Playoff hopes dwindle for Bombers after loss to Edmonton

EDMONTON — It’s a script the Winnipeg Blue Bombers should’ve shredded, burned, and buried.

Go to Edmonton, dominate the first half, crumble in the final two quarters and lose.

That’s what happened in Week 12, when the Bombers blew an early 16-point lead in a 22-19 loss. And in their return to Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night, the Bombers went down a nearly identical path in a 35-27 defeat to the Edmonton Elks.

In their latest disappearing act, the Blue and Gold led 21-10 with less than a minute remaining in the first half before seemingly vanishing into thin air.

“Yeah, it definitely felt like there’s some similarities (in the two losses in Edmonton),” said running back Brady Oliveira.

“This is just unacceptable. We have a very high standard here and we’re obviously not living up to that.”

With the win, the Elks improved to 13-4 and clinched first place in the West Division for the first time since 2015.

Despite the loss and falling below .500, the Bombers (8-9) can still clinch a playoff berth this weekend if the Calgary Stampeders (8-9) lose to the B.C. Lions (10-6) in Vancouver today.

The Bombers are 0-3 against the Elks this season. You have to go back to 1979 to find the last time Edmonton swept Winnipeg in a three-game series.

“I just feel like it’s the story of our year. It’s pissing me off,” said safety Redha Kramdi.

“We come out, do some amazing stuff in the first half, and we just don’t play good football in the second half. This is f——— annoying to keep saying ‘We gotta find a way to figure it out’ because the f——— season is almost over.”

The Bombers came out firing, with quarterback Zach Collaros hitting Nic Demski for a 13-yard touchdown before finding Ontaria Wilson for a 32-yard score. But two costly mistakes prevented Winnipeg from building a more comfortable lead.

With the Bombers backed up at their own nine-yard line five minutes into the second quarter, Collaros threw one of his worst interceptions of the season, forcing a pass to rookie receiver Dorian Singer who was surrounded by green jerseys.

One play later, Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo checked down to running back Shunderrick Powell for an eight-yard touchdown to shave Winnipeg’s lead to 10-7.

The Bombers responded with a promising drive, with Singer drawing a pass interference penalty on Elks cornerback Tyrell Ford. The flag set up short-yardage quarterback Bryce Perkins for a touchdown plunge that put Winnipeg ahead 21-10 with 54 seconds remaining.

Then came the second blunder. The Bombers allowed Montrell Washington to break loose for a 65-yard kickoff return, setting up the Elks near the goal line. Edmonton gambled on third-and-goal from the four-yard line, and Fajardo delivered, connecting with receiver Austin Mack for a touchdown. Mack beat cornerback Major Williams on an out-and-up route to cut the deficit to 21-17 at halftime.

“They get a big return and we need to stop them, hold them to three, and they score — that’s bad football,” said Kramdi.

The Elks took control of the evening on the first drive of the second half, going in front 25-21 on a Fajardo rushing touchdown.

Winnipeg answered with a promising drive of its own but settled for a 23-yard Sergio Castillo field goal after Oliveira was tackled for a one-yard loss on a second-and-two.

“I felt like that was a crucial moment,” said Oliveira.

“The play that’s called we gotta go execute and we didn’t.”

The Bombers had a chance to reclaim the lead on their next possession, but Castillo’s 55-yard field goal attempt clanged off the left upright early in the fourth quarter. He had also missed from 57 yards in the first.

“I had an A-ball in pregame, and for some reason during the game, I had a B-ball where I was coming around too fast and swinging hard,” said Castillo. “That’s my weakness, that’s my tendency which super rarely happens.”

The Elks countered with a 52-yard field goal by Vincent Blanchard to make it a 28-24 ballgame. Defensive end Willie Jefferson whiffed on a sack, allowing Fajardo to scramble for a seven-yard gain to stay in field goal range.

Minutes later, Fajardo made the Bombers pay again, leading Edmonton on a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that gave the home side a 35-24 cushion with 1:39 remaining.

Castillo drilled a 53-yarder with 52 seconds left to make it a one-score game again, but that was as close as Winnipeg would get.

Collaros completed 28 of 33 passes for 331 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

His second INT came midway through the fourth with the Bombers trailing 28-24. Collaros attempted a deep pass to Demski off his back foot, but the throw was severely underthrown.

The Elks played a clean game with zero turnovers.

“You can’t lose the turnover battle,” said Collaros.

“Obviously, when you’re backed up you can’t throw interceptions and when you’re driving to potentially take the lead in a game, you can’t throw interceptions so those are on me… When you make mistakes that are that magnified, it’s going to hurt you.”

Fajardo completed 12 of 17 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He did most of his damage with his legs by scampering eight times for 72 yards and two scores.

Elks running back Justin Rankin dominated on the ground, rushing 23 times for 133 yards while adding a 10-yard reception. Oliveira finished with nine carries for 37 yards and two catches for 18 yards. Wilson led all receivers with 11 catches for 120 yards, while Singer added five receptions for 85 yards.

Winnipeg turned heads at home last week in a crucial 33-28 win over Calgary. But carrying strong performances into the following game has been a problem the 2026 Bombers have yet to solve.

“We’re not playing consistently,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “We haven’t gotten there yet for some reason, whether it’s mistakes or penalties or whatever, we just haven’t eliminated those things that prevent us from continuing.”

The Bombers close out the regular season on the road against the Lions on Friday.

If Calgary wins today and Saskatchewan (8-8) wins at least one of its final two games — against Montreal today or vs. Edmonton next week — the Bombers will have to beat B.C. to qualify for the playoffs.

“We’re not counting on anyone to do us any favours,” said special teams ace Nick Hallett.

“It’s in our hands and we know what we have to do. It’s do or die and that’s how we’re gonna approach it.”

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