REGINA – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are trying to make it three-straight wins when they travel to Mosaic Stadium to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday Night Football.
Don’t look now, but Winnipeg is making their move. With back-to-back wins, including a 41-37 victory over Calgary last week, the Blue Bombers are just four points behind the second place Roughriders.
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, suffered their first loss in Week 6 at the hands of the BC Lions.
Quarterback Zach Collaros seems to finally be finding his game and is staring down a secondary that’s struggling to stop yards through the air.
If the recent play of receiver Ontaria Wilson, who had 201 yards against the Stamps, continues, it could be another tough assignment for the Roughriders defensive backs.
As Dalton Schoen and Kenny Lawler remain out, the veteran leadership of Drew Wolitarsky and Nic Demski is critical in supporting Wilson.
Having given up 451 yards to the Lions, the Roughriders are now averaging 340.6 passing yards against per game.
Rolan Milligan Jr. and Deontai Williams can build off an interception last week but need support from DaMarcus Fields and C.J. Reavis as it has to be an entire group effort in trying to keep points off the board.
The air attack isn’t the only pressure the Bombers plan to put on the defence, as Brady Oliveira has produced consecutive 100-plus yard games.
Fortunately for Corey Mace’s team, they’ve been stout against the run this season, making the ground game an intriguing storyline.
The collective of Micah Johnson and Anthony Lanier II on the defensive line and C.J. Avery and Jameer Thurman at linebacker have helped the Riders hold opposing rushers to 47.4 yards per game.
Much like their defence, when the offence gets on the field for the Riders it’s going to have to be a collective effort to score.
Shea Patterson gets his third-straight start and is coming off one of his better games, having averaged 11.1 yards on 17 completions against BC.
But he’ll see a Bombers pass defence that’s been a strength of their defence.
The trio of Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker and Shawn Bane Jr. will be watched closely by emerging rookie Terrell Bonds and veteran Evan Holm. Tyrell Ford has also contributed in the secondary and had an interception last week, his second of the season.
Mace wants to see Patterson make strides as he gets comfortable as the team’s starter.
“Just continue to push what he’s been doing, he’s consistently got better,” Mace told reporters about his pivot.
“He’s making the right reads. Allowing him to just be him is the best thing. We’re excited to push forward with him. We think that he’s going to go ahead and lead us.”
AJ Ouellette was in a similar conversation with Brady Oliveira as the best rusher in the league at the end of last season and could be turning a corner after 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns in their last game. With Winnipeg surrendering 117.8 yards per contest on the ground, that turnaround could continue on Friday night.
Linebackers Adam Bighill, Redha Kramdi and Kyrie Wilson are assigned the task of keeping that from happening.
Ahead of them on the defensive line, Devin Adams and Willie Jefferson have combined for five sacks and are the first line of defence against the run.
As his team tries to get back on track, Mace wants them to forget about the past and look forward to what’s ahead.
“Win or lose or tie in this league, you have to move on because that’s the reality,” Mace told reporters. “We have Winnipeg coming in, we’re on a short week. We have to push through, for what I assume to be, another physical game.”
A victory moves Winnipeg within a game of .500 after opening the season with four-straight losses.
Saskatchewan wants to keep their Week 6 loss from snowballing.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET. Canadians can watch on TSN while International and U.S. audiences can catch the game on CFL+.
