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October 14, 2016

Roar Report: Bombers rally to stun Lions, sweep season series

BC Lions defensive tackle Bryant Turner Jr. (92) tackles Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols (15) during the first half of CFL action in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, October 14, 2016. (CFL PHOTO - Jimmy Jeong)

Vancouver, BC– For the second time in as many weeks, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-6) took advantage of some late miscues from your BC Lions ( 9-6) and escaped BC Place with a 35-32 victory. The opportunistic Bombers recorded six turnovers, including two in the final 2:59 which gave them ten points and completed their comeback. Clarence Denmark’s touchdown catch to tie the score came on the heels of a Kevin Fogg interception of Jonathon Jennings. Chris Rainey then fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set the Bombers up in Lions territory. Justin Medlock’s seventh field goal of the night proved to be the eventual winning points. Richie Leone missed from 62 yards out on the game’s final play.

1014vsWPG_RoarReport

“Turnovers will kill you, bad penalties will kill you,” said Wally Buono after the loss. “The combination of the two, especially in the fourth quarter were very critical.”  The Lions were flagged six times for a total of 65 yards. As for the Rainey fumble, Buono wasn’t ready to throw his stud returner under the bus.

“No one is questioning anyone’s ability, especially Chris. Chris is a big play kind of guy, but ball security is critical. Winnipeg is good at getting the football. It’s disappointing for that to occur, especially late in the game.”

The Blue Bombers led 12-11 at halftime on the strength of four Medlock field goals. The Lions’ first half points came on a Rainey touchdown reception, a 52-yard field goal from Leone and a single from his miss on the game’s opening drive. Medlock gave the visitors a four-point lead on the opening drive of the third quarter and the Lions would respond immediately when Shawn Gore hauled in a nice 30-yard touchdown catch to put them up by three. It capped off a four play, 75-yard drive.

The game was tied at 22 heading into the 4th before an eight-yard touchdown run by Travis Lulay restored a seven point lead for the home side. Leone’s third field goal of the night gave the Leos their biggest lead before the two costly turnovers allowed Winnipeg to sweep the home and home series. Safety Mike Edem intercepted Bombers’ QB Matt Nichols twice, but was in no mood to talk about personal accomplishments after this one.

“None of these guys in this locker room are going to back down,” Edem said. “They’re going to come to work on day one, we’ll get back to the drawing board and we’re going to fix this. I’m anxious to get back out there and show these fans that the team that showed up today is not the team they came to see.”

Former Lion Andrew Harris made his presence felt in his return to BC Place, recording 153 all-purpose yards. He carried the ball 12 times for 73 yards while recording 80 yards on eight catches. With the victory, Winnipeg also assures themselves of winning the season series after last week’s 37-35 nail biter in the Manitoba Capital. They have a bye next week before closing out the regular season with a home and home against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. More on the scenarios for clinching second place in Bake’s Takes below. Friday also marked the first time the Lions have lost back to back regular season games since October 10th and 17th of last season.

Quotable

” It’s up there with the best of them. I wouldn’t compare it to losing playoff games and stuff like that, I’ve had the experience of losing the Western Final but to have it go down in the fashion that it did, especially being up in the fourth quarter, it definitely ranks up there. Everyone has to be accountable for the mistakes they made tonight and that’s where we have to be better.”- Ryan Phillips on how this loss compares to other tough ones in his 12-year career.

Bake’s Takes

The Lions’ 2-5 record in the West Division is a big reason they are all of a sudden losing their grip on a home playoff date. They could easily rectify that by winning their remaining three games and having Winnipeg only get a split in their season-ending home and home with Ottawa.  Easier said than done, but that would give the Leos home field advantage for the division semi-final on November 13th. The Bombers would wrap up second and their first home playoff game in five years if they win both ends against the REDBLACKS.

You could hear the second-guessing before Leone even lined up to attempt the 62-yard tying field goal: “Why not take a shot at the end zone?” It’s easy to question the decision to not go for the Hail Mary after the fact, but keep in mind the Bombers’ ability to create turnovers and the fact Leone had already hit one from beyond 50 yards earlier in the night.

Hat tip to Jennings. The Lions’ pivot apologized to his teammates in the locker room, saying this loss was “on him.” Whether that is warranted or not is one thing, but it says a lot about the QB’s character. Having made only 21 starts in his young career, the growing pains will still be there from time to time. You can bet he’ll be back in the film room Saturday morning to make sure he gets it right next week against the Eskimos.

Another Huge One

The Lions will look to get back on track next Saturday, the 22nd when Mike Reilly and the Eskimos (8-7) come to town. Edmonton prevailed 27-23 in the last meeting on September 23rd.

Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com