Ottawa Redblacks keep finding new ways to lose (& 13 other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

For three quarters on Sunday night, R-Nation was treated to entertaining football that seemed to suggest the first win of the 2026 season was within grasp.

Unfortunately, over the game’s final 15 minutes — plus overtime — a very familiar feeling of existential dread set in. A 17-point lead spiralled out of control as wasted opportunities to clinch the victory came back to haunt Ryan Dinwiddie’s team.

Here’s what I saw from my seat in Section MM as the Ottawa Redblacks fell to the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 36-34 in triple overtime.

Pivot battle

This was billed as Dru Brown’s revenge game as he was under centre for Winnipeg, but the reality is there wasn’t much for him to be angry about.

The 29-year-old lost the starting job in training camp and chose not to stay with the team when he asked to be released. While the Redblacks didn’t grant his request, they did eventually trade him to a place he wanted to be. Still, the football gods have a sense of irony in that they ensured he was under centre for the Bombers trip to Ottawa to give fans in the nation’s capital a matchup between the two guys who the organization intended to be QB1-A and QB1-B this season.

Depending how you weigh quarterback play, you could potentially argue that Brown had the better night given he threw one more touchdown and got the win, but that doesn’t really pass the eye test.

The reality is that for most of the night, Jake Maier was the better pivot. In the face of hellish pressure, he completed 75 percent of his passes for 344 yards, a touchdown, and an end zone interception that seemingly occurred only because one of his receivers was interfered with.

Maier didn’t hesitate to push the ball down the field — one of the things that apparently cost Brown his job while in Ottawa — often standing in the pocket and absorbing huge hits to make tough throws. Maier finished with three explosive plays (completions of 30-plus yards) and another that was good for a gain of 25 yards.

No pain, no gain!

Jake Maier takes a huge shot to get the ball to Ayden Eberhardt (@AydenEberhardt)!#CFL #RNation #Redblacks pic.twitter.com/Mvf02BH7qo

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) July 20, 2026

On the other hand, Brown completed 63 percent of his passes for 317 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also had zero explosive plays.

It should be noted that the lack of turnovers wasn’t because he was putting the ball in safe spots, but rather because Ottawa’s defenders seemingly greased their fingers with butter. By my count there were four passes that hit defenders squarely in their hands, and a fifth tipped pass that also could’ve been intercepted. Brown tried to give the game away repeatedly, but the Redblacks kept turning away his gifts.

During his two seasons in Ottawa, Brown was at his best when he worked the quick passing game in the middle of the field, feasting on intermediate routes. That’s exactly where he gouged the Redblacks on Sunday night. Given that Redblacks defensive coordinator William Fields spent a year practicing against Brown, it was beyond puzzling he didn’t have his defence more prepared for this playing style.

With all that said, even if Maier played better than Brown, he still wasn’t good enough to move his team into the win column.

With the game tied and 1:03 left on the clock, the ball was in the 29-year-old’s hands. It was a golden opportunity for him to put together a game-winning drive, but he came up short. Following a minimal gain on first down, Maier chose to heave a sideline pass into double coverage in the direction of Eugene Lewis on second down. The two-and-out led to overtime, and eventually, defeat.

Fizzling out

Through three quarters of play, Ryan Dinwiddie seemingly had Ottawa’s offence fixed. There was some creativity that had been lacking in previous games with things like draws, receiver sweeps, misdirection screens, play-action passes, and a clear effort to involve the Redblacks’ bevy of explosive playmakers early and often. The team scored on all five of their first-half possessions, putting up four field goals and a touchdown.

The problem is the wheels came off in the second half. After scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the first half, Ottawa had a chance to double dip and put the game seriously out of reach by scoring on the opening possession of the second half. They drove the ball deep into Winnipeg’s red zone, all the way to their one-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Three consecutive quarterback sneaks were stuffed. It was a baffling turn of events given that up until that point, the Redblacks had converted all four quarterback sneaks they had attempted in the game.

Things only got worse from there, as on the following possession an end zone interception took more points off the board. Those struggles in the red zone ultimately proved to be the difference. By going just two-for-six inside Winnipeg’s 20-yard line, Ottawa gave the Bombers space to claw their way back into the game.

Overall, Ottawa had seven drives in the second half, and they resulted in two turnovers, four punts, and a touchdown. Of the team’s 14 total possessions, eight gained one first down or less. What will drive fans mad is that when this offence is clicking, it can put up points on anyone, but the consistency is simply not there. The unit has yet to string together a full 60-minute effort through six games.

Ringing the Bell

Greg Bell had his best game of the season, turning 14 carries into 65 yards while averaging 4.6 yards per rush, which was nearly a full yard above his season average of 3.6.

Three of his rushes went for gains of 10-plus yards and he looked every bit the explosive, shifty back Ottawa thought it was getting when they signed him as a free agent this past offseason. Bell was also a factor in the passing game, making three catches, with his best of the night being a 24-yarder that set Ottawa up in the red zone.

Canadian Daniel Adeboboye was given three carries on the night, turning that into 11 yards, with his longest gain good for 5 yards.

Spreading it around

A week after only having eyes for Justin Hardy and Ayden Eberhardt, Maier ensured all of his receivers got looks. Unsurprisingly, that turned out to be a good thing for Ottawa’s offence as a balanced arial attack kept Winnipeg’s defence off-balance.

Hardy and Canadian Keelan White led the way with six catches each. The former put up 51 yards and a touchdown, while the latter finished with 42 yards. Kalil Pimpleton and Ayden Eberhardt each made five catches, good for 101 and 92 yards, respectively. Veteran Eugene Lewis turned seven targets into three catches for 22 yards, and also had a spectacular grab in overtime during the two-point shootout.

EUGENE LEWIS OH MY GOODNESS 🤯#CFL pic.twitter.com/pGnOVFSrxG

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 20, 2026

Big man shuffle

The Redblacks were forced to shuffle their offensive line early in the second quarter when starting right tackle Zack Pelehos went down with an apparent leg injury. Left guard Drew Desjarlais kicked out to his spot and Sam Carson, Ottawa’s second-round pick in the 2025 CFL draft, came into the game at guard.

Overall, it was a decent performance from the unit, especially given how tough the Bombers’ defensive line is. Winnipeg’s defence was coming off a performance that saw them notch three sacks and four tackles for loss, while also allowing just 47 rushing yards. The Redblacks only conceded a single sack — though their quarterback was hit often — allowed just one tackle for a loss, and generated 93 rushing yards.

What held their performance back from being great was that despite a bunch of quarterback sneaks — third-stringer Bryson Barnes had nine carries for 14 yards, averaging 1.6 yards per sneak — they again came up small on the goal line, failing to score from a yard out despite being given three cracks at it.

No finishers

For the second week in a row, William Fields’ defence collapsed down the stretch. Last week, the Redblacks’ defence gave up 24 points in the fourth quarter. This week, the defence allowed a 17-point lead to vanish without much resistance at all.

It’s not like there weren’t opportunities for the unit to close out the game. Defensive back Shakur Brown made six tackles, but if he didn’t drop the trio of passes that hit him in the hands, Ottawa wins the game. One of those three balls simply has to be caught. Dionté Ruffin made his first start of the season and also had an opportunity to end the game in overtime but allowed an interception to slip through his arms.

When it was all said and done, Winnipeg scored 27 of their 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime sessions. What the recent failures to close out games speaks to is that right now, Ottawa has no defenders who step up in the game’s biggest moments. There has yet to be a signature play from the unit this season.

At some point, there needs to be a finisher, someone who steps up and puts their stamp on things to close things out.

Lauther streaking

He’s still 50 away from passing Lewis Ward’s pro football record, but by going six-for-six on the night, kicker Brett Lauther is now a perfect 20-for-20 on the season for field goal attempts. Against the Bombers, he split the uprights from 47, 27, 18, 29, 17, and 40 yards out.

As for the rest of Ottawa’s special teams, punter Noah Gettman averaged 47 yards per punt, but thanks to a shanked kick in the fourth quarter, his average field flip was just 36 yards per punt. In terms of returning, Pimpleton averaged 11 per punt return, with a long of 19 yards, and 21 yards per kickoff, with a long of 29 yards.

In his CFL debut, K.J. Cloyd led the way with two special teams tackles.

Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve

When a team blows a 17-point lead, there’s more than one moment that looms large.

Whether it was the two red zone turnovers by the offence, the four interceptable balls that weren’t secured, the surprising decision by the replay centre to uphold a defensive pass interference call on safety Alonzo Addae late in the fourth quarter, or the two blown coverages in the two-point convert shootouts, the Redblacks will be shaking their heads when they cue up the film for this game.

Making history

It might have been the 87th time a professional football team from Ottawa and Winnipeg played each other, but this game contained a first.

Following the CFL’s change to its overtime format this offseason, games are no longer allowed to end in ties. Previously, teams would have a maximum of two overtime possessions, and if they were still even, the game would end in a tie. Now, following those two possessions, the game moves to a two-point covert-off.

RELIVE AN UNFORGETTABLE OVERTIME!#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/bRtgwqyGg5

— CFL (@CFL) July 20, 2026

Personally, I don’t like it. While I’m sympathetic to wanting a winner, adopting the NCAA overtime rule just feels gimmicky.

It was silly to see each teams’ offence have to trudge back and forth, on and off the field, for a single play. To me, either continue swapping possessions until someone actually wins if you’re dead set against ties, or just leave it the way it was. Given that the league had only four ties the last ten seasons, it’s not exactly like this was something fans were focused on anyways.

Cold hard facts

Sunday’s game marked the 200th regular season game in Redblacks’ franchise history. If you want to know why attendance was only slightly above 14,000 last night, look no further than the fact that the Redblacks’ record in those games is 68-129-3.

Things look even more dire when you consider than just 27 of those wins have come in the past eight seasons, which means the Redblacks have averaged roughly three wins per season.

Technically, not cooked yet

At 0-6, the Redblacks are dead last in the CFL and a full three wins from passing anyone else in their division. And yet they wouldn’t be the first team in history to rally from an 0-6 start to make the playoffs. The B.C. Lions achieved the feat in 1969.

The path forward

A third of the season is gone and the Redblacks remain winless. Suffice to say nobody in the organization foresaw this as a possibility given the offseason overhaul the franchise underwent. As the team heads into their bye, they are at a crucial juncture.

Fan apathy has firmly set in and will only be shaken off by the team stacking wins. While the losses have continued to pile up, there are moments that suggest head coach Ryan Dinwiddie is still getting through to his team.

The offence is playing better overall, although it struggles to remain consistent and come up clutch. The defence does a lot of things right, but lacks a killer instinct and most damningly, an ability to hold onto leads. Injuries continue to mount and the hole in the standings Ottawa finds themselves in seems to grow each week.

The players don’t appear to have checked out, as evidenced by the fact that Ottawa is in nearly every game they’ve played this season. Of their six losses, four have been by a single score.

The margin between victory and defeat is so subtle, and during this bye week Dinwiddie and his staff need to find a way for their team to come up with a few more plays each game to shift the scoreboard in their favour.

Heavy hearts

It was absolutely awful to hear about the tragic passing of Saskatchewan Roughriders captain Jayden Dalke. It was good to see the Redblacks hold a moment of silence before the game, especially since so many of the players who joined the Redblacks this offseason made their way to Ottawa from Saskatchewan.

I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been for those players to play a game while grieving. As everyone who has ever lost someone knows, while you might be able to physically be present to do your job, it’s almost impossible to focus entirely on work when the wound is so fresh. Athletes are professionals but they aren’t machines.

My sincere condolences to Dalke’s family, friends, and teammates.

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).