Bombers continue to be a mystery

Not even Mike O’Shea can put his finger on the 2026 edition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

At times, his team has resembled a flaming dumpster. At others — including Saturday’s crucial 33-28 victory over the Calgary Stampeders — it has looked like a legitimate Grey Cup contender.

Despite all the twists and turns, the Bombers are now in position to clinch a playoff spot this week if they can beat the first-place Edmonton Elks (12-4) at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday.

“Every year is different, but this one feels a little odd,” O’Shea said with a laugh after Tuesday’s practice at Fort Garry Lions Field.

Given what they’ve put on film all season, the Bombers’ approach against Calgary was a little odd, too.

Rather than relying on their traditional ground-and-pound attack, they found success through the deep ball, with quarterback Zach Collaros turning back the clock by completing four passes of at least 39 yards.

Star running back Brady Oliveira had just three carries for 22 yards heading into the fourth quarter. That would have fans in an uproar in a typical game, but against the Stampeders, the tailback was arguably more valuable as a decoy.

“I know running the football up here solves world peace and terrorists,” said offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell. “But what we need to be able to do is we gotta be a physically violent football team, and that’s with the run or pass, but we have to throw to score points.”

The Bombers did just that, thanks in large part to Collaros, who delivered his finest performance of the season. He had missed the previous two games with a head injury and faced questions from outside the organization about whether he should return at all considering a well-documented history of injuries above the shoulders.

“People saying ‘He’s old, he should hang it up’ and stuff like that, I feel like him seeing that type of stuff during the couple weeks that he was out gave him a lot of motivation to go out there and do a little bit better than he has been,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson.

“When Zach is out there on the field and he’s moving at a good pace, throwing the ball at a good clip, and just moving the ball consistently, it gives the whole team energy.”

Saturday marked the second time this season that Winnipeg had its top four receivers — Ontaria Wilson, Tim White, Nic Demski and rookie sensation Dorian Singer — available and in the lineup at the same time.

Singer, who missed Tuesday’s practice with an illness, broke out with five catches for 166 yards.

Collaros hinted that the rookie reminded him of one of his former favourite targets in Kenny Lawler.

“He has a really big catch radius … I don’t want to (compare him to Lawler just yet), but there’s some catches he makes and I’m like ‘Yeah, he looks like that guy,’” said Collaros.

It was an encouraging performance across all three phases, but the question now is whether the Bombers can sustain that level of play this late in the season.

They haven’t won consecutive games since a three-game win streak in July. Two of those victories came against the league’s bottom two teams in Hamilton and Ottawa.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride this season,” said linebacker Tony Jones. “We’re just focused on putting whatever wasn’t clicking in the past and worrying about how we can go out this week and go 1-0 against a good Edmonton team. With everything still right in front of us, we’re fired up about that.”

The Bombers sit third in the West Division at 8-8. They hold the tiebreaker over Saskatchewan (8-8) and Calgary (8-9), having won both season series. Winnipeg also owns the best head-to-head winning percentage among the three teams, which would give them the edge if they all end the season with the same record.

With two weeks left, the Bombers could still finish anywhere from second to last in the division. But they are, at the very least, guaranteed a playoff berth if they can avoid going 0-2 down the stretch.

Edmonton, which has beaten Winnipeg in both meetings this season, can clinch the West Division with a victory Friday.

“It’s been a really good division, it’s been a great league all year, really,” said Collaros. “There’s a lot of parity, it’s going to come down to the wire. The fans should be really happy about that.”

SMITH UPDATE

Second-year linebacker Jaylen Smith is listed on the injury report with a hip injury after suffering a setback on a non-contact play in the third quarter Saturday.

O’Shea did not provide an update on the severity of the injury.

Smith made his presence felt earlier in the game by delivering one of the biggest hits of the season in the second quarter when he came out of nowhere to drill Stampeders running back Deonta McMahon.

“I didn’t even see Jaylen coming until he hit him and then it was like ‘Oh my God,’” said Jefferson.

“Great hit. That’s one of the ones you wait all season for.”

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