Bombers strive for clean sweep of Lions

There’s a general belief out there that beating a team two weeks in a row is one of the hardest things to do in Canadian football.

The recent history of games between Winnipeg and B.C., doesn’t necessarily support that theory as the Bombers swept the Lions the last time they played back-to-back games in 2016.

But a look at the bigger picture explains why the Bombers — who pummelled the Lions 41-19 at home last weekend — may have some doubts as they head to Vancouver for Saturday night’s rematch.

Of the 41 back-to-backs the Bombers have played since 1996, they’ve swept only four of them. That’s just under 10 per cent. The Bombers have been swept 17 times (41 per cent) and the teams have split 20 times (49 per cent).

History means little to this current group, of course. But the Bombers (2-2) have been saying all week it will be extremely tough to beat the Lions (1-2) again, especially in their own stadium. And it’s hard to argue with them.

“I don’t know if it’s called a trap game or what, but some teams just feel a little more complacent or are resting on their laurels,” Bombers offensive lineman Paddy Neufeld said. “Most importantly, we have to make sure we’re on top of everything and come out as fired up or more so because we’ll be in their house.”

It stands to reason it would be harder to beat a team that just saw your game plan a week before.

And yet, overall in the CFL since 1996 (the end of the U.S. expansion era), there have been 148 back-to-backs and there have been 77 sweeps (52 per cent), 69 splits (47 per cent) and two occasions when there was one win and one tie. Perhaps this is more of a problem for the Bombers than it is for other teams.

“It’s a tricky situation,” Bombers star middle linebacker Adam Bighill said. “It’s awkward because you have to decide if you are going to do something different or do what you just did. When you get to watch the film on someone who you just played, you have a feel for the guys on the field and how they play things and how they look at things. You get more of that in-depth scouting when you play them back-to-back. Sometimes I think co-ordinators can maybe overthink things or think you can do the same thing too much.”

When it comes to the Lions and Bombers, there have been three back-to-backs since 1996, with each team earning one sweep and one split.