solid home crowd out to support the resurgent Bombers, and that could give them an edge. Moreover, the Argonauts just couldn't put together any offence against the Alouettes after Ray's injury, scoring only 10 points, and Jackson's 15 completions on 31 attempts (48.4 per cent) for 198 yards with an interception didn't frighten anyone. If these teams play the way they did last week, this looks like an easy Winnipeg win.

However, that can't just be assumed. The Bombers' win last week was likely their best performance of the year, while the Argonauts' showing against Montreal was arguably their worst effort of the season. It would seem likely one or both teams may move closer to their typical form this week. That typical form's a huge edge for Toronto. On the season, the Argos have been reasonably effective; they're a middle-of-the-pack team in most offensive and defensive statistics, albeit one that has issues scoring touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Bombers have been a tire fire; they've scored the least points per game (19.8), allowed the second-most (31.4), given up the most passing touchdowns (24), completed the lowest percentage of their passes (57.3 per cent), recorded the least passing yards per game (245.0) and had their quarterback sacked the most times (34). Yes, they looked much better than normal last week, while the Argonauts looked worse than their usual selves, but some regression to the mean would seem inevitable. Even with the edges of playing at home, having Pierce back and not facing Ray, Winnipeg's success Saturday may depend on just how far they fall back and just how much Toronto improves.