Bombers pull out last-second 34-33 win over Als, match last season’s win total in Week Three

The CFL is again proving that no lead is safe this season, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' 34-33 win over the Montreal Alouettes Friday the latest case in point. Winnipeg was down 30-28 when returner Demond Washington fumbled the ball away on a punt return inside the final three minutes, but the Bombers' defence held Montreal to a field goal, and then quarterback Drew Willy took over. Willy put together a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a clutch third-down touchdown pass to Julian Feoli-Gudino with 29 seconds left, putting Winnipeg into the lead. They failed on the two-point conversion, though, giving Montreal one more chance, but after a short drive to the Bombers' 54, head coach Tom Higgins elected not to try a game-tying punt single, long field goal or pass-and-punt attempt, instead just going for a short pass that was stopped. That gave the Bombers the victory, and also allowed them to move to 3-0 on the year, tying their win total from last year's 3-15 campaign.

There's good reason to believe that this Winnipeg team can keep building on that total, too. They were #1 in our power rankings this past week for a reason, as they've looked very good in all aspects of the game. Quarterback Drew Willy and running back Nic Grigsby have driven the offence, while defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry's unit has made some big plays and held opponents down, and rookie head coach Mike O'Shea is doing a great job of pulling this team together. That continued Friday. Willy's passing line (24 completions on 38 attempts, 63.1 per cent, one touchdown and no interceptions) wasn't as dominant as his previous outings, but it was still solid (especially given the pressure Montreal's defence put him under, which included four sacks) and he showed absolute ice in his veins on the Bombers' final drive and touchdown throw. Grigsby didn't touch the ball as much this week thanks to Winnipeg trailing for much of the game, but still collected 34 yards on six carries (5.7 yards per carry) and added four catches for 25 yards. Etcheverry's defence allowed more points, but also came up with huge plays, with DB Chris Randle notching a pick-six and LB Desia Dunn returning a fumble for a touchdown. Interestingly enough, the Bombers' main weakness here came on special teams, the area O'Shea coached with Toronto before taking over as Winnipeg's head coach this offseason; they had a blocked convert and two punt return fumbles from Washington. If they can sort those out, this team might do well this season.

Meanwhile, there are some positive takeaways here for Montreal despite the loss. QB Troy Smith had his best game of the season so far, completing 18 of 32 passes (56.3 per cent) for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Yes, his completion percentage could still stand to be higher, and yes, the interception was bad, but he looked like a guy who can be a regular CFL starter, something that wasn't really the case earlier this season. The Alouettes' offensive design helped here too, with more short, high-percentage passes and an increased involvement for RB Brandon Whitaker (who had 68 rushing yards on 14 carries and 42 receiving yards on five catches). The Montreal defence looked fearsome for most of this game, too, especially rushing the passer. Yes, there are areas to work on; the Alouettes' defensive coverage broke down on Feoli-Guidino's touchdown, the offence couldn't fully capitalize on Winnipeg's turnovers, and Higgins' late-game coaching decisions were curious, to say the least. Still, this team looked better than it did in Week One for sure, and demonstrated even some improvement over their Week Two showing (especially on offence). If they can keep building on that, it may not be a bad year in Montreal, either.