Riders defensive lineman Pete Robertson suspended one game for attack on Collaros

REGINA – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, despite a slow start and varying degrees of ineffectiveness in all three phases the rest of the way, still had a chance to beat their biggest rivals on the most exciting weekend in the CFL regular season.

But taking a four-point lead – their first in the game – late in the fourth quarter proved too thin a cushion against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who answered back to claim a thrilling and controversial 32-30 overtime victory in the 58th edition of the Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium Sunday.

The Bombers trailed 3-0 after the first quarter, were down 13-7 at halftime and were behind 19-14 through three quarters when an idiotic and dangerous play by Roughriders defensive lineman Pete Robertson turned the game completely on its head. Robertson inexplicably headbutted Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros, who was forced from the game for a brief time by the league’s concussion spotter, giving the Bombers a new set of downs near the goal line and leading to the go-ahead touchdown by running back Brady Oliveira.

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HEYWOOD YU / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Drew Wolitarsky (82) catches for a touchdown as Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Nic Marshall (3) looks on during the first half of CFL Labour Day Classic football action in Regina, Sunday.

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But slowly and surely the Roughriders chipped away at the Bombers lead, earning one point on a rouge before Brett Lauther kicked an 18-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining to send the game to extra time. From there, Saskatchewan struck first, with Antonio Pipkin punching in a one-yard TD and Shawn Bane Jr. converting the ensuing two-point covert, which proved to be the deciding points after Collaros found Kenny Lawler for a 35-yard score on Winnipeg’s first play of OT, only to have his pass tipped at the line of scrimmage on the game-tying convert attempt.

Tempers flared afterwards, with team president and CEO Wade Miller, head coach Mike O’Shea and Collaros all still fuming from Robertson’s helmet-to-helmet attack. This one had plenty of juice to it, and that bad blood is surely to seep into this week’s rematch in the annual Banjo Bowl at IG Field Saturday afternoon.

But before we peek too far ahead, let’s take a look back at Sunday’s game in the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

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1) Collaros was absolutely livid when he came out to speak to reporters. He spoke for 79 seconds, lamenting the slow start and up-and-down performance of his offence, but what he clearly wanted to talk about was the Robertson hit.

Collaros, who has a history of head injuries over his football career, when asked by the Free Press about Robertson’s behaviour, spit fire for about 30 seconds in a back-and-forth, essentially calling on the league to look after quarterbacks. It’s not the first time he’s advocated for that, sharing a similar sentiment after injuring his neck following a late hit in a Week 10 win in Edmonton, and was particularly vocal last season when another Roughriders D-lineman, Garrett Marino, delivered a cheap shot to Ottawa’s Jeremiah Masoli, resulting in a season-ending knee injury.

O’Shea, who is part of the CFL’s rules committee, went after the officials for their delayed reaction to what was a clear penalty. The fact the officials never saw the headbutt occur and needed the command centre to step in, not to mention Robertson wasn’t even ejected from the game, only adds to the narrative the CFL has the worst referees in all professional sports.

Miller was also incensed by the play, to the point he called me over for a rare post-game interview. He said he plans to follow up with the league, advocating for a suspension, which would come a short time later, with the CFL announcing Monday afternoon Robertson has been suspended one game.

2) The Bombers once again couldn’t get their offence going out of the gate and the uninspired play continued through the first half.

Collaros had zero completions on just four passing attempts in the first quarter and was also intercepted by Nick Marshall, leading to the first points by the Roughriders. By halftime, his passing numbers had jumped to 102 yards, all of which came on a TD drive just before the break, capped off with a 34-yard strike to Wolitarsky.

Winnipeg’s attack had a bit more life in the second half, with Oliveira, who finished with 88 rushing yards to add to his league-leading 990, scoring twice on the ground and Sergio Castillo adding a 14-yard field goal. Nic Demski was also a bright spot, collecting a game-high 118 yards on five catches, including a 46-yarder that led to Wolitarsky’s TD.

Collaros finished the game 13-for-26 for 279 yards, two TDs and an interception. It didn’t help that there were a few dropped balls, including a couple by Dalton Schoen, but Collaros needed to be more consistent for the Bombers to win.

3) The defence didn’t look bad, but they also weren’t the playmaking group that has come to define them over the last few years. And while they kept the Roughriders offence in check for large chunks of the night, forcing them to kick five field goals compared, they didn’t finish with a single turnover.

They also couldn’t come up big late in the game, allowing Saskatchewan to march down the field for an easy game-tying field goal and then a TD in OT. That’s the second time an opposing offence has found pay dirt in extra time with relative ease this season, with the Ottawa Redblacks doing the same in a 31-28 win back in Week 6.

The Roughriders put up 382 net offensive yards – 10 more than Winnipeg – and were buoyed by a stellar air attack, with only 67 total rushing yards. QB Jake Dolegala, making just his third CFL start and second consecutive, had a breakout game, completing 22-of-39 passing for 326 yards, with both TDs coming from Pipkin on short sneaks at the goal line.

You have to give credit to Dolegala, who, at 6-7, has been nicknamed the Green Giant. To look as composed as he did in such a high-pressure game, I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of the season he’s being strongly considered as the club’s No. 1 pivot.

4) When a game is lost in OT or by a slim margin, it’s only natural to try to identify a few plays and debate if there could have been anything done differently. The Bombers should be looking at two plays in particular, both of which resulted in surrendering a single point and ultimately cost Winnipeg the game.

On two occasions, Jamal Parker, who was added to the roster this week specifically to return punts, allowed the ball to bounce into the end zone from the five-yard line, leading to a pair of rouges. On the second one, which occurred with fewer than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, O’Shea claimed he would take the yards – you get the ball at your own 40 – 10 out of 10 times rather than attempting to run the ball up field. On the other one, though, which happened just minutes earlier and included a no-yards penalty on the Riders, O’Shea questioned his decision to surrender the point and take the ball on the 40 rather than negating the point and starting instead on his own 30.

Winnipeg’s special teams has struggled mightily this season, especially ever since Janarion Grant went down with an ankle injury in Week 6. But it’s never been more glaring than on Sunday, with the Bombers being severely out-duelled in the return game, with Mario Alford finishing with 237 yards compared to a combined 84 yards by Parker and Greg McCrae.

5) This game was never going to be a slam dunk, even if Winnipeg’s 9-2 record looked a whole lot better than Saskatchewan at 5-5. The LDC is almost always a close affair and while the Riders’ victory snapped a two-game losing streak, Saskatchewan had won all but one of the previous 15.

The result also had a significant impact on the West Division standings. While the Bombers still occupy first place, at 9-3, the B.C. Lions, who defeated the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, are just two points behind with a record of 8-4.

As for the Riders, now at 6-5, they sit comfortably in third place in the West, occupying the final playoff spot ahead of the Calgary Stampeders (3-8) and Edmonton Elks (2-9). It will be interesting to see what Saskatchewan can do with the momentum built up from back-to-back wins against the Bombers and Lions.

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Twitter: @jeffkhamilton