The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 27-20 in their preseason finale on Friday night in Regina. Below are my thoughts on the game.
The Strevolution
Chris Streveler was relatively sharp for the second straight preseason game, finishing eight-of-ten for 76 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
The veteran’s best pass came when he hit Jerreth Sterns on the run for 17 yards to move the chains on Winnipeg’s opening drive. His worst came on a deep shot he floated into the arms of defensive back Eddie Heckard, which ended up being his last throw of the game.
Streveler won’t be unseating Zach Collaros anytime soon — Winnipeg’s franchise quarterback was in for only two plays and hit back-to-back 40-yard passes for a score — but he looks ready to start in Week 2.
Starting up
Winnipeg dressed 14 probable starters for Friday’s preseason game, including the entire offence minus Brady Oliveira. Given that the team has a bye in Week 1, it made sense to give more veterans playing time.
Saskatchewan dressed only eight probable starters, including receivers Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson, offensive linemen Trevon Tate, Zack Fry, and Jacob Brammer, defensive tackles Micah Johnson and Mike Rose, and field-side halfback DaMarcus Fields. With the team’s first regular-season game only six days away, it’s understandable why they dressed such a young roster.
Regardless, this disparity was why it wasn’t shocking to see the Blue Bombers dominate early — they had more experience on the field.
The defence rests
Jordan Younger’s defence played very well on Friday night, generating two red zone takeaways and holding Jake Maier under 100 passing yards until shortly before halftime. The Roughriders were stymied along the ground as Mario Anderson and Trent Pennix managed only 38 yards on 11 carries.
Winnipeg allowed only one explosion play as Maier victimized rookie defensive back Tay Gowan on a 48-yard deep shot to Joe Robustelli. Two plays later, Kemari Munier-Bailey, Winnipeg’s first pick in the 2025 CFL Global Draft, got the initial pressure as Devin Adams sacked Maier for a six-yard loss to end the drive.
Isaiah Avery made an excellent play to intercept a pass intended for D’Sean Mimbs in the second quarter, while rookie defensive end Jay Person notched Winnipeg’s second sack in the third quarter. Gowan made a nice pass breakup in the third quarter, rookie Cam Allen had one in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Pointer recorded a sack and a pass knockdown on Saskatchewan’s second-last drive of the game.
After playing almost exclusively three-man fronts on passing downs last year, Younger called plenty of four-down fronts on Friday night. This might mean nothing, though it could also be a sign of things to come.
Over two preseason games, Winnipeg’s defence allowed 29 points and one touchdown, which occurred in the last 30 seconds of the second game. That’s pretty damn good.
Where the Wheatfalls
Second-year receiver Keric Wheatfall had an incredible start to Friday’s game, catching touchdown passes on Winnipeg’s first two possessions. The six-foot-one, 185-pound target broke coverage on the first score, then jumped over trailing defensive back Kerfalla Exumé on the second to secure the contested catch.
COLLAROS MOONSHOT TO WHEATFALL 🌙
Wheatfall with his 2nd TD of the first under his belt 😤#CFLGameDay | @Wpg_BlueBombers
📺: https://t.co/cwHhd9tIEK pic.twitter.com/JN2UivMzUN
— CFL (@CFL) May 31, 2025
Wheatfall caught three passes for 111 yards in his debut last season but was relatively unproductive over his next six starts. He looks more polished heading into his second season, which could put high-priced free-agent addition Dillon Mitchell out of a job.
Dalton Schoen finished the game as Winnipeg’s second-leading receiver despite making only one catch — a 40-yard bomb from Zach Collaros. Fifth-round draft pick Joey Corcoran made two catches for 27 yards, Canadian running back Matthew Peterson caught three passes for 22 yards, and Jerreth Sterns made one grab for 17 yards.
Returning the favour
Trey Vaval may have won the kick return job for Week 2 when he brought a punt back 93 yards midway through the second quarter. The play was negated by penalty but that doesn’t necessarily matter from an evaluation standpoint — the coaches and personnel people still saw it.
Vaval, a former Minnesota State standout, finished the game with two kickoff returns for 58 yards and one punt return for seven yards. The only knock on the 24-year-old is that he looked winded at the end of his negated return and was caught by punter Joe Couch. This is the CFL — with such a large field, everyone’s conditioning has to be on point.
David Wallis returned three kickoffs for 57 yards and one punt for seven yards, while Keilahn Harris returned two punts for nine yards.
Dillon Mitchell also took some reps as a returner, a role he filled at times over his three seasons in Edmonton. The 28-year-old finished the game with two punt returns for 13 yards and one punt return for 21 yards. He didn’t make any catches.
Cooley-o
Rookie running back Quinton Cooley, who was a standout in last week’s preseason opener, had another strong game as he ran the ball nine times for 55 yards and caught one pass for nine yards. He also did an impressive job as a lead blocker, including on a 15-yard run by Keilahn Harris near the midway point of the third quarter.
The 23-year-old out of Liberty University was listed as the starter on Friday but Matthew Peterson, who was recently acquired via trade from Hamilton, got the start. The native of Brooks, Alta. recorded eight carries for 25 yards and three catches for 22 yards.
General manager Kyle Walters recently admitted that the team’s ratio flexibility is diminished heading into this season. Last year, it would have been easy for Winnipeg to dress an American running back as the team had so much Canadian talent elsewhere. This year, it’ll be more difficult to get a guy like Cooley on the roster.
With that being said, he may have forced the team’s hand — at least until Peyton Logan is healthy, Cooley might be too explosive not the keep around.
Chase-ing glory
Young quarterbacks Chase Artopoeus and Terry Wilson both got looks during the second quarter, though both initially struggled.
Wilson ended up being the better of the two as he completed nine-of-twelve pass attempts for 58 yards, playing almost the entire second half. The 27-year-old made little effort to push the ball deep, focusing instead on distributing it underneath.
Midway through the third quarter, it looked like there was miscommunication on a play-action pass Wilson threw to Myron Mitchell. Mitchell was blocking a defender when the ball arrived while fullback Michael Chris-Ike, who was in motion, appeared to be expecting a pass. Either Wilson threw the ball to the wrong player or it was terribly off the mark.
Artopoeus didn’t show the same poise he demonstrated last week, struggling to handle the heat Saskatchewan sent his way. Surprisingly, we wasn’t given and reps late in the game as he did one week ago, finishing the game one-for-three for 11 yards.
With Collaros ineligible to play in Winnipeg’s regular-season opener due to a suspension, Artopoeus and Wilson should both make the roster for game one. Barring injury, however, one of them will be demoted to the practice roster once Collaros returns.
SCOOOOOPED!
21-3 Bombers #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/YlVSb7QU50
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) May 31, 2025
Webbs and flows
Rookie defensive lineman Phillip Webb returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter, snuffing out a red zone opportunity for the Roughriders. The Jackson State product signed with the Blue Bombers only 13 days ago and finished the game with one tackle and one fumble recovery.
Every now and again, a CFL rookie reminds you of one from the past. Between his stature, position, number, and monosyllabic last name, Webb immediately reminded me of Gavin Walls, a three-time divisional all-star with the Blue Bombers during the late 2000s.
It remains to be seen if Webb is anywhere near the level of a player like Walls, but he flashed some Walls-like ability on at least one play.
Just for kicks
Last week, newcomer James Evans outplayed incumbent punter Jamieson Sheahan at Princess Auto Stadium. Evans, the team’s second-round pick in the 2025 CFL Global Draft, averaged 53.5 gross yards and 41.5 net yards on two punts, while Sheahan averaged 44.0 gross yards and 27.5 net yards on four punts.
This week, the veteran was slightly better than the rookie as Sheahan averaged 40.3 net yards on three punts and Evans punted four times for an average of 36.8 net yards.
Protection defection
The Blue Bombers started second-year blocker Micah Vanterpool at left guard, which could be a sign of the team’s plan to start three Americans along the offensive line. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., who was a two-time All-Conference selection at guard while playing at the University of Hawaii, looked solid in run blocking and pass protection.
Gabe Wallace and Tui Eli took over the guard spots in the second quarter and the results weren’t brilliant. Eli took an illegal procedure penalty with his team backed up against its own goal line, then Wallace gave up a sack to Kendy Charles two plays later.
On the whole, Winnipeg’s protection was shaky after the team started making adjustments to the offensive line. Saskatchewan sent heat after young quarterbacks Chase Artopoeus and Terry Wilson and the Blue Bombers struggled to handle it, allowing three sacks.
Delayed
Friday’s game in Regina was delayed an hour due to smoke in the area. Every team has to deal with at least one delayed start over the course of the year, so hopefully there won’t be any more after this one for Winnipeg or Saskatchewan.
Streaming
CFL+ had another challenging night, leading the league to simulcast Friday’s preseason games on YouTube. For the record, the stream worked pretty well for me, though many on social media expressed frustration with getting it to work.
On one hand, it’s admirable that the league was bold enough to create its own streaming service. The fact that preseason games are free is cool, too.
On the other hand, the CFL looks bush league when a service they promote is substandard. CFL+? More like CFL–.
It should also be noted that statistics still aren’t fully accurate as Mario Anderson is listed as having minus-69 rushing yards for Saskatchewan.
On the chopping block
All nine CFL teams are required to finalize their post-training camp cuts by 10:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 31. Rosters are currently restricted to 75 players plus non-counters but need to be reduced to a 44 or 45-man active roster, 12 or 13-man practice roster, plus players on injured reserve.
It’s possible some teams will announce cuts as they’re finalized, though most will likely wait until the following morning. Regardless, stay tuned to 3DownNation for all the roster moves across the CFL.
Up next
The Blue Bombers have wrapped up their preseason and will have to wait a little while for their first regular-season game due to a Week 1 bye. The team will host the B.C. Lions on Thursday, June 12 to open the CFL’s Week 2 when Zach Collaros will be ineligible to play due to suspension, likely giving Chris Streveler a chance to start.
Winnipeg went 2-1 against the Lions in 2024, splitting two meetings at Princess Auto Stadium. B.C. will open its regular season at home against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, June 7, which means the team will be forced to visit the Blue Bombers on a short week. The game will serve as Buck Pierce’s return to Bomberland as he’s now the head coach in B.C. following an eleven-year run on Winnipeg’s coaching staff.
