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News August 30, 2026

Upon Further Review | Blue Bombers 44 Alouettes 28

Tim White was part of an explosive offensive performance in Friday's win over Montreal; photos by Cameron Bartlett

@EdTaitWFC

Given the gift of hindsight, maybe we all should have seen this coming from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The signs and clues were all there, even if so many were reluctant or refusing to see and hear them.

There was the physical evidence in the first two quarters in Edmonton last week, after all, and in the days leading up to Friday’s jaw-dropping effort against the Montreal Alouettes in a 44-28 win players and coaches alike were foreshadowing what eventually unfolded.

Evan Holm, for example, spoke of facing the Alouettes offensive firepower as an ‘exciting opportunity.’

Major Williams referenced the energy during the practice week and framed the matchup as an ‘exciting test.’

Tim White insisted the offence was ‘this close’; Zach Collaros stressed a greater attention to detail in execution as critical in the red zone.

And all along head coach Mike O’Shea was on repeat saying the club had advanced past some big-picture work and was drilling down on the little details. In essence, he was saying the squad was closer to what we saw in the first half in Edmonton than in the second.

That message was certainly there again for consumption following Friday’s win over the Alouettes that shook up the Canadian Football League neighbourhood.

“We played some good football for an extended period of time. It was good,” began O’Shea after saluting the military personnel in the house on Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night. “It was not without some things we always need to correct, but they should enjoy this one tonight. I do think we’ve got to keep going… it’s no good to have one, you’ve got to have more but they’ll certainly enjoy this.

“The other thing is, if you’ve been listening, I’ve been saying we’re close; we’re getting closer and getting closer and it’s down to the more finite details. Tonight the guys were pretty damn good.”

They were more than pretty damn good in taking down an Alouettes squad that rolled into town at 9-1 and on a seven-game win streak. Winnipeg’s victory was a trademark three-phase effort, from the work of Zach Collaros, Brady Oliveira, Tim White, Pokey Wilson and the offensive line, to a defensive unit holding the Als to under 30 points for the first time this year to the special teams again providing a spark through a key Tanner Cadwallader punt block in the third quarter.

As Willie Jefferson told yours truly post-game: “This is the team we want to be.”

“We were able to execute as a full team,” added Wilson, who had two touchdowns and 114 yards receiving, of the offence, “Sometimes you have those plays where one guy doesn’t do the job right and it just messes up the whole play. But when we’ve got 12 guys executing it brings the whole team together.

“I would definitely say we can use this as a stepping stone game. We’ve seen what we were capable of and we just need to come out each and every game and execute. As the Blue Bombers, we never want to be counted out. We came out as the underdogs in this game; Montreal is supposed to be the best team, and we just wanted to come out and attack those guys.”

ICYMI, here is our Game Recap from Friday night:

Game Recap | Wpg 44 Mtl 28

And what follows is this week’s edition of UPON FURTHER REVIEW…

ZACH COLLAROS WAS MATTER OF FACT… in his dealings with the media post-game and downplayed the significance of the result versus any other wins. And when he was asked if the result might ‘breathe new life into the locker room’ he added, “We had a lot of life in the locker room so we really didn’t need anything for that. But it always feels good to win, obviously and you should win at home.”

Fair comment.

What shouldn’t be lost from Friday’s was the performance of Collaros himself. He just turned 38 years old last week and finished the night 26-of-32 for 324 yards with two TDs and zero interceptions.

“He was awesome,” said O’Shea of his QB1. “His leadership… he just oozes it, whether he thinks he’s doing it or not. He’s as tough as nails and he commands the huddle. He’s fiery. It just comes out of him, whether it’s oozing out of his pores or something he says or scrambling and making sure he keeps running for a first down, putting us in good spots or if he’s looking at a play or checking something, the way he talks to his guys and the affirmation that, ‘Hey, you will win and I will deliver. Let’s go. It’s just tangible stuff, too.

“He’s good. He’s really good. I just think his leadership in invaluable to our club. I don’t know what the numbers say about everybody else or whatever, but in this building, this is the guy we want.”

Added Oliveira in an answer that speaks of Collaros’ ability to lead:

“He’s like a fine win, baby. He just celebrated a birthday and went out there and had a huge performance. I tell him every single week when we start the game in the huddle for him to lead us; ‘You’re the leader of this team, leader of this offence… lead us, man, and we’re all going to be with you. Everyone’s around you and they’ve got your back.

“I’m really proud of him.”

A SALUTE TO ONE OF THE LOYAL FOOT SOLDIERS IN TANNER CADWALLADER… who made a couple of key plays in Friday’s win. First, he recovered a Trey Vaval fumble on the opening kickoff after the dynamic returner had the ball punched out as he switched hands. Second, he came up with a key punt block to start the second half, with the ball recovered by David Reese and returned to the Montreal one-yard line before Bryce Perkins punched it in for a score.

“Mike (Miller, Blue Bombers special teams coordinator) is always scheming different things and we’re always working on different techniques to do it,” said Cadwallader of the punt block. “That was just my chance to do it. Everybody who is lined up in that situation on our team can do it. It was the way their blocking scheme played it and making the most of an opportunity. It could have been any of us.

“The other thing is we have such a threat as a returner in Trey and teams are worried about getting downfield to stop him.”

Earlier this season Miller said in a story on this site it was the role of the special teams units to help create and/or keep momentum. Winnipeg’s units have been outstanding in that all season.

“It feels good to do our part all year,” said Cadwallader. “We’ve had some great plays on kickoffs and making a play here or there. So, to be able to make a play when it comes my way at a crucial part of the game… it feels really good, but it could have been anyone on that unit.”

THREE NUMBERS WHICH JUMPED OUT AFTER A SECOND GLANCE… at the stats package, which can be found here:

1 Over his last three games since returning from injury Collaros has gone 66-of-93 (71 percent) for 765 yards with three TDs against one interception. Solid numbers. As well, his work Friday was the 40th 300-yard passing game of his career, good for 12th most in CFL history (Anthony Calvillo is first at 125, FY).

2 It wasn’t too long ago that Brady Oliveira’s rushing numbers was a big talking point in this town. Well, he has posted four 100-yard rushing efforts in his last five games and at 956 yards already, he now leads the CFL (Dedrick Mills of Calgary is second at 874) and is on pace for his fifth consecutive 1K season. His six TDs — five rushing, one receiving — are also twice his total from a year ago.

Here’s Oliveira on what’s ahead with the annual Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl doubleheader with Saskatchewan now on the horizon:

“Best games of the year, man. It’s the games that I have marked on my calendar every year. There’s nothing like it. Going into a hostile environment, it’s going to be loud, a very, very pumped-up fan base in Sask and then we get to come back here and play int he best game of the year in the Banjo Bowl so I’m looking forward to it. That’s a huge win for us to take some good momentum into next week.”

3 Winnipeg’s offensive production against the Als goes much deeper than just the 447 net yards. Consider:

  • They averaged 7.5 yards on first down and 7.3 on second down, with short-yardage specialist Bryce Perkins rushing nine times for 12 yards and a couple scores.
  • Winnipeg’s 44 points and 37 minutes and 50 seconds in time of possession were both season highs. The last time the Blue Bombers scored this many points was Sept. 27th, 2024, in a 55-27 win over Edmonton and that’s their highest TOP since Oct. 4th, 2024, when they held the ball for 38:07 in a 31-10 win over Hamilton.

A TIP OF THE HAT, AGAIN, TO WILLIE JEFFERSON… for reaching 100 pass knockdowns in his career and becoming just the third player in CFL history to do that after Eddie Davis (111) and Adrion Smith (105) and the first defensive lineman to hit the century mark.

“It feels great, man,” said Jefferson. “And to be able to do it in front of a sold-out crowd, in front of these fans and in front of my wife and my kids and to come out with a win is a major. Keep counting them.”

AND FINALLY…  for those of you who have read this far, thank you. And for those who missed the game or want to relive all the highs from Friday’s win, check out the condensed game here: