Burn the film: Blue Bombers crushed in inaugural Stampede Bowl (& nine other thoughts)

By
John Hodge
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Photo courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers suffered a shocking upset against the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday night, losing 37-16 in front of 22,485 fans at McMahon Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.

Burn the film

Every CFL team is entitled to one “burn the film” game — in other words, a performance so bad they shouldn’t bother watching the tape, just forget about it and move on.

This is exactly what transpired on Thursday night for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They played poorly in all three phases, getting outclassed by a home underdog that finished dead-last in the CFL last season.

With that said, even great teams are allowed to have “burn the film” games.

In 2019, the Blue Bombers got blasted 33-13 in Hamilton, then turned around and dominated the Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup eight weeks later. In 2023, Winnipeg got crushed 30-6 at home by B.C. but still ended up winning the season series. In 2024, Montreal came into Princess Auto Stadium and won 27-12, yet it was the Blue Bombers — not the Alouettes — who made it to the Grey Cup.

The point is this: lopsided losses happen and they’re not a reason to panic. This was Winnipeg’s “burn the film” game for 2025. They should flush it and move on.

With that said, the Blue Bombers can’t afford to have another one. Like all CFL teams, they’re entitled to exactly one stinker. If this happens again, that will be reason for panic.

D-readful

Winnipeg’s defence is among the best in the league but you wouldn’t know that based on how they played in Calgary.

The Stampeders moved the ball with ease on their opening drive, which ended in a 43-yard touchdown pass to Clark Barnes. Marquise Bridges provided decent coverage on the play as he timed his jump well after recovering from the receiver’s double-move, but he was unable to bat the ball away and Barnes made a nice catch for the score.

Midway through the second quarter, Winnipeg gave up explosions only two plays apart as Tevin Jones out-leaped Terrell Bonds for a 29-yard catch along the sideline, then Dedrick Mills ripped off a 21-yard run up the gut. Three plays later, Kyrie Wilson couldn’t chase down Damien Alford, the first overall pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, who scored his first career touchdown on a short catch-and-run.

Late in the second quarter, Jalen Philpot was wide open on a deep route and Adams hit him for a 66-yard catch-and-run, which saw the native of Delta, B.C. dodge would-be tackles from Jamal Parker and Michael Griffin II. Two plays later, Mills punched the ball in for another major score.

Woof.

There wasn’t anything that the unit did well. Winnipeg’s defence wasn’t able to get pressure with four rushers. It missed tackles. It didn’t contest many catches. Willie Jefferson and Redha Kramdi took offside penalties. Jake Thomas was also flagged for roughing the passer, though it looked innocuous upon replay.

The defence tightened up in the second half, allowing zero points, but that was due in part to the conservative nature of Calgary’s attack as they tried to kill the clock. One nice play came from Bridges, who stripped Philpot of the football midway through the fourth quarter. Parker recovered the fumble, which gave Winnipeg possession near midfield and led to their lone touchdown on the night.

Jordan Younger’s unit has been consistently great since he was promoted to the role of defensive coordinator last season. On Thursday, it was bad. Clearly, he’s got some work to do over the bye week.

Zach falls back

After being named 3DownNation‘s offensive player of the week for his four-touchdown performance against Edmonton, Zach Collaros struggled on Thursday night. Badly.

Late in the first quarter, the 36-year-old threw a hook route intended for Nic Demski but the pass was jumped by Calgary safety Damon Webb, who intercepted it and returned it 30 yards for the score.

In the fourth quarter, Collaros tried to hit Brady Oliveira on an outlet route near the sideline but the ball came out too slowly, allowing strong-side linebacker Derrick Moncrief to pick it off and return it 70 yards for a touchdown.

One game. Two pick-sixes. Yikes.

Aside from the two turnovers, the quarterback’s most costly error came at the end of the first half. Winnipeg had a chance to score a touchdown but Collaros missed a wide-open Keric Wheatfall in the end zone, throwing the ball well over his head.

The drive still ended in points as Sergio Castillo connected on a 21-yard field goal, but the damage was done. All the momentum the Blue Bombers built suddenly evaporated as they entered halftime trailing 23 points. After that, there was never a moment when it felt like Winnipeg could realistically launch a comeback.

Even the connection between Collaros and Dalton Schoen — usually one of the CFL’s best — was off. Collaros had a chance to hit the receiver on a long corner route late in the first half but overthrew him, forcing the team to punt. Schoen returned the error in the second half, dropping a perfect throw that would have converted a second down. The receiver had another drop in the fourth quarter, after which he left the game with an apparent knee injury and didn’t return.

It wasn’t all bad from Collaros, who finished the game 34-of-48 for 288 yards, one touchdowns, and two interceptions. With that said, he’s a two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player for a reason. The future Hall of Famer has set a high standard for well over a decade in this league and he didn’t play well enough to win in Cowtown. It’s as simple as that.

Vaughters visits

James Vaughters made his first trip back to Calgary on Thursday night but had a quiet performance, recording two tackles. The 32-year-old played his first four CFL seasons with the Stampeders but was released this offseason before signing with the Blue Bombers.

It wasn’t a great night for Winnipeg in the trenches, though the offensive line fared better than the defensive line. Zach Collaros faced a few pressures but was sacked zero times, while Brady Oliveira was granted a few nice rushing lanes.

Defensively, there wasn’t enough push from Winnipeg’s front four. The unit of Vaughters, Willie Jefferson, Jake Thomas, Devin Adams, Cam Lawson, and Collin Kornelson needs to be better. It might also be time for the team to promote Jason Person from the practice roster to provide more rotational options off the edge.

Brady’s (quietly) back

Brady Oliveira made his return to the lineup after missing two games due to a shoulder injury. It was evident on Winnipeg’s opening drive that Oliveira had fresh legs as he carried the ball six times for 36 yards, setting up an 18-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo.

With the game becoming lopsided relatively quickly, it became tougher and tougher for Winnipeg to run the ball. In the end, Oliveira rushed 13 times for 61 yards and caught six passes for 51 yards.

There also appeared to be some miscommunication between Oliveira and Zach Collaros. In the first half, Collaros pulled the ball on an apparent run-pass option but immediately took off running himself. He ended up gaining seven yards, which was a decent result, but there’s no way this was by design — something had to have gone awry.

In the second half, on what appeared to be another run-pass option, Oliveira and Collaros had a clumsy exchange behind a pulling Patrick Neufeld that resulted in a two-yard loss. Again, there’s no way this play was executed properly because the design made no sense.

Granted, Oliveira only played a handful of snaps heading into this week’s game, but these are the types of mistakes that can’t happen in meaningful football games.

Stampede Bowl

Thursday’s game was the first-ever Stampede Bowl, which marked the first time a CFL game has been formally tethered to the Calgary Stampede. The result was solid attendance as the Stampeders cracked the 20,000 mark for the first time this season.

Bret Michaels of Poison performed the halftime show, while the Stampede Bowl Trophy was awarded to the home squad for winning the game. The Blue Bombers will also make a $25,000 donation to Purolator Tackle Hunger in Calgary as part of a friendly wager made by team presidents Jay McNeil and Wade Miller.

These are the types of special games that become tentpoles for fans throughout the season. Everyone in Winnipeg knows about the Banjo Bowl even if they’re not fans of the Blue Bombers or the CFL. It’s become a late-summer staple, which is why it sells out months in advance every year.

The more standalone, iconic games the CFL can create, the better. Calgary has a long way to go to fill McMahon Stadium again but this was a big step in the right direction.

Great grab

Here’s a positive: Jerreth Sterns made a remarkable catch for his first career touchdown as a member of the Blue Bombers.

You see this play design in the red zone often in the CFL. Facing man coverage, Sterns leaked out to the flat from opposite side of the formation with Collaros running play-action.

This pass usually comes out a little quicker, which is why Damon Webb was in position to contest the catch. Regardless, Sterns did a brilliant job of adjusting to the ball, squeezing the heck out of it, and surviving contact with the ground.

Return error

Winnipeg returner Trey Vaval made a rookie mistake late in the first quarter when he brought a 68-yard punt from Mark Vassett out of the end zone, only to be corralled by three Stampeders at the six-yard line. When a returner gives up the chance to kneel for a single point, they’ve gotta a whole lot more than six yards.

After finding seams in each of his first three games, Vaval was held mostly at bay in Cowtown. It will be interesting to see if Peyton Logan, who hasn’t practiced since the start of training camp due to an ankle injury, will be ready to go after Winnipeg’s upcoming bye week. After all, he’s one the one-game injured list — not the six-game injured list.

No Biggie

Adam Bighill didn’t dress for the Stampeders this week as he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered in last year’s Labour Day Classic. With that said, it’s possible he played a role in helping Calgary attack Winnipeg’s defence so effectively, especially given that the Stampeders had extra time to prepare coming off a bye week.

It seems like there’s a chance the veteran linebacker will be ready to play when Calgary visits Winnipeg in two weeks, which would be a fitting season debut for him. Bighill would surely receive a warm welcome from the crowd at Princess Auto Stadium, just as Buck Pierce did when he returned with the B.C. Lions last month.

Next up

Despite having played only four regular-season games, the Blue Bombers (3-1) are heading into their second of three bye weeks this year. The team will then play 11 straight weeks until a final bye in the first week of October.

After being the consensus No. 1 team in the CFL heading into Week 5, Winnipeg is suddenly third place in the West Division.

John Hodge
John Hodge

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