Zach Collaros didn’t expect Winnipeg Blue Bombers to face must-win game

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have to win against the B.C. Lions this week to make the playoffs, which isn’t the scenario franchise quarterback Zach Collaros envisioned when the season began.

“I didn’t think we’d be in a situation like this, but we are,” Collaros told the media on Monday. “You’ve gotta treat it like it’s an extension of the playoffs — you lose, and you’re out — but I wasn’t expecting this.”

It’s uncharted territory for the club, at least in recent history. Winnipeg hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2015, which was just the second year of Mike O’Shea’s tenure as head coach. Collaros wouldn’t join the organization for another four years.

The team had a chance to punch its ticket to the playoffs this past week but lost 35-27 to the Edmonton Elks. The loss moved the team to 8-9, meaning its streak of nine consecutive winning regular-season records will come to an end.

Despite the downward trend, it doesn’t sound like the franchise quarterback has grown discouraged.

“I’m confident in our group, I’m confident in our staff. Just the makeup of our organization, I think we’re battle-tested, a lot of the guys are here,” said Collaros.

“We’ve been through a lot this season — that adversity, we’ve learned a lot of lessons from it. We’ve just gotta execute and win a game, and that’s what it comes down to each and every week. We could talk about all the reasons why we can do it, why we can’t do it, but it just comes down to actually doing it. We’ve gotta have a great week of practice, have a lot of joy, a lot of energy, and go out there and try to execute to the best of our ability, and win a football game.”

Winnipeg and B.C. met once earlier this season in what was arguably the biggest upset of the season.

With Nathan Rourke out due to injury, the Lions turned to rookie Kaidon Salter to make his first career start under centre. He only practiced once that week, as his team was visiting Princess Auto Stadium on four days of rest. By all accounts, the game should have been a bloodbath.

Instead, the Blue Bombers seemed woefully unprepared for Salter’s ability to run the ball. He, Zander Horvath, and Emani Bailey combined for 377 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 35-19 win. Salter ended up only completing seven passes for 96 yards, but who needs a passing attack when you’re averaging 11.4 yards per carry?

Had Winnipeg won that matchup, they would have already clinched a spot in the postseason, and still had a chance at a home playoff game.

Instead, the Lions have already clinched second place in the West Division, which could lead them to rest some of their starters on Friday night.

“They’re a great team,” said Collaros. “I know (head coach) Buck (Pierce) will have those guys ready to go. No matter who is on the field, I’m expecting their best effort with their guys out there, so that’s how we’re preparing.”

“There’s potential that their roster changes, but I don’t know that it will,” said O’Shea. “We would expect their best from their roster, and we expect the best from each player. That’s the way you should approach it anytime, is you believe your opponent is good enough to beat you, so you prepare as such.”

With a win this week, Winnipeg would qualify for the East Semi-Final or the West Semi-Final depending on whether or not the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat Edmonton.

Regardless, one thing is for certain: the Blue Bombers have to win to get in.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-9) will visit the B.C. Lions (10-7) at BC Place Stadium on Friday, October 23 with kickoff scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET. Winnipeg is coming off a loss to the Edmonton Elks that cost them a chance to clinch a playoff spot, while the Lions lost to the Calgary Stampeders after resting some of their starters in the second half.

The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and 730 CKNW (English) or Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 (Punjabi) in Vancouver.