BLUE BOMBERS LUCKY TO ESCAPE WITH A WIN

Winnipeg can’t rely on quick-strike attack to cover up critical mistakes in every game

While they’re celebrating a win over a division rival, there are certain realities the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have to face.

You won’t be victorious often when you allow the opposition to put up 440 yards of offence, hold a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, and run almost twice as many offensive plays.

The Bombers beat the Edmonton Eskimos 28-21 on Thursday night to improve their CFL record to 2-0.

They did it with a quick-strike offence that produced four touchdowns, despite running only 40 offensive plays and a bendbut-don’t-break defence that didn’t allow a single touchdown — only seven field goals — despite Edmonton’s 77 offensive plays.

The Bombers will tell you they don’t care about yards, only points and wins.

“I don’t ever think it’s about yardage,” Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said. “Defensively, we did a great job. Limiting them to seven field goals is pretty damn special.”

That’s easy enough to say, but it’s simply not sustainable.

On most nights, the team that earns 29 first downs is going to beat the team that earns 14.

The team that earns 440 yards is going to beat the one that comes in at 270.

The team that passes for 345 yards is going to beat the team that passes for 200.

The Bombers definitely have had their moments and they’ve made them count.

This is a talented, well-rounded team that has produced eight offensive TDs in two games while allowing just one major against.

You can’t argue with that kind of production, even if the opposition has put up more yards.

The Bombers never really let Edmonton quarterback Trevor Harris and the Eskimos get a sniff of the end zone on Thursday, not even late in the game when the visitors had two cracks at tying the game in the final minute.

Meanwhile, Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols threw for only 200 yards, but tossed three touchdown passes. Two of them were to electrifying newcomer Lucky Whitehead, they included a combined 100 yards after the catch, and one was to running back Andrew Harris.

Yes, there are things to be concerned about with this Bombers team. There are things that need to be cleaned up.

“We had seven minutes there at the end of the first half where we played terrible football,” O’Shea said. “We made mistake after mistake and it cost us six points. We can’t continue to do that, and we won’t continue to do that if we want to keep winning football games.”

A Bombers team that wins despite making critical mistakes and not getting much impact from so many of its key players must be doing something right.

Yet you get the sense everyone understands a performance like Thursday’s won’t often result in a win.

“Hey, we’re 2-0, but it wasn’t pretty,” said offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick. “It was kind of nervous in the last couple of minutes, giving Harris the ball that many times.

“We must get better.”