Game Recap | Banjo Bowl | Wpg 19 Sask 6

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers authored their second solid win in the last three games -- the third an overtime loss in the Labour Day Classic -- in knocking off the Saskatchewan Roughriders 19-6 Saturday afternoon in the 22nd annual Banjo Bowl in front of another capacity Princess Auto Stadium crowd of 32,343.

Now, sure, there are still some things to clean up and issues to address in the weeks ahead and the status of QB1 Zach Collaros will be in question after he exited the game in the third quarter, but this team -- now 7-6 -- is clearly gaining momentum with the meat of the CFL schedule still ahead.

"That was a total, three-phase win," said running back Brady Oliveira outside a rocking Blue Bombers locker room. "Our defence played lights out. I mean, they were hitting from the first snap to the last snap. They played really physical and you saw Redha (Kramdi's) presence out there. That guy's a stud, man. It's really fun to be on the sidelines and see him work but to just see the entire unit work but also see the entire units work.

"Special teams did a great job, defensively as well. Again, we always want to play a perfect game. I've got high standards for myself and high standards for this unit. There were some drives where we weren't as efficient and obviously there were some turnovers as well. There are going to be mistakes every game and we've got to correct them, but I thought that was a three-phase win."

The result keeps the Blue Bombers within sights of the Roughriders, who fall to 8-5, in the uber-competitive West Division and gives Winnipeg the season series tiebreaker in a points differential at +7 after last week's 32-26 loss in OT.

More thoughts on the Blue Bombers seventh win of the season from our view in the press box...

5 INSTANT TAKEAWAYS:

1. Oliveira's correct in calling this a three-phase 'W', but the fingerprints of the defence are all over the victory.

Winnipeg limited one of the CFL's most-potent attacks to just six points on two field goals, as the Roughriders attack -- yes, missing some key receivers -- managed just 278 yards net offence while QB Trevor Harris, who has been as consistent as a metronome in throwing up 300-yard passing games, was held to 231 yards and intercepted once while completing 24-of-45 pass attempts.

The Blue Bombers forced five turnovers -- two fumbles, an interception and twice on downs -- and also registered one sack while finishing with 10 pass knockdowns.

"We got after it. We executed well," said cornerback Major Williams. "The plan was installed the day after the Regina loss. We knew we had a chip on our shoulder. Our defensive line got after Trevor, a lot of hands on the balls and we just played hard.

"I really think we wanted it more today and it showed. I just want to congratulate this whole team, congratulate this whole organization because we deserved this."

2. Massive in the defensive masterpiece was the work of safety Redha Kramdi. Making his return after a six-game absence, the veteran defensive back authored one of his best games as a Blue Bomber with three tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.

Just as important -- and something that doesn't show up on the stats sheet -- was his energy and communication as a defensive quarterback.

"I'm super-thankful (to be back)," said Kramdi. "When you're out you feel powerless as I said earlier in the week. You're only direct and intangible impact you can have is to make plays as a player and when that's taken away, you're kind of useless. You're trying to help here and there -- I know Evan Holm said I was kind of coaching -- but you're just trying to feel useful.

"Coming back after so long and the game being taken away from you, you're willing to do anything to win."

Asked if he was jacked up more than usual for this one, he added: "I told my wife before the bye week I was going to crash out I think I did."

3. As mentioned above, the status of Collaros will remain a bit of a mystery through the upcoming bye week and until the team returns to begin preparations against the Toronto Argonauts.

Collaros left the game with just over five minutes left in the third quarter after being intercepted by Seyi Oladipo and landing hard on the sideline while trying to chase him down.

He was replaced by Dru Brown, who went 4-of-5 for 46 yards in relief.

Head coach Mike O'Shea had no update on Collaros, who was 13-of-19 for 175 yards with a TD strike to Tommy Nield and two interceptions -- while being sacked four times -- before exiting.

4. Oliveira was a force again for the Blue Bombers offence, rushing 14 times for 100 yards while also pulling in one pass for 12 yards. In the process, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark -- he's now at 1,084 yards -- for the fifth straight year.

That establishes a new CFL mark for consecutive 1K rushing seasons by a Canadian, moving him past Edmonton legend Normie Kwong, who had accomplished the feat four times from 1955-58.

"It's special. I wish I could get in the locker room right now and be with the O-line, but I just gave them all a hug and told them how much I love 'em," Oliveira said. "They're the reason why we've been so productive and so consistent these last number of years. Obviously, I've been with a lot of them... Stanley Bryant, Patrick Neufeld, Gabe Wallace... those guys are crucial in our success.

"This is incredible milestone and something I'm incredibly proud about. No one else has ever done it but I've been very fortunate to work with and have great offensive linemen in front of me year after year after year and they're coached extremely well by Coach Marty (Costello, offensive line boss). I'm proud, man. I'm proud. But I still think there's still lots for me to do and that excites, and that drives me and gives me more hunger to keep going."

5. Another milestone and a streak worth monitoring...

Nic Demski's return to the offence was important as he finished with five catches and a team-best 73 yards receiving. In the process he became the 15th Canadian in league history to eclipse the 7,000-yard receiving mark.

Also, Sergio Castillo connected on all four of his field goal attempts -- from 31, 45, 44 and 26 yards -- to push his consecutive streak to 26. That's just two shy of Justin Medlock's club record of 28 straight set over the 2016-17 seasons.

The Blue Bombers led 16-6 with just over seven minutes left in the game when a Trevor Harris past attempt was first broken up by Jake Kelly and then snatched out of the air by Kramdi, who returned the ball eight yards.

With Collaros out, the defence playing dominant ball and the club protecting a 10-point lead, that moment stands out as absolutely critical.

6 -- Let's not complicate things here. Even missing some star pieces on offence, the Roughriders offence has been one of the CFL's most prolific.

So, to hold that unit to just two field goals is a statement effort for defensive coordinator Jordan Younger and his crew.

The Blue Bombers now enter their third and final bye week of the regular season before returning to face the Toronto Argonauts at home on Friday, September 25th with a scheduled 7 p.m. start at Princess Auto Stadium.