Bombers win in Regina for first time since 2004, get off to a great start

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the high goal of getting to a hometown Grey Cup this season, and they spent big in free agency in an attempt to do that. While it's far too early to say if they have a chance of getting to the big game, they got off to a great start Saturday night, downing the Saskatchewan Roughriders 30-26 on the road. That marked the Bombers' first win in Regina since 2004, and it suggested they're already improved over the squad that went 7-11 last year. We'll see if they can keep this up, and we'll see just how significant that improvement will turn out to be, but this was an excellent way for Winnipeg to kick off the season.

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from the Bombers' play Saturday was how good their offence looked. The Winnipeg offence had plenty of struggles last year, especially on the offensive line, where they conceded a CFL-high 71 sacks and averaged just 84.1 rushing yards per game (second-worst in the league). After big offseason additions like Stanley Bryant, Dominic Picard and Sukh Chung, though, the line looked much better Saturday. They established the run, they only conceded one sack, and they gave quarterback Drew Willy enough time to work.

Willy has plenty of potential as a CFL starter, which he showed off last year (especially in the Bombers' hot start), but the amount of punishment he took in 2014 held him back. With more time to operate, he looked much more confident Saturday, even in the hostile environment of Regina. He finished the day with an impressive 22 completions on 25 attempts (88 per cent) for 325 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and he also ran four times for 16 yards. He spread the ball around, too; Clarence Denmark and Nick Moore each had 94 receiving yards (on five and six receptions respectively), with Moore adding a touchdown, while running back Paris Cotton had four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown, Davante Adams chipped in three catches for 28 yards and Cameron Marshall had two catches for 24 yards and a touchdown. That's a good sign for Willy; it's always helpful to be able to get the ball to different targets, limiting how much the defence can focus on any one guy.

The ground game was also a big part of Winnipeg's success Saturday, as Cotton ran 13 times for 108 yards (an average of 8.3 yards per carry) and Marshall chipped in five carries for 15 yards and a touchdown. The Bombers' ground game had struggles last season, but at least some of those were on the offensive line. This year's new-and-improved offensive line looked much better at establishing the run, and that could take pressure off Willy and the passing game. It also could lead to a lot of points in its own right, especially if Cotton can keep up the form he showed off Saturday.

Of course, this win comes with context. It's notable that Saskatchewan lost starting quarterback Darian Durant with 37 seconds left in the first half. Durant aptly led the Roughriders while he was in the game, completing 13 of 18 passes (72.2 per cent) for 165 yards and two touchdowns, but while replacement Kevin Glenn put up the same completion percentage, he only threw for 120 yards and no touchdowns with an interception. The Riders got good rushing production from Anthony Allen, who had 102 yards on 11 carries (9.3 yards per carry), Jerome Messam, who had 75 and a touchdown on four carries, and Nic Demski, who had a single 32-yard carry, but their passing game simply wasn't good enough once Durant left. Even with that, the Bombers only beat them by four points. While Winnipeg did a lot of things right here and showed a lot of improvement, it's a little soon to predict a Grey Cup. Still, this is a great start to the season for the Bombers, and if they can build on it, it could be a very good year for them indeed.