Ottawa bows out with loss as backups overrun by Bombers
With a dozen starters resting, Redblacks fall in season finale
It didn’t look like the real Ottawa Redblacks on the field Friday night, and the result was pretty much what you’d have expected.
With a dozen regulars out of the lineup for largely precautionary reasons — most notably their top two quarterbacks and their entire fleet of 1,000-yard receivers — the Redblacks lost 33-20 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in their regularseason finale at TD Place stadium.
Fortunately, it had zero impact on the Redblacks’ position atop the Canadian Football League’s East Division standings, the first-round playoff bye they had earned already and home field for the East final on Nov. 20.
Of course, the Redblacks lost six of their nine regular-season home games and tied another, and their overall mark of 8-9-1 made them the first team to wrap up first place in any division with a losing record.
The Blue Bombers (11-7-0) clinched a West semifinal matchup with the B.C. Lions (10-7-0) next weekend, the only remaining issue being whether the contest is held at Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field or Vancouver’s BC Place.
With Henry Burris not dressed at all and Trevor Harris restricted mostly to being the holder for the kicking team, the Redblacks alternated Brock Jensen and Danny O’Brien at quarterback.
They weren’t awful, but they weren’t great, and their work with a corps of largely backup receivers didn’t produce enough points for a victory. O’Brien was 10-for-22 for 133 yards with one interception, while Jensen was 5-for-7 for just 39 yards.
The Redblacks got on the scoreboard first thanks to their defence. Matt Nichols’ second pass attempt tipped off the hands of teammate Rory Kohlert and into the hands of Ottawa linebacker Nick Taylor, who wound his way 53 yards down the field for a touchdown. Ray Early, subbing as kicker for the injured Chris Milo, added the convert for a 7-0 lead just 93 seconds into the contest.
When they did get their offence on the field with Jensen at quarterback, the Redblacks did nothing on their first possession. They drove the ball a bit on the second, but fumbled twice and lost the second one.
Late in the quarter, the Bombers evened the score with a 74-yard drive. Most of the distance was covered by a 50-yard throw from Nichols to Weston Dressler, but the touchdown came on a catch by Darvin Adams.
Midway through the second quarter, O’Brien took over from Jensen. His second series, with Shayon Green making an interception. Green fumbled it away, but Bombers’ teammate T.J. Heath picked it up and ran deep into Ottawa territory, where the best the Redblacks could do was limit them to a 20-yard Justin Medlock field goal.
The Redblacks got those points back on Early’s 39-yarder, but a blown coverage left tailback Andrew Harris for a 51-yard pass-andrun play setting up another field goal for a 13-10 advantage.
The Bue Bombers extended their lead with Medlock’s third field goal, set up by two long passes to Adams, from 11 yards out.
However, the Redblacks forced another turnover, with Tanner Doll dislodging the ball from the grasp of returner Quincy McDuffie and Serderius Bryant recovering it the Bombers’ 35. One run of six yards by O’Brien and another of 29 by Travon Van put them in the end zone, and Early’s convert put them back in front 17-16, but it was their last lead of the night.
On the ensuing kickoff, McDuffie made up for his gaffe, eluding the Redblacks for a 95-yard touchdown sprint.
O’Brien connected on a long pass to Jamill Smith to get the Redblacks into scoring position, but an illegal-block penalty and a pass that hit the uprights forced them to settle for another field goal, and the Bombers marched 75 yards in six plays, capped by a 17-yard touchdown throw to Adams. With the convert, they led 30-20.
It looked as if the Redblacks would slice into that deficit after a punt return by Josh Stangby, but a third-down pass from Harris for Patrick Lavoie from field-goal formation fell incomplete.
At least Harris didn’t get hurt, which was the idea behind sitting him, but there might have been one other injury. Offensive tackle Jason Lauzon-Séguin left in the third quarter and did not return.
With six players in their first regular-season game, the Redblacks hiked to 82 the number who dressed for at least one contest.
They weren’t awful, but they weren’t great, and their work with a corps of largely backup receivers didn’t produce enough.