B.C. Lions’ backups push Bombers to the brink, fail to finish upset (& 12 other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions

The B.C. Lions fielded what could best be described as a preseason roster for their regular-season finale, but that didn’t stop them from putting the fear of playoff elimination into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ hearts on Friday night. While a 34-10 defeat flattered the opposition, bench warmers and practice roster prospects held the balance of power for nearly three quarters.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Trouble with the curve

It is tempting, and not entirely inaccurate, to view this result as a moral victory for B.C. With virtually their entire starting offence watching in street clothes and plenty of defensive stars resting as well, it would have been rational to assume they would be bludgeoned and embarrassed by a veteran Winnipeg team fighting for their lives. The fact that they led for 42 minutes is an unlikely and improbable triumph on a night where the final score didn’t actually matter.

What is clear, however, is that head coach Buck Pierce doesn’t see it that way. There will be no grading the performance on a curve in the film room. While he seemed pleased with some aspects of his team’s play post-game, the prevailing theme was missed opportunities. Regardless of who was on the field, the expectation of victory wasn’t met.

Head coaches tend to spout those types of talking points after games like this, but Pierce struck me as particularly genuine in his assessment. If that messaging lands with the same authenticity in the locker room, playoff opponents should be seriously concerned. Not only will returning starters potentially be motivated by the strong play of some of their backups, but the entire organization will enter fuelled by a two-game losing skid that the man in charge has convinced them isn’t meaningless. That’s a potent mix.

Salt-ing the game away

When it comes to missed opportunities, quarterback Kaidon Salter was the most frequent culprit in defeat. The rookie once again flashed some unbelievable high-end tools in his second career start, but the inconsistencies that have plagued him as a passer were painfully visible as well.

Things started with a bang on B.C.’s opening drive, as Salter delivered a nice throw to Jaden Williams to kick things off and then found Nate Demontagnac in behind coverage for the game’s first points. It was exactly the type of big-armed brilliance that makes Salter so exciting, but he never could replicate it.

Time after time, the 23-year-old uncorked the deep ball, only to miss his target. He short-armed would-be touchdowns to Demontagnac and Jermaine Jackson, was picked off in the end zone on an ill-advised decision, and set other throws fluttering off-target. There was a conscious effort by B.C. to limit Salter’s usage in the ground game and allow him to show off his cannon, but they pushed it too far. Four first-half drives resulted in two-and-outs because of this playing style, while at least 14 points were left off the board on a night where that might have caused the opponent to tap out.

Salter finished 12-of-21 passing for 177 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while rushing twice for 11 yards. He was also sacked three times on plays where he put himself in jeopardy. The way in which he operated the offence doesn’t give you a ton of confidence that the Lions could produce a playoff miracle if they needed to turn to him in the postseason, though that shouldn’t be the key question in his evaluation. What B.C. has to ask themselves is what Salter can be in three years, once they’ve invested in him seriously. The raw physical tools suggest that answer could be something rather exciting.

From the depths

While Salter struggled to replicate his early aerial success, it was the Lions’ defence — and, uncharacteristically, their special teams — that emasculated Winnipeg for three quarters. Every time that the door was opened for a potential momentum change, somebody stepped up with a huge play.

Shaun Peterson Jr. beat All-CFL offensive tackle Jarell Broxton for a drive-ending sack. Patrice Rene punished Trey Vaval for a muffed punt, and Kieran Poissant scooped up the fumble. Cristophe Beaulieu stopped Bryce Perkins for a turnover on downs, and came up with a touchdown-saving pass breakup. Stantley Thomas-Oliver secured an end zone interception. Pint-sized punisher Robert Carter Jr. nearly exploded through Nic Demski’s chest. Darnell Sankey, Jackson Findlay, and Parker McKenna continued to be all over the field.

The parade of impressive individual efforts seemed endless, as the Bombers’ first 10 offensive drives featured six punts, three two-and-outs, two turnovers, a missed field goal, and resulted in three points scored. Sadly, it came to a pitiful end, as Winnipeg scored 31 unanswered points over the final 17 minutes to win. Multiple deep shots to Dorian Singer finally turned the game on its head, and a 63-yard touchdown run by Brady Oliveira might go down as B.C.’s worst display of run defence this year.

It’s tough to blame the defence for the late collapse, though. This group was not just inexperienced, but exhausted because of the short bench created when veterans are sat down. By the end of the game, most of the players seeing defensive reps were also core special teamers gassed from a night of containing Trey Vaval. The pass rush ran out of steam and couldn’t get after Dru Brown. The letdown was predictable, and it shouldn’t overshadow what came before it.

Amidst B.C.’s early season slump, I was highly critical of the Lions’ depth. For most teams, that gets worse as the year progresses, but I think you have to be very pleased with how Ryan Rigmaiden and his staff have actually improved the calibre of players on the roster since training camp. They’ve brought in more than a few mid-season gems who could make an impact down the line.

Cherry on top

If the Bombers do end up being B.C.’s first-round opponent, the health of Zach Collaros will be the biggest talking point of the week. The 38-year-old was forced to exit the game with what appeared to be a head or neck injury after being driven into the turf by Nathan Cherry late in the third quarter. The future Hall of Famer has already missed six games and exited several others this season with similar injuries, fueling genuine concern for his well-being. Whenever he gets hit, you fear the worst, and I hope the legend gets to leave the game upright and on his own terms.

The hit was rightfully flagged for roughing the passer, as the finish came late and Cherry landed with his full body weight on Collaros. With that said, I don’t believe there was anything malicious or dirty at play here. It was a run-of-the-mill football play that just barely teetered over the line, and there were bigger hits delivered to Winnipeg’s QB in this game.

Inadvertently, the penalty resulted in B.C.’s loss, as Dru Brown was perfect coming off the bench. Perhaps a worn-down B.C. defence would have eventually succumbed to Collaros as well, but this felt like a game where Winnipeg should have switched pivots at halftime. The injury forced the stubborn hand of Mike O’Shea, and he may have avoided professional ramifications as a result.

As for Cherry, he later exited the game with an injury and appeared to be in some distress. Buck Pierce did not provide an official update or diagnosis post-game, but the tone of his comments was not positive.

Future Demon-stration

While B.C.’s offence struggled to score points, a couple of young players made the most of auditions on Friday night and provided previews into key personnel decisions the Lions might make this offseason.

Chief among the standouts was Canadian receiver Nate Demontagnac, who found himself wide-open on the opening score and celebrated his first CFL touchdown with a Gizmo-esque backflip. The team’s first-round pick in the 2026 CFL Draft finished with three catches for 49 yards, but would have had a lot more if not for bad throws by his quarterbacks. He had a step on defenders deep on all three of his uncaught targets, but all were short-armed. That included a would-be touchdown where he cooked Major Williams down the left sideline, but couldn’t complete the contested catch while coming back to the ball.

As has been mentioned before, both Jevon Cottoy and Justin McInnis are pending free agents. It seems unlikely that both will be back, and tonight felt like validation of the succession play.

So too was the play of Emani Bailey, who flashed consistently as the starting running back. The five-foot-seven fire hydrant turned 1o carries into 69 yards on the ground, while catching three passes for 21 yards. Those totals do not include a 52-yard reception called back due to a holding penalty against centre Alex Berwick. He was electric on almost every touch.

Though James Butler has been productive in recent weeks, it seems likely that the 31-year-old is playing out his last season as a Lion. I’d be pretty intrigued to see a one-two punch of Bailey and Zander Horvath in 2027, both of whom would be playing on the cheap.

A special shoutout is also warranted along the offensive line, where left tackle Lorenzo Thompson had a particularly strong game after joining the team 10 days ago. That’s a steep learning curve at the best of times; worse when you have to face Willie Jefferson. While Kory Woodruff has performed admirably as a blindside protector this year, he should really be an all-star at guard. Perhaps Thompson can become the piece that allows him to get back there.

Counting to Seven

The most significant storyline in this game as it pertained to the 2026 Lions was the return of kick returner Seven McGee, who was originally injured in the season-opener. The return game has been a genuine liability since then, and the numerically-named youngster was supposed to provide hope for the playoffs.

It didn’t exactly turn out that way. While McGee showed more moves than any of Lions’ six other returners this season, his production was middling, and he frequently hurt their field position by trying to do too much when simply cutting upfield was the best option. He also misplayed a bouncing punt, resulting in a fumble and a scoring opportunity for the Bombers.

Making matters worse, McGee was shaken up late in the game, potentially throwing his status for the postseason into jeopardy. If healthy, I still think he is the guy, but he needs to focus on hitting singles and doubles until he adjusts to game speed, rather than swinging for the fences.

Milestone moment

Jermaine Jackson was the only regular member of the receiving corps to start in this game, which was for good reason. He needed 51 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season and accomplished the feat in the fourth quarter, finishing with seven receptions for 69 yards.

I’ll leave the historical analysis to other people, but I can’t think of another receiver in my time watching the CFL who was cut in training camp and then recorded 1,000 yards for the same team that season. What a remarkable testament to Jackson’s talent and resilience. He should be an offensive weapon for years to come.

While Jackson achieved a major milestone, Zander Horvath fell short of his. With no touchdowns in this game, he finishes the season one shy of Mike Pringle’s CFL rushing record, one behind Cory Philpot for the total franchise record, and two short of Milt Stegall’s CFL single-season mark.

Challenging decisions

Buck Pierce finished the 2026 regular season an abysmal two-of-10 on coach’s challenges after yet another request for pass interference was ruled in favour of the defence in the third quarter. It was a penalty I would have called, as Deatrick Nichols did appear to pull back Michael Fitzgerald’s arm prior to the ball arriving, but I don’t know why Pierce felt the call would go his way given the precedent set by the replay centre a few weeks ago.

The play that Buck should have challenged came in the first half, after Kaidon Salter missed one of his many deep shots. Willie Jefferson came down hard with a tomahawk chop to the QB’s head and neck. While glancing blows in that category have been ignored lately, this felt substantial and throwing the red flag might have put points on the board.

Next thing smoking

The Lions used the final 20 minutes of this contest to get their first live look at Chris Oladokun, the former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who joined the team five weeks ago. It was time well spent, though you can kiss goodbye any far-flung ideas that the 29-year-old might be so CFL-ready that you could flip him for an asset.

The two-time Super Bowl champion demonstrated a more polished process than Salter, but completed just seven-of-11 passes for 48 yards and an interception. The arm strength is legit, but the misses were bad. He did flash with three carries for 26 yards on the ground, but took a horrific sack as well. All par for the course when you are trying to learn a new game and a new playbook simultaneously.

If both Salter and Oladokun take full advantage of the offseason, then the training camp battle for backup QB next year will be electric. The only question is whether a guy who earned over a million dollars in the NFL and rushed north to play now is really committed to that long, grinding path.

Brutal honesty

When the stakes are as low as they were for the home team in this game, you find yourself paying much more attention to the fan engagements on the Jumbotron. That focus was rewarded early in the first quarter, when in-game host Chris Wiggins delivered one of the best “mask off” moments I’ve seen in a while.

The regular segment saw two contestants participate in a punting competition where the aim was to place the ball as close to the middle of a giant bullseye. Typically, at least one of the contestants lucks into producing something somewhat respectable on one of their two kicks. Not so this time, as the female participant sailed both of her attempts long of the target, and her male counterpart used his new cowboy boots to shank a couple into the wall beside him. It was an ugly display.

Rather than play it off, Wiggins steered into the skid, capping his presentation by proclaiming, “Even though that sucked, we’re giving you a prize anyway.” Perfection. Chef’s kiss.

The rest of the in-game presentation was great, with the possible exception of a cringe-inducing Cougars & Cubs segment. But nothing could live up to that genuine moment at the start.

Two’s a crowd

When the Lions initially announced that ticket sales were creeping past the 30,000-fan mark for this meaningless contest, I was seriously skeptical. The team has always tried to be genuine at the turnstile in the past, but this was the type of matchup that even the die-hards might consider skipping.

Alas, I was pleasantly surprised. A legitimate crowd of 30,833 was reported, with plenty of bodies in the upper deck to pass my smell test. That number may have been inflated slightly by the absurd number of amateur cheerleaders in attendance for a halftime performance, but nobody should complain about the result.

The Lions clearly did an impressive job selling this game, and they have more work to do next week. A 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Halloween allows time for a playoff game and some trick-or-treating that night. It should be a standout crowd, especially if the visiting team is wearing green.

Trick or treat

The Lions (10-8) will return to action on Saturday, October 31, when they host the Western Semi-Final, but their opponent remains undetermined. It could be a rematch with Winnipeg or a duel with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, pending the result of the final day of the CFL regular season.

Buck Pierce declined to share a preferred opponent at the podium, but it is really a pick-your-poison scenario. Both the Riders and Bombers are deeply flawed teams trending in the wrong direction — as Friday’s game showed — but neither of them can be trifled with either. There is too much Grey Cup experience on both rosters to be taken for granted in a sudden-death scenario.

If my feet were put to the fire, give me Winnipeg again. Dru Brown has not been good in games where he has been asked to start, and you’ll preserve more of a home-field advantage without all those watermelon-wearing invaders. That said, Nathan Rourke has never beaten the Bombers — a narrative that would loom large.