The Redblacks make a statement, pummel Blue Bombers 44-21

By: Adamo Marinelli

August 20th, 2018

    On August 17th, the Redblacks came to Winnipeg expecting a close game from an explosive Winnipeg offence led by Matt Nichols and CFL leading rusher Andrew Harris. The game wasn’t very close at all, except for when Ottawa led 8-7 after Winnipeg’s first touchdown to counter Ottawa’s first touchdown in a Redblacks 44-21 win in dominant fashion.

    Ottawa’s offence, defence and special teams were clicking. The Redblacks’ offence played a spectacular game and everyone on the offence was producing. Trevor Harris went 29-39 throwing for 361 yards and a passing touchdown. William Powell had an explosive game both on the ground and in the air with 18 carries for 106 yards and a rushing touchdown to give the Redblacks a 44-21 lead with about seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to put the nail in the coffin in this game and secure the win for the Redblacks. He also added four receptions for 46 yards. Both Ellingson and Sinopoli played a huge role in the passing game with eight receptions for 100 yards and three receptions for 51 yards respectively. Dominic Rhymes also was a weapon for the Redblacks with five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown from Harris. Dominique Davis, the backup QB was another superstar against the Blue Bombers with three rushes for four yards and two one-yard rushing touchdowns.

    Ottawa’s defence played extremely well also. They held the leading rusher in the CFL, Andrew Harris to only 72 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown. He normally produces 150+ yards per game so the Ottawa’s run defence was clearly a factor in making Winnipeg’s offence one dimensional. And despite Winnipeg QB Matt Nichols went 23-35 passing with 291 passing yards which has been larger than his average of 150 yards per game so far this season (he has played nine games and passed for 1344 yards this season), the fact that Ottawa held the second best offence in the league behind Calgary (Ottawa is the third best offence in the CFL) to 21 points is phenomenal. Also, the Ottawa defence - specifically Jonathan Rose - intercepted Matt Nichols once, sacked him four times, one of which was a sack by Corey Tindal who caused a forced fumble which was returned by Avery Williams for a defensive touchdown. The four sacks resulted in a combined loss of 30 yards as well.

    Another area Ottawa excelled at was in the special teams' department. Lewis Ward hit both of his field goals from 41 and 38 yards out respectively to make it 24 consecutive field goals made, a CFL record. And he’s only a rookie, who is only 5’6’’ tall. Incredible. He did miss a PAT after Powell’s rushing touchdown to make Ottawa’s lead 45-21, but that doesn’t take away from his expertise in kicking. And Richie Leone, the punter, punted six times for 281 yards, his longest from 57 yards out. He always pinned the Winnipeg offence deep in their own territory making it very hard for their offence to get a rhythm going and helping out Ottawa’s defence make big plays at crucial times. Diontae Spencer was even a threat in both kick and punt returning. In kick returns, he had four returns for 80 yards, his longest was a 27-yard return and in punt returning, he had six returns for 69 yards, his longest was a 35-yard return. He also had six receptions for 27 yards in the receiving game, two of those receptions for clutch first downs to keep the drive alive.

    In short, the Redblacks’ offence played start to finish with fire. They dominated the Winnipeg defence and that was a huge factor in the Redblacks win. Their defence was also extraordinary, really shutting down the potent Blue Bombers’ offence and by causing turnovers: in the form of interceptions and forced fumbles. And the special team unit: field goal kicking, punting, kick and punt returns were excellent, helping both the offence with the field goals and the defence by pinning the opposing offence deep in their own territory.

    In other words, the Redblacks dominated the Blue Bombers 44-21 to improve to 6-3 which gives them a three-game lead in the east division and dropped the Blue Bombers to 5-4, which is good enough for third in the west division. They are trailing the Eskimos by one game and the Stampeders by two-and-a-half games.

    Next week, in week 11, the Redblacks will have a bye and then in week 12, they will host the Alouettes on August 31st at TD Place. The Blue Bombers will visit Calgary to play the Stampeders on August 25th in week 11.