It was a small step, but a desperately needed one, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers breathed some badly needed life into their season with a 23-22 win over Edmonton on Thursday night at Canad-Inns stadium.
Actually, the Bombers came just as close to losing the game as they did winning it. They got something of a gift when Eskimos quarterback Steve Jyles fumbled at the Winnipeg 28-yard line with less than a minute to go.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. Yes, we won, but it was close to them holding the ball and kicking a game winning field goal. There’s certainly still a lot of work to be done. Still, our players played and fought hard all game,” said head coach Paul LaPolice. 
There is no need, ever, to apologize for a victory. They do not come easily. And if they come with a fortunate bounce, so be it.
Take the two points and run. And that’s what the Bombers did. Besides, it’s not like the Bombers didn’t deserve to win, as they had more first downs and more total yards than the Eskimos. Of particular encouragement to LaPolice were the 22 first downs and more than 400 yards of offence.
Even more encouraging was the fact that Alex Brink had full control of the offence. Brink was given the game ball by LaPolice, in no small measure because, after he threw two second quarter interceptions, that helped the Eskimos build an 11-1 lead.
However, Brink bounced back with a gutsy effort, completing 18 of his last 22 passes for 233 yards.
The quarterback benefitted from the running of Chad Simpson, who carried the ball 14 times for 73 yards. The return of slotback Cory Watson also sparked the offence; the Montreal native caught seven passes for 66 yards.
Watson missed the first four games of the season and the return of his physical play provided the Winnpeg offence with a definite boost. But Brink demonstrated a resiliency and a toughness of character that should aid immensely in his growth.
Remember, even though he’s in his third season with the Bombers that was only his fifth career start, and his first career win as a starter.
There were three or four mistakes on defence that particularly troubled LaPolice. Twice the Bombers had a breakdown in their defensive secondary, leading to touchdowns from Fred Stamps and Cary Koch.
On special teams, the Eskimos blocked a punt when, according to Lapolice “one of our up backs went right when he was supposed to go left. I don’t know how those things happen.”
Regardless, it was a definite step in the right direction for the Bombers.
A fifth-straight loss would have produced an atmosphere of gloom and doom that would have been hard to combat for the Bombers. Instead, at 1-4, they at least have their season somewhat back on the rails. And the way the East is shaping up, with tremendous parity, if the Bombers can knock off the Montreal Alouettes when they play their second of four-straight home games on Friday night, their loyal fans will truly believe they have seriously started to salvage their season.
Speaking of those fans, they filled Canada-Inns Stadium to capacity for last week’s game, tying a club record for their eighth-straight regular season sellout.
And there is every likelihood that 29,533 will pour through the gates again on Friday when the Als come to Winnipeg.
