The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl, and for Bomber fans that is the most important thing right now.
However this was not a perfect game by anyone involved.
Persisting Issues
Interceptions lead to injury
To say that Zach played a perfect a perfect game would obviously be false. 1 touchdown to 2 interceptions is not a good ratio. Sure there are a lot of things that can cause an interception and it is not always the quarterback's fault (like the first interception of the game). In fact on one of the interceptions I will blame the offensive coordinator (Tommy Condell) and Collaros.
Oliveira just ripped off a 14 yard dash, and the Bombers are well in Castillo's field goal range. I am literally yelling, "Run the ball, run the ball." Clearly the Bombers did not hear me, and even if they would they is no reason that they would have listened to me. But what happened next was a microcosm of the season. Collaros throws a terrible interception (taking points off the board for the Bombers) and the Roughrider player probably would have scored a touchdown is Zach Collaros did not push him out of bounds.
So crisis averted, right? Wrong. Sure Collaors made the touchdown-saving force out of bounds but that would lead towards Collaros getting injured and coming out of the game. (Some speculate that it could be a shoulder injury, others think maybe he was taken out by concussion protocol). And I have no issue speculating (that is what everyone that writes about or talks about sports does). So I think it is most likely that it was a head or a neck issue.
Either way, I give Zach credit for making the play. But if the ball was run, or even thrown well...the injury does not occur.
More Field Goals
While it was great that Sergio when 4-4 on Bomber field goals, there is a problematic theme that is continuing...3's and not 7's.
Going into the Labour Day Classic I said this about kicking and finishing drives,
"This is going to be a big part of who walks away with a 'W'.
Saskatchewan's field goal kicking has been hit an miss for a while, and when "a while" I mean for more than just the 2026 season. At the end of the 2025 season Saskatchewan let go of their veteran kicker, Lauther, as he had struggled that year. Ottawa signed Lauther and in early 2026 he had not missed a single field goal for the RedBlacks.
Where Winnipeg has the edge on kicking, that might be part of their achilies heel. Knowing that you have a field goal kicker in Castillo who has the CFL record for most ever field goals over 50 yards is quite comforting. When the Bombers find themselves in a tight spot they know that they have the best chance out of any team to put 3 points on the scoreboard. Yet, at the same time it can, and I would argue has, altered the Bombers' play calling throughout the season.
When Winnipeg has lost in 2026 it is not because Castillo did not hit his field goals. Rather, it is because Winnipeg settled for 3 points as opposed to working to extend drives. After the Bombers beat Montreal last week I said this, "For me, the major difference in this game for the Bombers was their ability to consistently finish drives with touchdowns instead of field goals."
So while it is helpful that the Bombers can rack up a ton of 3's, to be competitive the rest of the way they are going to need to get more 7's.
Pass Blocking
The Bombers' pass blocking is non-existent. It is almost an embarrassment to pass blocking to even call what the Bombers are trying to do as pass blocking. I think a more accurate term would be barely slowing down the rush. It is so bad that I would say if the rules allowed for it the Bombers would be better off not to line up any offensive lineman, and just put in more receivers and running backs.
It is like when the BC Lions way overpaid for Mike Reilly, and could not afford to pay anyone on the offensive line. Sure, Reilly made bank, but his career was cur short and the Lions were brutal. (They were 5-13 in 2019, and 5-9 in the shortened 2021 season).
Having said all of that, there were bright spots to the game.
What I liked
I have to be honest here. It is not like it was all doom and gloom and the Bombers somehow lucked out a win. They did enough to put themselves in a spot to have the opportunity to win.
The Defense
Winnipeg's defence played very well! I think that they benefited from Saskatchewan's head coach, Corey Mace, throwing the challenge flag on the Riders' third offensive play.
As the game went on, Winnipeg's defence would make some great defensive knockdowns (and the timing is always close). But I feel like if Saskatchewan would have saved their challenge they would have been able to use it later in the game with a better chance of winning the challenge (possibly on one of Holm's 3 knockdowns).
I could go through the list and name players that played very well on the Bombers' defence, but it was a complete team effort...including Jordan Younger the Bombers' defensive coordinator. He had the right mix of blitzes, pressures, and coverages, which would keep the Riders quarterback, Harris, to zero touchdowns and only a 53% passing completion rate.
Final Thoughts
Late in July of this year I was asking, "Who Are The 2026 Blue Bombers? There’s Confusion Around That Question!"
It would be hard to pretend that the question has been adequately answered at this point. And we are not going to find out any time soon as the Bombers are on their final bye week. In fact, we might sooner find out the status of Zach Collaros before we find out who the 2026 Bombers are.
I want to be convinced wrong of what I said last week, "The Bombers Will Be Entertaining But Will Make A Quick Exit Out OF The Playoffs." But man, are the Bombers ever making that hard.
Very soon, if not already, we are going to be getting to the time in the season where there are arguments on whether the Bombers would do better by competing in the West in the playoffs, or if crossing over to the East would be better.
I am going to reserve that judgement for a bit, but with the number of interceptions Chad Kelly (Toronto's quarterback) is throwing, and the way that Winnipeg and BC beat Montreal...there sure is a compelling argument that going through the East may be easier.
Do not forget to check out all the highlights from the game
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