BOMBERS' COLLAROS TO MISS FIRST START OF SEASON VS REDBLACKS

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quest to end their season-opening, four-game losing streak just got more difficult.

No. 1 quarterback Zach Collaros will miss his first start of the season when the Bombers host 2-1 Ottawa on Friday.

That leaves backup Chris Streveler to start his first CFL game since 2019.

Streveler compiled a 4-8 career record as a starter in 2018 and ’19, his last one coming in October of ’19, when he started eight in a row replacing the injured Matt Nichols.

After that season he spent four years in the NFL.

Collaros was injured late in the first half of Saturday’s loss in Calgary, taking a helmet to the chest and returning for a couple of plays but not playing in the second half.

He’d been at the helm as Winnipeg went 0-3 to start the season, failing to record a single touchdown pass.

Streveler fired the team’s first touchdown pass of the season in the second half against Calgary, capping a late, 74-yard drive that sent the game to overtime.

But his interception in overtime cost the Bombers a shot at their first win.

His final numbers against the Stamps: 14 of 24, 170 yards, the one touchdown and the interception.

Streveler also ran six times for 27 yards as the Bombers dropped a 22-19 decision.

Head coach Mike O’Shea earlier this week expressed his confidence in being able to win with Streveler at the helm.

“Absolutely,” O’Shea said. “We’ve won a lot with Chris Streveler. It’s not all on his shoulders. That’s the part people have to realize. He knows our offence, and he’s one piece of a group that’s got to go out there and play hard and get it done. Everybody has to be sharp and play well, regardless of who the trigger man is.”

Winnipeg has lost its last three games by four, two and three points, the first time in 24 years the team has lost three straight games by that slim a combined margin.

Friday marks a homecoming for Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown, who backed up Collaros the last two seasons before signing with the Redblacks as a free agent.

It’ll be Brown’s second game against his old team, as Ottawa edged the Bombers, 23-19, in Week 2.

2024-07-04T15:26:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd