Game Preview #5 | Blue Bombers vs. Argonauts

Dru Brown has been in the Canadian Football League long enough that most of the important milestones and firsts in his career have already been checked off the to-do list.

First career game: ✓

First career pass/completion/touchdown: ✓✓✓

First career start/win: ✓✓

And now another first is about to be checked in his second tour with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — his first career start for the blue and gold on home soil.

“I’m excited. That’s really all I’m feeling — excitement,” began Brown in his media session after Thursday’s walk-through practice in advance of Friday’s home date with the Toronto Argonauts. “I don’t know if it’s nervousness but there are butterflies and excitement.

“… It’s exactly the environment you want to play in front of; I think it’s the best environment in the league. Unfortunately, when you’re out there you don’t necessarily get to appreciate it. Before and after you have an understanding of how big of a role they play and how challenging it is to play here as a visitor.

“I’m just really excited to play with the group of guys we have here. I love it here. I’ve got a lot of love for the coaches and the organization as a whole, so my feelings are I just want to do right by them and, ultimately, just go out there and compete and do my best.”

BLUE BOMBERS (2-2) vs ARGONAUTS (2-2)
Kickoff: Friday, 7:30 p.m. CDT; Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg
TV/Streaming: TSN; RDS; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB; Play-by-play: Derek Taylor | analyst: Doug Brown;
Streaks: Wpg.: 1W; Tor.: 1L

Brown was acquired by the Blue Bombers in a trade with the Ottawa RedBlacks 16 days ago and already the move seems particularly prescient. Zach Collaros did not finish Sunday’s 14-13 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after being sacked by Reggie Stubblefield and missed Wednesday’s practice with a neck injury.

Head coach Mike O’Shea, FYI, said the decision to start Brown was made Thursday morning after giving Collaros as much time as possible to see if he was good to go.

Collaros was replaced by rookie Taylor Elgersma in Hamilton, who played a key role in helping secure the win while going 11-of-15 for 86 yards and a touchdown. But in Brown the club gets an experienced starter — he is 12-14-1 in his career, including going 2-1 in starts as a Blue Bomber.

His last start for the team came in Calgary at the end of the 2023 season with the Blue Bombers playoff seeding locked up and, in that contest — a 36-13 win — he was 13-of-17 for 278 yards with touchdown strikes to Rasheed Bailey and Brendan O’Leary-Orange.

“When I was here (then), the system was a little bit more having the quarterback out on the edge quite a bit and not necessarily drop-back-centric where you’re just throwing from the pocket all the time,” he said. “Then going to Ottawa I was dropping back quite a bit and having to many decisions quickly from the centre of the pocket more than I was here.”

Brown helped lead the RedBlacks to a playoff berth in 2024 — their first since 2018 — and was 2-7 last year after battling through injuries. Ottawa underwent a regime change over the winter and after initially endorsing Brown, new GM and head coach Ryan Dinwiddie committed to Jake Maier after one preseason game — and before Brown had even thrown a pass.

Asked if the trade and now the chance to start for Winnipeg feels like the perfect reset, he said:

“I haven’t really thought about that. I’m just excited to be in this building with this group of people. I’ve got good relationships over there that will last a while but I’m pretty much all in right here right now.”

THE KELLY FACTOR: BOOM AND BUST

Argos QB Chad Kelly is off to a scorching start through his first four games after missing all of 2025 as he has already thrown for 1,484 yards and 12 TDs — including 12 completions of 30 yards or more.

He’s also eclipsed the 300-yard mark in three of his four appearances, including a 445-yard performance.

Yet, there’s also this: the veteran pivot has also thrown a league-high eight interceptions this season, almost equalling the nine he threw in nine games in 2024 before his injury and just four shy of the 12 he threw in 2023 when he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

And this is what you can sometimes get with any gunslinger — the dangerous big-play capability is occasionally offset by some carelessness in attacking downfield.

“Chad’s good,” said Blue Bombers defensive tackle Jake Ceresna. “Any time you’re facing Chad Kelly, the guy’s got a rocket. He’s a great player. I was his teammate (in Toronto), so I know how he prepares, I know how he attacks defences. It’s going to be a big challenge for us and it’s up to us to answer it this weekend.”

Kelly, FYI, has also rushed 14 times for 75 yards and a tidy 5.4-yard average. That ranks second to Calgary’s Vernon Adams, Jr. (91 yards rushing) among CFL QBs.

“He’s a sneaky-good running threat,” added Ceresna. “He has great pocket mobility, great pocket awareness. You see him time and time again getting out of the pocket. You know he wants to throw the ball, but when he needs to, he runs. He’s just a guy that is willing to do what it takes to help his team win.”

PUTTING SOME KA-BOOM IN THE ‘O’

It’s too early to draw any concrete conclusions from doing a deep dive into the numbers just four games into a season. Still… some numbers can be early indicators which eventually become trends, both good and bad.

And Winnipeg’s offence, even with a 2-2 record, has been hit and miss through four games. The Blue Bombers rank last in offensive points (21.5), net offence (346.8 yards) and passing yards (267.8) and are tied for last with six passing TDs. Yet, ask around the clubhouse and there is a consensus this bunch is on the verge.

One area which does scream out as concerning is this: the Blue Bombers rank last in the CFL with just two pass plays of 30 yards or more — a 41-yard Collaros-to-Nic Demski TD strike in a loss to Hamilton in the home opener and then Taylor Elgersma shovel pass to Pokey Wilson last week that the speedy receiver turned into a 31-yard score.

Clearly, Winnipeg’s attack could use an occasional big play or three, especially through the air.

“It’s getting on the same page, that’s what it really comes down to,” said Demski. “I mean, our O-linemen are doing a good job of protecting and all that stuff. It’s, how do we piece apart the defence and figure out where the shots are. That’s a big thing for us: we want to be more explosive. And that’s a goal for us as well.

“At the end of the day a goal for us is also taking care of the football. We’ve got to be smart top-down in how we take those shots and when we do get called up we, especially as receivers, have to go out there and make our plays.”

RECLAIMING HOME FIELD

The Blue Bombers faithful continue to do their part with sellout after sellout after sellout. Yet, after home losses to Hamilton and Edmonton to open 2026, well… let’s just put it this way: the team hasn’t lost three in a row at home since the start of the 2016 season when that squad opened 1-4 before going on a run and finishing the year 11-7.

“We’ve got to win,” said running back Brady Oliveira. “Hopefully there’s another sellout. I hope this streak lives on and it would be amazing to go out there tomorrow and get a win for this great fan base.

“It’s unacceptable. We have high standards here. We’ve won a lot of football games at home and us starting off the season 0-2 at home is pretty rare and we’ve got to switch that. We’ve got to get back into the win column here at home.”

THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers have made three roster changes for Friday’s game, the biggest of which is the move to start Brown at QB and Collaros moving to the one-game injured list.

As well, Gabe Wallace moves back into his spot at left guard in pace of Micah Mazzccua, who made his CFL debut last week in Hamilton while linebacker Dylan Hazen has been added for linebacker Charles-Elliott Bouliane.

The six-game injured list features DBs Cam Allen and Ethan Ball, linebackers Brody Clark, Lane Novak, Jaiden Woodbey and Jovan Santos-Knox, defensive linemen De’Shaan Dixon and Tanner Schmekel, offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool and receiver Kevens Clercius.

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