Bombers get first home win and second win of the season in Banjo Bowl triumph Sunday

It's been a lousy season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a great one for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but those roles were reversed in Sunday's Banjo Bowl. The Bombers picked up just their second win of the year with a 25-13 victory over Saskatchewan, which also marked only the Riders' second loss this season. 2-8 Winnipeg has a long way to go to catch up to 8-2 Saskatchewan consistently, but anything can happen on a given day in the CFL, and while there's still plenty for the Bombers to work on, they certainly gave their fans something to celebrate Sunday with the first win at Investor's Group Field. They also provided some hope that there are pieces to build around in Winnipeg, and that this season might not be completely lost after all.

Most of the heroes for the Bombers in this one were on the defensive side of the ball, and there's plenty of credit to go around there. The pass rush in particular had a great afternoon, sacking Riders' quarterback Darian Durant eight times on the day and consistently pressuring him at other times, holding him to just 129 passing yards with a 45.5 per cent completion rate and one interception against no touchdowns. Moreover, while some of that pressure came from blitzes, other sacks were obtained with just a four-man rush. Defensive tackle Bryant Turner (three tackles, two sacks) and defensive end Alex Hall (three tackles, one sack) were particularly effective, but it was a team effort across the line. The line also did a great job against the run; while Durant collected 93 yards on eight scrambles (11.6 yards per carry), league rushing leader Kory Sheets was held to just 65 yards on 14 carries (4.6 yards per rush). Defensive back Marky Markett stood out as well, picking off Durant once and also recovering a fumble. Winnipeg did a lot right on the defensive end, and showed that there are still players on this team who can make a substantial impact. If they can perform this well consistently, the Bombers may not have to wait as long to get a third win.

However, this result was also about a lot of mistakes from the Roughriders. Their own defence was pretty effective, holding Bombers' quarterback Justin Goltz to 129 passing yards and six rushes for 56 yards (although he did have two rushing touchdowns) and limiting running back Will Ford to 43 yards on the ground on 13 carries (3.3 yards per carry). Their special teams had some issues, though, allowing a 98-yard touchdown off a kickoff return from Ford, and the offensive struggles were about things Saskatchewan did wrong as well as things Winnipeg did right. It's far too early to panic in Riderville, as this team's still 8-2 and has consistently been the CFL's best on the year. They're not perfect, though, and that was clearly shown Sunday. It was a good day for the Bombers and a bad day for the Riders, and while that hasn't been the overall pattern this year, it does suggest that there's at least room for concern in Saskatchewan and optimism in Winnipeg.