TORONTO — Dru Brown spent most of Saturday looking like, well, a backup quarterback.
But when all the chips were on the line, and when his team needed him most, Brown showed why the Winnipeg Blue Bombers sent the Ottawa Redblacks a valuable first-round pick in July to reacquire a familiar face.
Starting in place of injured star Zach Collaros (ribs), Brown guided the Blue Bombers on a game-winning drive in the final two minutes as Winnipeg stunned the Toronto Argonauts 25-22 in the CFL East semifinal before a season-high crowd of 21,786 at BMO Field.
"His demeanour, how calm he is in the huddle, how prepared he is throughout the week allows him to throw that ball at the end of the game, even though the game didn't go the way he wanted it to go up until that point,” Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after his team earned a date in Montreal for the East final against the Alouettes next week.
“That’s why a guy like that can be successful. He's not going to lose his opportunity because of his emotions.”
In a CFL playoff opener with seven combined turnovers, it was the Bombers who made the Argos pay a far stiffer price for coughing the ball up.
Winnipeg already had committed a whopping four turnovers — but allowed just nine points off those plays — when Toronto gave away the ball for the first time.
It was a biggie, too, as Michael Fletcher got to Argos star quarterback Chad Kelly just before he was about to throw, knocking back his arm and shaking the ball loose. David Reese picked it up and ran 52 yards for the score to pull the Bombers within two points late in the third quarter.
That’s also where Kelly, who wasn’t at his best throughout the game, suffered the shoulder injury that eventually forced him out in the fourth quarter. Nick Arbuckle replaced Kelly and was not effective.
The Blue Bombers, meanwhile, just kept hanging around until Argos star returner Janarion Grant fumbled a punt after it was punched out by University of Toronto product Nick Hallett near midfield with less than two minutes left.
Brown responded by hooking up with veteran receiver Nic Demski for a 23-yard touchdown strike and the ensuing two-point conversion with 44 seconds remaining.
A Toronto turnover on downs followed, ensuring Winnipeg’s veteran core would win at least one game in a CFL active-high 10th consecutive playoff appearance.
"It was an ugly one for sure, but we appreciate our defence,” said Brown, who lost his starting job in Ottawa under new coach Ryan Dinwiddie at the start of the year, opening the door for a trade back to where he started his CFL career learning under Collaros.
"I just think that we’ve got a lot of guys that have played a lot of football in this league and know how funky it can get. And (they) know within striking distance, you always have a chance … What I appreciate most is there's no bickering between the three phases.”
Brown, frankly, was mostly bad. He threw two interceptions, fumbled once and lacked touch on most deep balls before the defining drive to win.
But Winnipeg’s defence limited Kelly to a season-low 193 passing yards and the special teams made one of the best returners in league history fumble the ball, resulting in a true team victory. O’Shea’s charges went to five consecutive Grey Cup games from 2019 to ’24 because the Blue Bombers can win in many different ways.
“I think what’s really important about this one is that idea, that concept of throughout the course of a game, one phase might not be rolling,” O’Shea said. “It's up to the other two phases to have their backs. I thought this was a great example of that.”
This was a stinging loss for the Argos, who missed several chances to land the knockout blow as they settled for five field goals by Lirim Hajrullahu.
"It's frustrating, it's disappointing, probably ultimately the difference in the game,” Argos head coach/offensive co-ordinator Mike Miller said. “We've got to be able to punch that in. One more touchdown probably changes the whole dynamic at the end.”
Miller defended a decision to punt on third-and-one in the final three minutes, saying he felt it was more like one-and-a-half yards or two yards. A successful gamble there, on the Argos’ side of midfield, could have changed the game.
He did wonder aloud if he should have used running back Cam Porter more after he found success against the Bombers’ league-worst rushing defence on three consecutive strong runs on the opening drive of the second half — "In retrospect, maybe we utilize him a little more there,” said Miller, whose team did thrive on the pass throughout the season.
Unfortunately for Miller, he’ll have more time than he wants to go over these details.
It is the Blue Bombers heading to Montreal for a playoff rematch with the Als after losing there in the East semifinal last year.
The Blue Bombers (9-9 in the regular season) are the 14th team to cross over to the other division in the playoffs — which happens when a fourth-place team in one division finishes with a better record than the third-place team in the other — since the rule was instituted in 1996. None of the 13 previous crossover squads, all from the West, have advanced to the Grey Cup.
Winnipeg, of course, will hope Collaros can return next week. But after Brown led the Blue Bombers to a playoff-clinching win in B.C. after Collaros was hurt last week and then stepped up when it counted here, they won’t be afraid of battling the Als with their No. 2.
"He prepares every single day like he's going in. Like he's the guy. Like he's going to be the person who leads his team to victory. That's how he works,” O’Shea said. “That's what makes him so awesome.
“Pros will say that. He lives that.”
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