It’s official. The B.C. Lions are in a nosedive.
The Lions lost their fourth consecutive game as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers came into BC Place on Sunday and left with a 20-11 victory.
Even the return of quarterback Nathan Rourke couldn’t kickstart the B.C. offense, which in the past month has gone from the CFL’s best to one that has produced three touchdowns in their last 38 possessions.
Rourke struggled mightily against the Bombers defense as he went 8 for 25 for 126 yards with two interceptions.
He was so distraught that he started off his post-game press conference with an apology.
“That was not my best football right there. You know as a quarterback, it’s never a one-person job, but it is the position where you have the ball in your hands every single play, and I didn’t make enough plays,” said Rourke, who is now 0-3 against the Bombers – and 0-4 if you include the 2022 Western Final playoff loss.
“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses in terms of it being a short week and getting into the offence again. And it’s definitely a tough, tall task when you play a team like the Bombers, who have been so successful. But I’m not going to make those excuses. I know that I’m better than this. I’m sorry to the team who stuck their neck out for me in getting me here and allowing me to play, and the rest of my teammates who you know that effort is never going to be an issue. They fought and battled until the end and got into the end zone in that last possession.
“I’m sorry to the fans. There was a lot of excitement going into this game and I didn’t deliver
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think Rourke would be this ineffective, but in retrospect, it was a big ask to go out and be at the top of his game against the Bombers.
Rourke looked extremely sharp in the three practices he had prior to the game but you can never duplicate game speed and that game speed is something that Rourke basically hasn’t seen in 18 months.
Never mind travelling across North America and prepping for a game in the span of a few days.
It’s something that Lions head coach Rick Campbell was quick to point out after the game but Campbell was quick to add that the Lions have to do a better job on making adjustments.
“We’ve got to put our players in better spots — or find out how to put them in better spots — and the guys have to make some plays too,” said Campbell.
And that is the puzzling part to me.
The Bombers game plan two weeks ago in Winnipeg was a perfect one as they cruised to a 25-0 shutout and holding the Lions to four first downs and 102 yards of total offense. The plan was simple against Vernon Adams Jr. and company – rush three or four and just play zone behind it.
The Lions didn’t have any answer for it then – and with two weeks to make adjustments – they didn’t have any answer for it on Sunday.
It’s one thing when you don’t have playmakers to execute your gameplan but the Lions boasted two of the three top receivers in the league heading into the game with Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins.
The Bombers defense played with confidence and without fear according to Campbell.
“If you are scared of the other team in some fashion, that goes a long way in opening things up. I don’t think they were nervous playing us. I don’t think Winnipeg had any fear on defense the last two games we played them. That’s on us as coaches to change that,” said Campbell.
The good news for the Lions is that despite losing four straight games, they still maintain second place in the Western Division with a 5-5 record and only trail first-place Saskatchewan (5-4-1).
The bad news is that Winnipeg (4-6) and Calgary (4-6) are right behind them with Edmonton (3-7) only two games back as well. The win by the Bombers also gives them the tiebreaker against the Lions having won the season series. Edmonton also holds the tiebreaker against the Lions. The two teams split their games but the Elks won the series on point differential (+14) in those two games.
That’s not exactly ideal when looking at how tight this race has become.
OVERTIME
* Lions kicker Sean Whyte continued his streak with his 46th consecutive field goal – a 23-yarder in the 4th quarter. The last field goal that Whyte missed was against Ottawa at BC Place last Sept. 16. That was the game in which the Lions pulled off a miraculous comeback to win 41-37. Whyte missed on a 50-yarder in the first quarter of that game.
* Receiver Alexander Hollins also extended his streak to 32 consecutive games with a reception as he hauled in two passes for 50 yards.
* The win was the 700th in Blue Bomber history and also saw Bomber coach Mike O’Shea collect his 100th career win. He became the fifth fastest to do so (168 games) trailing only Don Matthews (158), Bud Grant (158), John Hufnagel (142) and Wally Buono (134).
* The Lions (5-5) next game is against the Ottawa Redblacks (6-2-1) on Saturday at TD Place in Ottawa (4 p.m., CKNW 980, TSN).
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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