Crossroads at Princess Auto: Can the Bombers Steady Themselves Against a Lions Team in Dis

The State of the Union: A 4-3 Team That Can't Get Out of Its Own Way

Seven games into the 2025 season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have already treated their fanbase to the full spectrum of CFL football. They've won with three different starting quarterbacks—Zach Collaros, Taylor Elgersma, and Dru Brown—a testament to offensive coordinator Buck Pierce's system and the depth Mike O'Shea has cultivated. They have the league's reigning rushing champion in Brady Oliveira, who gouged Calgary for 128 yards and two touchdowns in last week's debacle. And yet, a 52-30 loss to a Stampeders team that entered the game 2-4, one week after a narrow overtime escape against Ottawa, exposes an uncomfortable truth: this Bombers team is spinning its wheels.

The numbers paint a picture of maddening inconsistency. Winnipeg ranks third in offensive points per game (25.7) but also dead last in points allowed (30.1). That -4.4 point differential is the worst among the current playoff seeds. The Bombers have surrendered 40+ points twice already, and the defence—long the bedrock of championship runs—has been gashed for 137 rushing yards per contest (7th in the CFL). On Thursday, they host a B.C. Lions squad that is 1-5 and trots out a rookie quarterback in Kaidon Salter. The stage is set for a get-right game. The question is whether this group can stop tripping over its own feet.

The Kaidon Salter Equation: Rookie Immobility or CFL Chaos Agent?

Salter's name has bounced around Bomberland for months since Winnipeg saw him in preseason film study. A 4-5-star recruit who bounced from Tennessee to Liberty to Colorado, Salter is a dual-threat matrix who rushed for over 1,000 yards and threw 32 touchdown passes in his breakout 2023 season at Liberty. He has all the tools to make Richie Hall's defence pay if they aren't disciplined. But he's also making his first CFL start on a short week, behind a Lions offensive line that has allowed a league-worst 26 sacks. The Bombers' pass rushers—Willie Jefferson, Jackson Jeffcoat, and Celestin Haba—should be licking their chops.

Veteran defensive back Deatrick Nichols captured the paradox best when he called the situation "a little funny or a little scary." Unfamiliar quarterbacks have a storied history of tormenting unprepared CFL defences; think of Dustin Crum's breakout in Ottawa or even Dru Brown's brief relief magic for the Bombers last year. But Winnipeg's veteran secondary, led by Nichols and Evan Holm, has the experience to mix coverages and disguise blitzes. If Hall rolls the dice early with pressure packages—and the hosts force Salter into a couple of early turnovers—this could become the laugher the Bombers desperately need. If they sit back and let him find rhythm, it could be another dispiriting evening.

Offensive Identity: Oliveira Needs Help, but From Where?

The Bombers’ offence in 2025 has been a pass-first operation when Collaros is healthy, but a ground-oriented survival mechanism when he's not. Brady Oliveira is averaging a robust 6.2 yards per carry and is on pace for his second straight rushing title, yet he's touched the ball just 14 times a game. In the Calgary loss, he broke off a 53-yard touchdown run that teased a comeback, only for the defence to immediately allow a back-breaking score. Offensive coordinator Buck Pierce has shown he can win with backups—Elgersma's 300-yard, 2-TD debut in Week 3 was stunning—but the drop-off in efficiency from Collaros to fill-ins is stark: the Bombers convert third down at 41% under Elgersma/Brown versus 52% with Collaros.

The receiving corps has been a revolving door. Kenny Lawler returned from suspension only to tweak a hamstring; Drew Wolitarsky has been a reliability king but lacks explosion; and young guns like Keric Wheatfall and Jeremy Murphy have flashed but not yet frightened defences. The offensive line, anchored by Stanley Bryant and Pat Neufeld, is still top five in sack rate allowed (6.3%), but the unit has been flagged for a league-high 14 holding penalties, killing drives at the worst moments. Against a Lions defence that ranks middle of the pack in most categories, the formula is obvious: feed Oliveira early, take deep play-action shots off the run, and stay ahead of the sticks. Whether O'Shea and Pierce commit to that plan for 60 minutes is another matter.

Playoff Picture and Power Rankings: A West That Refuses to Separate

At 4-3, the Bombers sit second in the West, 1.5 games behind the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-1) and just a game ahead of Calgary (3-4) and Edmonton (3-5). The top three teams in the division make the playoffs, and the crossover is a real threat if the fourth-place team in the East (currently 2-5 Hamilton) gets hot. Winnipeg's next three games—home to B.C., then at Saskatchewan, then a home-and-home with Edmonton—will define their season. A loss to the 1-5 Lions would drop them to .500 with two brutal road trips looming.

CFL power