The Canadian Press
Shane Jones
EDMONTON–The Winnipeg Blue Bombers made a case for the defence and dramatically improved their playoff prospects in the process.
The Bombers (7-7) forced seven turnovers in a convincing 30-3 win over the Edmonton Eskimos (7-7) on Saturday night.
“It felt good but it is a team effort,” said Winnipeg defensive back Kevin Fogg, who was responsible for two turnovers.
“We were all out there making things happen,” he noted. “When we are all on, that is the type of stuff that can happen.
“We took a step forward in closing out this game as well as we did.”
The Bombers have won two in a row on the heels of a four-game losing streak.
They’re now tied with Edmonton for third place in the West Division.
“Our defence was phenomenal from the jump,” said Bombers’ quarterback Matt Nichols, who was 16-of-20 passing for 179 yards.
“Right off the bat, we blocked a punt and we just kept it rolling from there for the entire game in all three phases.
“It shows that when we do what we are coached to do that we are a very good football that can beat very good football teams,” Nichols added.
“That’s two weeks in a row,” he noted. “Now we just have to sustain it and keep doing what we are doing.”
The Eskimos, meanwhile, have lost two-straight and four of their last five and appear to be in something of a nose-dive.
The team also lost league-leading receiver Duke Williams late in the game to an apparent shoulder injury.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting us to get beat 30-3 on our own turf,” said Eskimos’ head coach Jason Maas.
“We did and we’ve got to own it.
“If we learn from this, which we should, we’ll get better,” he added. “That’s what we’re aiming for.
“Sometimes it takes you to get knocked down like this before you rebound and become great.”
Edmonton’s attempted punt to close out its first possession was blocked and recovered by Marcus Sayles on the Eskimos’ 29-yard-line, leading to a Justin Medlock field goal for Winnipeg to open the scoring.
The Bombers went up 10-0 six minutes into the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown plunge by back-up quarterback Chris Streveler.
Winnipeg continued to dominate on both sides of the ball as a Taylor Loffler interception of a Mike Reilly pass led to a five-yard TD run by Andrew Harris.
Edmonton got a last-second field goal from Sean Whyte to at least get on the scoreboard at the half, trailing 17-3.
Elsewhere in the CFL last week, Calgary beat Toronto 38-16, Hamilton dumped B.C. 40-10, and Saskatchewan topped Montreal 34-29.
