Blue Bombers become first CFL team to earn playoff spot with 26-16 victory over Elks
Zach Collaros threw two touchdown passes as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Edmonton Elks 26-16 on Friday night to become the first CFL team to clinch a playoff berth.
The Blue Bombers (9-1) captured their seventh straight victory and improved to 7-0 within the West Division.
Collaros finished 15-of-24 passing for 210 yards with an interception to remain the CFL's passing leader (2,565 yards). He's also tops in TD passes with 15.
This marks the fifth straight season that Winnipeg, the defending Grey Cup champion, has made the playoffs.
“You think back to 2019 and that feeling of just going to the playoffs and now to clinch it at this point in the season, it feels good,” said Winnipeg receiver Rasheed Bailey, who hauled in Collaros's second TD pass in the fourth quarter. “But we are not satisfied.
“We are going to keep getting better and learn from our mistakes and keep winning.”
Edmonton (2-7) suffered its fifth straight loss and dropped to 0-5 at home this season.
“Guys are still wanting to play and ready to go and wanting to win every game,” said Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius. “It is a little unfortunate we didn't come away with this one, but that's the way it goes sometimes.”
Edmonton's defence forced a safety at 9:31 of the first quarter, then came up big five minutes later as Trumaine Washington intercepted Collaros in the end zone. The Bombers closed out the opening quarter with a 37-yard Ali Mourtada field goal.
The Elks responded with Sean Whyte's 34-yard field goal at 11:22 of the second.
Winnipeg took the lead with three minutes left in the first half as a 47-yard completion to Kenny Lawler set up Collaros's five-yard TD strike to Andrew Harris. But Harris appeared to suffer an injury to his right knee and did not return as Brady Oliveira finished up with 105 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Whyte kicked a 25-yard field cut Winnipeg's half-time lead to 10-8.
Mourtada converted from 27 and a career-high 43 yards to start the third. Edmonton tied it 16-16 on Cornelius's 11-yard TD toss to Shai Ross. Backup quarterback Dakota Prukop added the two-point convert.
Rookie Cornelius got the start as incumbent Trevor Harris was a healthy scratch. Cornelius finished 17-of-29 passing for 187 yards with a TD while rushing four times for 19 yards.
Moments after Elks defender Aaron Grymes couldn't hang on to an easy interception opportunity, Collaros hit Bailey on a 48-yard completion before finding him on a five-yard scoring strike six minutes into the fourth.
“You've got to love Zach,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike O'Shea. “Grymes drops that ball and he comes right back and gets Bailey.
“He is just unfazed and stands in there and delivers. It's fantastic.”
Mourtada cemented the win with a 23-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining.
Winnipeg hosts the B.C. Lions next Saturday while Edmonton has a bye week before returning home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Oct. 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.