The Winnipeg Blue Bombers still have a losing record and are tied for third in the CFL’s West Division but suddenly have a clearer path to the postseason than they’ve had for weeks.
The Blue Bombers swept consecutive games against the B.C. Lions, brightening their outlook for the remainder of the season and bringing Winnipeg within 1 1/2 games of first-place Saskatchewan. The Bombers have a good chance to get a step closer to the .500 mark and perhaps make up more ground Friday night when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
It’s a quick turnaround for Winnipeg (4-6), which won 20-11 over B.C. on Sunday. The Blue Bombers got out to a 17-0 third-quarter lead and kept the Lions out of the end zone until four seconds remained in the game.
The Bombers are 4-2 in their past six games and finally look more like the team that’s dominated the West for several years instead of one that was skidding toward missing the playoffs.
“We just needed to figure out how to play better because we really just didn’t play very well in those first four or five games,” Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea said. “Like, we were not good.”
Kind of like Hamilton has been the whole year. The Tiger-Cats (2-8) were blown out 47-22 on Saturday night by visiting Edmonton as their twin bugaboos — turnovers and penalties — again hampered them consistently.
Hamilton committed four turnovers and also drew 11 flags for 100 yards. It also saw quarterback Taylor Powell and receiver Luther Hakunavanhu leave the game with head injuries in the first quarter.
“It’s sickening, right, it hurts,” Ticats coach Scott Milanovich said. “You’ve got to work with these guys every single day and you care about them. To see them laying out there on the turf, it’s going to affect anybody.”
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this year. They play again on Oct. 4 in Hamilton.
