Collaros turns back the clock

It was around this time seven years ago that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially became Zach Collaros’s team.

Making his first start in blue and gold after being acquired via trade, Collaros ran backwards to escape a collapsing pocket before rolling to his right and firing a perfect pass to Darvin Adams in the back corner of the south end zone during a home game against the Calgary Stampeders.

The play marked the beginning of the Collaros era in Winnipeg.

And a similar play Saturday night, once again against the Stampeders, served as a reminder that the 38-year-old pivot isn’t done just yet.

Collaros sprinted to his right after dodging a defender and delivered a beautiful pass on the run to that same corner of the south end zone, this time finding Nic Demski for another memorable touchdown.

“I 100 per cent thought of that. It was very eerie how similar it was and it was almost in the exact same spot on the field,” said right guard Patrick Neufeld.

“I was just a fan watching.”

The touchdown put the Bombers ahead 17-9 in the second quarter, and they went on to prevail 33-28 in a game with major playoff implications.

Winnipeg improved to 8-8 and claimed the tiebreaker over Calgary in the process. The Bombers now need only to finish with at least the same record as Calgary or Saskatchewan to qualify for the post-season, thanks to their tiebreaker advantage over both West Division rivals.

The loss dropped Calgary to 8-9. The Stampeders could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory.

“We felt the urgency this week,” said running back Brady Oliveira. “We needed that one and we got it.”

The Bombers will hit the road to take on the Edmonton Elks on Friday, but before we look ahead to that, let’s revisit Saturday with 5 Takeaways.

CROWNING COLLAROS

That was the best Zach Collaros’s arm has looked all season.

Was it a perfect outing for the Bombers’ starting quarterback in his return from injury? Not quite. He was fortunate that defensive back Jaydon Grant didn’t return his first pass of the evening for a pick-six.

He also badly overthrew a wide-open Demski in the second quarter for a regrettable interception.

But outside of those two plays, Collaros was brilliant.

His 52-yard strike to Dorian Singer on the second drive was a throw we haven’t seen from him in quite some time.

He also came through in the clutch with a 14-yard scramble on second-and-eight with 3:30 remaining from Winnipeg’s 24-yard line. Two plays later, he hit Singer for 39 yards, setting up a Sergio Castillo field goal that extended the lead to two scores at 33-22.

Collaros, who missed the previous two games with a head injury, finished 19-for-27 for 349 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The Bombers needed his best, and he delivered.

“That’s vintage Eight-Ball right there. You love to see it,” said Demski. “Especially the opportunity that we had and him coming back this week, it was just a picture-perfect story.”

SLINGIN’ IT TO SINGER

Mike O’Shea has yet to offer a reasonable explanation for why Dorian Singer spent the first 11 games of the season on the practice roster.

The rookie receiver’s talent was evident in training camp, and this year’s offence has never been in a position to turn down a playmaker.

Fortunately for Bomberland, Singer is finally getting his opportunity.

He erupted for five catches and 166 yards, the most receiving yards by any Bomber this season.

He was the most explosive player on the field, recording three catches of at least 39 yards.

“He comes in every day with the right mindset — even when he wasn’t playing and was waiting for his opportunity,” said Oliveira.

“The guy works extremely hard and you’re seeing the fruits of his labour right now. The guy’s earned it and he’s making big plays for us and he’s gonna be a massive part of this offence for a while.”

The Bombers entered the week dead last in completions of 30-plus yards with just 13. If they keep looking Singer’s way down the stretch, opposing defences will have to respect their deep passing game.

WHAT A HIT

How did Deonta McMahon get up so quickly after that?

The Stampeders running back had just caught a pass for a first down late in the second quarter and was heading toward midfield when Bombers linebacker Jaylen Smith came out of nowhere and BOOM!

Smith launched himself at the ballcarrier in one of the biggest collisions of the season.

“It’s the way football should be played,” O’Shea said.

The 24-year-old from Hamilton has been an outstanding find for the Bombers. Winnipeg selected him in the second round, 15th overall, of the 2025 CFL Draft out of the University of North Texas, and he has emerged as a force on special teams and a standout at dime back on defence.

Unfortunately, Smith’s season could be over.

He suffered a non-contact injury at the start of the third quarter and appeared visibly upset on the sideline afterward.

“As soon as he got in the building, after a couple weeks, I told JY (defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger) ‘He’s gonna be part of our success,’” said safety Redha Kramdi.

“Then he came in camp (this season) and he probably had the best camp out of all of us on defence. So, seeing him take off with that opportunity is amazing. I’m super happy for him. Unfortunately, he got hurt, but hopefully it’s nothing major.”

VAVAL DOES IT AGAIN

It felt as though it was destined to be Winnipeg’s night when Trey Vaval opened the second half with an 88-yard kickoff return touchdown.

He has been piling up return yards all season, but Saturday’s score was just his second touchdown of the year and his first since July 10.

The return put the Bombers firmly in control, giving them a 24-9 advantage. Vaval added a 34-yard punt return in the fourth quarter and contributed on defence at cornerback, finishing with three tackles.

“I love that kid. He works so hard, he wants to do it so badly,” said O’Shea.

“Sometimes he puts a lot of pressure on himself to do well for his teammates. But he logs a lot of snaps on defence, too, now.”

APPLAUDING THE DEFENCE

This truly was a three-phase win for the Bombers.

The defence did its part by largely keeping Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. in check. Adams averaged 6.6 yards per passing attempt, his second-lowest mark of the season.

The unit also stopped the Stampeders on two, two-point conversion attempts and forced them to settle for three field goals in the first half.

Calgary had averaged 40.7 points during its recent three-game winning streak.

The Stampeders did manage 124 rushing yards and won the time-of-possession battle (36:15 to 23:45), but holding a red-hot Adams to 284 passing yards was an impressive feat.

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