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    Friday, August 21
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    Ill-timed blunders ruin Ottawa Redblacks’ chances of victory against Bombers (& eight other thoughts)

    News DeskBy No Comments12 Mins Read
    Ill-timed blunders ruin Ottawa Redblacks' chances of victory against Bombers (& eight other thoughts)




    Photo: Samantha Keen/3DownNation.

    Football games aren’t lost on a single play, but if you come out on the wrong side of enough key ones, your team will find itself on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Such was the case for Ryan Dinwiddie’s squad as the Ottawa Redblacks fell to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 33-21 on Friday night at Princess Auto Stadium.

    Here are all my thoughts on the game.

    Running to defeat

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    The complete and total lack of a rushing attack continues to handcuff Ottawa’s offence. Dinwiddie can talk about wanting to keep his team in second-and-manageable, and he can scheme the hell out of a short passing attack — as he has been doing– but the reality is in the CFL, if you can’t run the ball, you can’t win. Right now, it seems like the Redblacks have internalized the belief that they can’t run the ball, which is the only possible explanation for them refusing to even try.

    Coming into this game, Winnipeg was allowing 141 rush yards per game. If there was ever a time to get the ground game on track, it was this week. Yet inexplicably, Dinwiddie handed the ball off to his running backs a total of eight times, while dialling up 43 passing plays.

    Against the Bombers, Ottawa’s offence had 13 possessions. Seven of those drives saw no runs called. Five saw exactly one. To be fair to Dinwiddie, it’s not as if the runs he called were generating much of anything. American back Greg Bell averaged 2.8 yards per carry while Canadian back Daniel Adeboboye averaged five per touch. But that doesn’t change the fact that the ground game cannot simply be abandoned. When it is, it has a compounding effect. Play-action doesn’t work (not that the Redblacks tried much of it anyway), and eventually, it allows the defence to pin its ears back and bring relentless pressure, as we saw over the game’s final 15 minutes of play.

    I get that the team invested heavily in Bell by making him the highest-paid American back in the league in the offseason, but nine games in, the only game where Ottawa had an effective ground attack was the season opener in which Adeboboye got the bulk of the carries. In that game, the Canadian averaged 7.3 yards per carry on his 12 rushing attempts. Since then, he’s yet to have more than three carries in any game.

    The two backs have distinct styles; Bell is more shifty and explosive, whereas Adeboboye is more of a one-cut, power runner. Perhaps with the personnel the Redblacks currently have on their offensive line, one is more suited to producing. Derek Taylor, the voice of the Blue Bombers, noted this week that Bell is averaging just 1.2 yards per carry before contact this season, which speaks to the lack of blocking he’s receiving. But if his blocks aren’t holding up, he needs to know he has to hit the holes at full speed too.

    Maybe the trick is handing the ball off to the Canadian more frequently and getting Bell into space as part of the passing attack. Either way, there must be a concerted effort to balance the team’s attack.

    Plenty of possession, not much to show

    Yet again, the Redblacks spent plenty of time with the ball, but came away without much to show for their efforts. Despite running 53 offensive plays, averaging 6.3 yards per play, and holding the ball for nearly 30 minutes, Ottawa mustered just 19 first downs. Of their 13 possessions, five resulted in points. Another five were two-and-outs, while three mustered a single first down. Two ended in turnovers.

    Aside from the lack of any semblance of a running game, Ottawa’s biggest issues were going two-of-four in the red zone and failing to score on either of the two-point converts they attempted. The lack of convert success has been something that has plagued the team all year long, as Ottawa is just three-of-eight on two-point attempts in 2026.

    While it may seem like a small thing, those “lost” four points loomed large at the end of the game. Instead of playing to potentially send the game to overtime in a single-score contest, they were playing to cut into a two-score deficit.

    Maier mediocre

    I apologize in advance if I sound like a broken record, but I can only describe what I’m seeing. While quarterback Jake Maier doesn’t deserve to wear the blame for this loss alone, yet again he failed to do enough to drag his team into the win column. And in the CFL, that’s something the men under centre are expected to routinely do.

    Ottawa’s 29-year-old pivot had some excellent throws into tight windows, hitting receivers in stride, but he also had a handful of passes that sailed high, skipped short, or were simply nowhere near the receiver he was targeting. Overall, Maier completed 65 percent of his passes for 314 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception that he holds exactly zero blame for. On said turnover, Cade McDonald popped up a ball that hit him in the hands.

    Speaking of bad luck, Maier’s numbers would’ve likely been a lot more sexy if not for the misfortune of a deep ball that seemed destined to be a touchdown hitting the uprights and his tight end pulling up with a non-contact injury after getting behind the defence with nothing but open field between him and the end zone.

    Maier was under siege late in the game because, without any need to worry about Ottawa running the ball, Winnipeg’s front seven aggressively came after him, frequently hitting him as he stepped into throws. Even facing that heavy pressure, it would’ve been nice to see Maier stretch the field and take more deep shots.

    Of the 43 passes he attempted, he only pushed the ball deep four times. One hit the uprights, one was complete and set up a touchdown, one should’ve been picked off, and the last came on the offence’s final play and fell incomplete. With the weapons Maier has at his disposal, he simply needs to give his receivers more chances to make explosive plays.

    Spreading the love around

    One thing Maier has done well is making sure he isn’t focusing in on one particular pass-catcher. In fact, the Redblacks had three different players finish with six catches. Canadian Keelan White led the way with six receptions for 79 yards, while Ayden Eberhardt finished with 40 yards and a touchdown. Kalil Pimpleton turned his six catches into 61 yards.

    As for the rest of the receiving corps, Cade McDonald made three grabs for 57 yards, but 41 of those came on a single play, and he also had the misfortune of bobbling a screen into the waiting arms of a Winnipeg defender. Justin Hardy made three catches for 21 yards and had an uncharacteristic drop in the end zone on the team’s final possession that would’ve made it a one-score game. Global tight end Jevoni Robinson had one catch for 32 yards, but seemingly would’ve scored if not for crumbling to the ground as he sprinted to the end zone with a non-contact injury.

    Bullied by Brady

    Coming into the game, Jeff Reinebold’s defensive unit underwent further drastic changes, which meant four new starters. Defensive backs Amari Henderson and Demerio Houston were cut and defensive linemen Bryce Carter and Michael Wakefield were placed on the six-game injured list, both likely lost for the season.

    Canadian King Ambers and American Marcus Barnes started in the secondary and responded well, finishing with three tackles and a knockdown and six tackles, respectively. On the defensive line, Habakkuk Baldonado returned from injury to start at defensive end and finished with two tackles and a sack, while Dennis Briggs Jr. started at defensive tackle. He finished with a tackle.

    Despite a decent effort overall, the Redblacks’ defence simply had no answer for Canadian running back Brady Oliveira. He was a one-man wrecking crew as he averaged 6.7 yards per rush while ripping off three runs of 10+ yards and produced a full 10 yards per catch. In total, his 19 touches went for 154 yards and a touchdown.

    Nothing demonstrated just how badly Oliveira was killing Ottawa better than a play in the second quarter. Facing second-and-17, the Bombers checked a pass down to their running back. Thanks to numerous poor angles taken by Ottawa defenders, Oliveira gained 16 yards and set up a third-and-one, which was converted. Instead of punting, the Bombers ultimately came away with a field goal on the drive.

    Lamentably, Ottawa’s issues with tackling weren’t limited to just bringing down Oliveira. Poor pursuit angles and weak shoulder tackles were a theme of the night. Winnipeg finished with 249 total passing yards, and a full 56 percent of those yards (141) came after the catch.

    Even though eight of Winnipeg’s 13 possessions picked up less than 23 yards, seven drives still ended in points thanks to short fields set up by their special teams. Their going three-for-three in the red zone was also backbreaking.

    In terms of silver linings, Canadian linebacker Lucas Cormier made five tackles and had a hit you could feel through the TV while sacking Zach Collaros in the second quarter.

    Fellow Canadian linebacker A.J. Allen, who was benched last week in favour of Cormier, made a strong impact as he rotated in, notching three tackles and a pair of sacks. Canadian safety Alonzo Addae finished with five tackles and a knockdown, and in his return from injury, American middle linebacker Nyles Morgan finished with four tackles.

    Shabby specials

    Despite a couple of bright moments produced by their special teams, overall the unit was a net negative. Let’s start with the positives. In his return from injury, kicker Brett Lauther continued being perfect, splitting the uprights from 37, 17 and 51 yards out. His new long snapper, Lucus Spencer, who went undrafted out of Bishop’s University in 2025, was also perfect, snapping the ball with velocity and putting it exactly at the height it needed to be.

    Returner Kalil Pimpleton was his usual dangerous self, averaging 15.5 yards per punt return and 34 yards per kickoff, including a 75-yarder before the half that set up a Redblacks touchdown.

    Cormier was impressive covering kicks, notching three special teams tackles.

    And that’s where the positives end.

    Punter Noah Gettman had a rough outing. A shanked punt in the first half set up the Bombers on a short field, which they proceeded to march down for a touchdown. He also had a couple of awkward-looking “attempts” at making a tackle. Overall, Gettman averaged a flip of just 34.7 yards per punt.

    Ottawa’s cover units as a whole were porous, as they allowed Trey Vaval to average 14.2 yards per punt return and 34 yards per kickoff. The backbreaking return came late in the fourth quarter when the unit gave up a 50-yard kickoff return that led to the Blue Bomber touchdown, which put the game out of reach. The return actually came after Ambers lined up offside and Ottawa was forced to re-kick.

    For a team that’s already struggling to make plays, it was another case of a self-inflicted wound proving costly.

    Ugly numbers

    With the loss, the Redblacks are now 0-9 on the season, 0-6 versus the West, 0-4 on the road, and perhaps worst of all, 0-5 in games decided in the final three minutes.

    Dating back to last season, they’ve lost 15 consecutive games — surpassing the 1994 Shreveport Pirates for the longest streak in modern CFL history.

    What now?

    Exactly halfway through the season, the Redblacks are winless, a reality that was truly unfathomable before the year started. Fans can point to bad luck (as evidenced this particular week on the upright play, Robinson falling with an open end zone, Hardy’s end zone drop, the offside kickoff, etc.), the 14 players on the six-game injured list, the changes to the coaching staff, the quarterback play, the lack of a running game, or defensive issues, but the fact of the matter is it’s a mix of everything, everywhere, all at once.

    It’s undeniable that the organization is trying to win, but right now it can’t seem to figure out how. As if the self-inflicted wounds weren’t enough, it’s worth noting that the Redblacks have had a pretty brutal schedule to date. They’ve played each of Montreal, Edmonton, and Saskatchewan twice — the three best teams in the league who boast a combined 20-6 record. Yes, they’re 0-9, but four of those losses were by one score. That’s cold comfort but highlights the fact that if this team could only clean up their act, that elusive win should be within grasp.

    With that said, things get no easier for the Redblacks as they head to Montreal on a short week. Ottawa will need to dig deep and clean up their play in all three phases of the game if they want to finally give their fans something to cheer about.



    Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).




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