Video: Demond Washington’s 96-yard kickoff return touchdown turned the tide for Winnipeg

Much of Thursday night's game against the Ottawa Redblacks didn't go well for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Redblacks got off to a hot start, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns and leading 21-7 after 15 minutes of play, and they looked able to hang onto that lead until the start of the fourth quarter. Then, Bombers' returner Demond Washington took a kickoff and did this:

That's a remarkable return, and one that involved Washington going a long way across the field as well as down it. He received the kickoff to the left side of the left hashmark, and at first, it looked like that was where the return would come. However, that side filled up with Ottawa players, and Washington started to cut across the field behind a wave of blockers instead. His blockers did a terrific job of not letting anyone through too quickly, and he used speed, agility and direction changes to fool tacklers once he got to the sideline. It was a great return overall, and one that illustrates why Washington's a dangerous threat on special teams. Interestingly enough, that was his only return of the day; Aaron Woods handled the rest of Winnipeg's punt and kickoff returns. Still, Washington did a heck of a job with it, and he may have made himself a bigger part of the Bombers' return plans going forward in the process. The former Auburn star is in his third season with Winnipeg, and he's proving to be valuable both as a defensive back and as a return specialist.

This touchdown really helped swing the game. It came at a time when the Winnipeg offence was doing okay, but not fully able to get back in it. The momentum produced from Washington's touchdown proved essential. After that, the Bombers' defence started stepping up even further, and their offence did the rest en route to a 36-28 win. This was a pretty even contest overall, with the Redblacks shining early and the Bombers catching up late, and it wound up being a game decided by only one possession. Washington's return was critical to Winnipeg's success, and it proved to be a big reason why the Bombers are off to their first 2-0 start since 2011. We'll see if they can keep that up as the season progresses, but more big special teams plays like this would certainly help.