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When the Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed a high-end performance, quarterback Matt Nichols was shown to be very effective.
You can say the same thing about his teammates.
And one night when heavy fog fell on Investors Group property, the Bombers made their way to the playoffs.
The Bombers scored for the third season in a row Friday night with an incredible effort against the Calgary Stampeders. They dominated in the second half and ran away with a 29-21 win.
As a result, the Bombers will finish either third or fourth in the West Division and will continue on the road for the East or West semifinals. Their opponent remains to be determined.
"We put ourselves in a position to play in a playoff atmosphere. Coming and playing as we did in a team is very encouraging, said Nichols.
"Being able to deal with this kind of situation in such circumstances just shows where the team is and we are ready to continue working to try to achieve that ultimate goal."
Nichols easily had his best game of the season.
He completed 24 of 33 pbades for 358 yards and two touchdowns and did not initiate an interception. It was the first time this season that he was scoring more than 300 yards in a game. In fact, it was the first time that he had done it in the regular season since September 22 of last season.
"Everyone puts so many actions in this number for whatever reason," Nichols said. "I want to win and we won a tough football match tonight."
Nichols outperformed his Calgary counterpart, Bo Levi Mitchell, one of the league's most notable players. The Bombers improved their record to 10-7 and prevented the Stampeders 12-5 from clinching first place in the West.
Nichols threw 50- and 60-yard touchdown pbades to Darvin Adams and Drew Wolitarsky, both in a third quarter when the Bombers defeated the Stamps 20-6.
Quarterback Chris Streveler also had a touchdown in the third quarter and attacking backhand Andrew Harris was a warrior as always, running for 86 yards.
"I'm so proud of the guys who beat such a team that way at this point in the season," said Harris.
"We went over 500 yards of offense, which is huge against such a team. We had a very good mix of bad indications, with (Nic) Demski, (Weston) Dressler and (Chris) Streveler playing quarterbacks. O-line did a good job during a few races where I could make a cut and take it. "
And the Bombers defense also had a huge match. While Mitchell had his moments – he raised 274 yards – the defense spanned all night and secured important contributions from linebackers Jovan Santos-Knox and Adam Bighill.
Santos-Knox had seven tackles, a forced fumble (which was recovered by Jake Thomas) and a reversal of the pbad, while Bighill had three tackles and yet another forced fumble – his fifth of the season – while the Bombers won their fifth consecutive game. Jackson Jeffcoat recovered the fumble forced by Bighill and the Bombers immediately drove 19 yards for a touchdown.
There were moments of nervousness at the end of the fourth quarter, after the Bombers failed to get a first try at third base and ran out of their own line at the 29-meter line.
The Stampeders took the advantage and moved the ball up to the Bombers' five-yard line with less than three minutes to go. However, on the third goal and goal, Mitchell sent Eric Rogers to the goal line and it was decided he did not make the decision. The game was reviewed and the Stamps clearly felt that he had the ball long enough and had broken the plane, but the call on the ground was confirmed.
With this win over the best team in the CFL, it must be thought that the Bombers are Gray Cup contenders, even if they have to get on the road to the playoffs.
They have been dominant for a month and beat all teams in the league this season. Although nothing is easy, it must be thought that they will at least have a decent chance of winning on the road in Hamilton, Ottawa, Saskatchewan, Calgary or two of the four.
That night, they racked up 511 yards against the best CFL defense. They also kept the stamps at 333 yards, including 274 in the air.
It was a complete performance – the hedge teams were solid and Justin Medlock made three successful attempts.
The offensive explosion was all the more impressive as it was a fierce fight in the first half.
The Bombers led 12-6 at the half and rarely recovered the ball from their side.
Both defenses were dominant, but the Stamps took advantage from the start. Mitchell threw a 65-yard bomb to former bomber Chris Matthews, who had set up a touchdown by Nick Arbuckle.
Markeith Ambles also had a touchdown pbad for the Stamps in the third quarter, with a lead of 18-13, but the Bombers could not be slowed from there.
This series of five consecutive victories for the Bombers was followed by four consecutive losses, which threatened to derail a promising season.
When they were sitting at 5-7, the Bombers realized that they might well need to win even before having access to the playoffs. Until here, they did it.
They will finish the regular season next Saturday in Edmonton in a match that could determine whether they are going east or west of the playoffs. If they had lost to the Stamps, the Bombers would have needed a win in Edmonton just to get to the playoffs.
"It's obviously very exciting not to have to give up the last game of the year against a dangerous Edmonton team," said Nichols.
"It's something we did not want to do."
No matter how well they end up going now, they're going to be a tough team to beat.
Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman
The bombers rolled after the fog
It was a spooky night at Investors Group Field, as mysterious fog swept through the field and complicated the lives of the Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders.
But the Bombers had fun on Halloween, scoring 23 points in the fog in the second half to win 29-21 and win a playoff spot.
"Honestly, when you're on the sidelines, you think, how do they see you there? Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols said, "But when you're on the field, it does not feel like it's affecting too much." Two of the deepest balls – on one, Darvin (Adams) did not even see her, the one in the end zone, with just the fog around. "
Adams caught a touchdown pbad later in the quarter on a 50-yard pbad. It was so open that you wondered if the Stampeders defenders had lost it.
"On touchdown, he said that he had not seen it before the last second, when he came out of the fog," Nichols said. "When the ball went out in the air, it was a bit harder, but when you're on the pitch, it's not that bad."
Adams, who finished the night with five catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, said it was rather a shot in the dark.
"I could not see anything until the last second," he said. "I just saw the stripes of the ball and raise my hand and catch it."
The Bombers did not come out unscathed from the game. Offensive rider Andrew Harris was injured on the right hand finger but managed to finish the match.
"It's painful," said Harris. "I felt like my finger was gone right away. I'm fine, I was able to finish the game. I was just carrying the ball in my right hand throughout the match and I was just trying to hide it or protect it, so it was great. "
– Wyman
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