Bombers back in tie with Cats after dropping Als

Don’t try to tell the Winnipeg Blue Bombers they beat up on a subpar version of the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday afternoon.

They won’t care.

“I knew that question was going to get asked, and Anthony [Calvillo] doesn’t play defence,” Bombers head coach Mike Kelly said of the Alouettes playing without their starting quarterback.

What matters is the CFL team everyone was laughing at just a month ago is back in a tie for second place, (and home field in the first round of the playoffs), with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, thanks to an excellent home effort against the Als.

The 41-24 final gives the Bombers a similar 7-9 mark as the Cats, who beat Toronto on Friday. Both have two games left, the final one against each other out on the edge of the prairie.

This is not good news for the Edmonton Eskimos, struggling along in the West at 7-9 because if they don’t win their final two games, the chance of getting the “crossover” playoff spot dims.

If the fourth-place team in the West has a better record than the third-place club in the East, it gets the post-season spot.

For Winnipeg, Michael Bishop went 17-for-33, 411 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to grab the victory, one that was wrapped up by a terrific 81-yard punt return by Jovon Johnson late in the fourth quarter.

More than just the loss must be weighing heavily on Montreal coach Marc Trestman, whose team dropped to 13-3 and had a six-game win streak ended.

That previously excellent Als defence has disappeared in the last two contests, giving up over 1,000 yards in total offence to the Cats and Bombers combined, much of it on deep passing plays that have tested, and found wanting, the Montreal secondary.

Starting backup quarterback Adrian McPherson in place of star Anthony Calvillo (sore calf) wasn’t the real story, either. The youngster was 20-for-35, 232 yards and a touchdown, adding 95 on the ground.

“[McPherson] had to deal with some pressure at times and made some good throws for us and made things happen with his feet,” Trestman said.

“So it’s a great job for him to go out there and do the things that he did today. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t come away with a victory.”

McPherson had taken his club on an outstanding drive in the third quarter, using his legs for 42 yards and his arm the rest of the way to get in the shadow of the goalpost.

From the nine, the former Florida State product who went through the New Orleans Saints and three indoor football league teams before landing in Montreal last season, scrambled in for a major that closed the gap to 24-18 with the convert.

But once again the defence and special teams let the Als down, first allowing a 43-yard runback on the kickoff, and then a long laser beam to Terrence Edwards that put the ball on the three.

One play later, backup Ricky Santos, a former Montreal third stringer, ran the ball in for the touchdown and a 31-18 Winnipeg margin.

Near the end of the third, the Als went for it on third and one from their own 46 but Avon Cobourne was stuffed for no gain and the ball turned over.

Bishop, who had been ridiculously bad the week before, came out sublime in the first half against the Als.

“We had some great opportunities today, we took advantage of it,” Bishop said. “It says a lot about our character and our belief in one another trying to get a win.”

Coming off an embarrassing 13-for-32, 226-yard effort that had included three interceptions and a fumble against B.C., Bishop had spent the week getting pummelled by his critics.

But Saturday he was 12-20, with 316 yards and two touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes, including a pair of long scoring receptions to Edwards (57 yards) and Titus Ryan (53 yards) near the end of the half for a 24-9 lead into the dressing room.

Both were the result of defensive mistakes in coverage and responsibility.

Winnipeg receiver Adarius Bowman took a huge hit in the first half that knocked him out and left him on the field for about five minutes.

He was back in for the second half after being cleared by the medical staff.

Kicker Troy Westwood returned to the Winnipeg lineup for the first time since being cut two years ago.

He re-signed this week to punt in place of the injured Mike Renaud.