Blue Bombers 41, Alouettes 40: Three things we learned in Winnipeg's wild last-second victory

Rudi Schuller

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Blue Bombers 41, Alouettes 40: Three things we learned in Winnipeg's wild last-second victory image

The CFL's unofficial motto is "no lead is safe," and that was certainly the case on Thursday night in Manitoba.

With a 12-point lead in the final two minutes of the game, you could forgive the Montreal Alouettes for thinking they would cruise to a win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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After all, it was a night when quarterback Darian Durant broke the 30,000 career passing yards plateau, and seemingly every time the Bombers clawed their way back into the game the Als used the entirety of their offence — passing, rushing and kicking — to push themselves ahead.

Except Winnipeg would not go quietly into the night, instead storming back to win 41-40 at the literal last second of the game.

Here's what we learned from the Bombers' dramatic victory:

Late-half collapses were the order of the day

After a fast start for the Bombers, Montreal fought back and made a game of it throughout the first half. After some back-and-forth that eventually saw both teams get onto the scoreboard, it looked like things would be all tied up at 14-14 at halftime.

However, the Als had other ideas. Durant found Ernest Jackson with a 36-yard pass for a touchdown with less than a minute left in the second quarter, with the subsequent conversion giving Montreal a seven-point lead. 

The Alouettes weren't done yet, and after getting the ball back they managed to get into field goal range with just six seconds left, setting up a Boris Bede 28-yard field goal for a sudden 10-point lead at the break.

What looked like a run-of-the-mill half ended very, very poorly for the home team. 

The situation would reverse itself in the second half, of course.

Early drives are good to Winnipeg

If the Blue Bombers were only judged on the first five minutes of each half, they'd earn the highest grades possible.

The opening of the first and third quarters were kind to Winnipeg, with the Bombers' aforementioned fast start to the game mirrored in the second half when the home team rode an eight-play, 80-yard drive immediately after halftime to cut the lead down to three.

The problem was what happened on the other side of the ball. While the Bombers were able to get to Durant quite often, they still weren't able to make consistent stops on the Als' offence as a whole.

Bede earns his pay, but it's not enough

In what was a closer than expected battle, the difference nearly came down to the kickers — The Als got full value from theirs while Winnipeg's Justin Medlock struggled.

Bede was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, while Medlock only hit two of his four attempts. Add in three conversions, and Bede was invaluable in helping keep his team ahead before the unexpected collapse

Rudi Schuller