2018 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season

The 2018 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season was the 61st season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 86th season overall. This was the fifth season under head coach Mike O'Shea and the fifth full season under general manager Kyle Walters. Following a week 20 win over the Calgary Stampeders, the Blue Bombers qualified for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, rebounding from a 5–7 record to start the season.^[1] The Blue Bombers defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division Semi-Final to start the postseason and appeared in their first Division Final since 2011, playing against the Stampeders in the 2018 edition. The team lost against the Stampeders 22–14, extending the franchise's Grey Cup drought for a 28th year.

2018 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season
General manager	Kyle Walters
Head coach	Mike O'Shea
Home stadium	Investors Group Field
Results
Record	10–8
Division place	3rd, West
Playoffs	Lost West Final
Team MOP	Adam Bighill
Team MOC	Andrew Harris
Team MOR	Marcus Sayles
Uniform
← 2017 Blue Bombers seasons 2019 →

Offseason

CFL draft

The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018.^[2] The Blue Bombers had seven selections in the eight-round draft after trading their first and second round selections to the BC Lions for their second round pick in the 2018 draft and their first round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft.^[3] The Bombers also lost a third-round pick after taking Drew Wolitarsky in the 2017 Supplemental Draft but gained Toronto's after dealing Drew Willy to the Argonauts in 2016.^[4][5]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
2	12	Rashaun Simonise	WR	Calgary
3	26	Daniel Petermann	WR	McMaster
4	33	Arnaud Gendron-Dumouchel	OL	Montreal
5	41	Tyrone Pierre	WR	Laval
6	49	Matthew Ouellet De Carlo	OL	Bishop's
7	58	Jacob Firlotte	DB	Queen's
8	67	Ben Koczwara	OL	Waterloo

Preseason

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		TV	Venue	Attendance	Summary
				Score	Record
A	Bye
B	Fri, June 1	7:30 p.m. CDT	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	W 33–13	1–0	None	Investors Group Field	23,034	Recap
C	Fri, June 8	9:30 p.m. CDT	at BC Lions	L 21–34	1–1	TSN	BC Place	15,237	Recap

^[6]

Regular season

Standings

West Division view talk edit
Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	PF	PA	Div	Stk
Calgary Stampeders	18	13	5	0	26	522	363	5–5	W1	Details
Saskatchewan Roughriders	18	12	6	0	24	450	444	7–3	W2	Details
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	18	10	8	0	20	550	419	4–6	L1	Details
BC Lions	18	9	9	0	18	423	473	4–6	L2	Details
Edmonton Eskimos	18	9	9	0	18	482	471	5–5	W1	Details

Schedule

Week	Game	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		TV	Venue	Attendance	Summary
					Score	Record
1	1	Thurs, June 14	7:30 p.m. CDT	Edmonton Eskimos	L 30–33	0–1	TSN/RDS2/ESPN2	Investors Group Field	25,458	Recap
2	2	Fri, June 22	6:00 p.m. CDT	@ Montreal Alouettes	W 56–10	1–1	TSN/RDS/ESPN2	Molson Stadium	19,498	Recap
3	3	Fri, June 29	6:00 p.m. CDT	@ Hamilton Tiger-Cats	L 17–31	1–2	TSN/RDS/ESPN2	Tim Hortons Field	23,721	Recap
4	4	Sat, July 7	7:30 p.m. CDT	BC Lions	W 41–19	2–2	TSN	Investors Group Field	26,567	Recap
5	5	Sat, July 14	9:00 p.m. CDT	@ BC Lions	L 17–20	2–3	TSN	BC Place	19,541	Recap
6	6	Sat, July 21	3:00 p.m. CDT	@ Toronto Argonauts	W 38–20	3–3	TSN	BMO Field	10,844	Recap
7	7	Fri, July 27	7:30 p.m. CDT	Toronto Argonauts	W 40–14	4–3	TSN/RDS/ESPN2	Investors Group Field	27,116	Recap
8	Bye
9	8	Fri, Aug 10	7:30 p.m. CDT	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 29–23	5–3	TSN/RDS	Investors Group Field	26,454	Recap
10	9	Fri, Aug 17	7:30 p.m. CDT	Ottawa Redblacks	L 21–44	5–4	TSN/RDS	Investors Group Field	27,602	Recap
11	10	Sat, Aug 25	2:30 p.m. CDT	@ Calgary Stampeders	L 26–39	5–5	TSN	McMahon Stadium	27,800	Recap
12	11	Sun, Sept 2	2:00 p.m. CDT	@ Saskatchewan Roughriders	L 23–31	5–6	TSN	Mosaic Stadium	33,350	Recap
13	12	Sat, Sept 8	3:00 p.m. CDT	Saskatchewan Roughriders	L 27–32	5–7	TSN	Investors Group Field	33,134	Recap
14	Bye
15	13	Fri, Sept 21	7:30 p.m. CDT	Montreal Alouettes	W 31–14	6–7	TSN/RDS	Investors Group Field	24,349	Recap
16	14	Sat, Sept 29	6:00 p.m. CDT	@ Edmonton Eskimos	W 30–3	7–7	TSN/RDS2	Commonwealth Stadium	28,788	Recap
17	15	Fri, Oct 5	6:30 p.m. CDT	@ Ottawa Redblacks	W 40–32 (OT)	8–7	TSN	TD Place Stadium	21,027	Recap
18	16	Sat, Oct 13	1:00 p.m. CDT	Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 31–0	9–7	TSN	Investors Group Field	26,070	Recap
19	Bye
20	17	Fri, Oct 26	7:30 p.m. CDT	Calgary Stampeders	W 29–21	10–7	TSN	Investors Group Field	25,173	Recap
21	18	Sat, Nov 3	3:00 p.m. CDT	@ Edmonton Eskimos	L 24–33	10–8	TSN	Commonwealth Stadium	27,749	Recap

^[6]

Post-season

Schedule

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win against Saskatchewan in the 2018 West Division Semi Final was the first playoff win for the Blue Bombers franchise since their 19-3 victory against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2011 East Division Final. Their West Final game against the Calgary Stampeders team marked the first time since the 2001 Grey Cup Game that both the Blue Bombers and Stampeders met in playoff contention (the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were then representing the CFL's East Division when there were only eight teams in the Canadian Football League).

Game	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		TV	Venue	Attendance	Summary
				Score	Record
West Semi-Final	Sun, Nov 11	3:30 p.m. CST	@ Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 23–18	1–0	TSN/RDS/ESPN2	Mosaic Stadium	30,609	Recap
West Final	Sun, Nov 18	3:30 p.m. CST	@ Calgary Stampeders	L 14–22	1–1	TSN/RDS/ESPNews	McMahon Stadium	29,268	Recap

^[6]

Team

Roster

Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster
Quarterbacks 18 Bryan Bennett 15 Matt Nichols 17 Chris Streveler Running backs 33 Andrew Harris RB 27 Kienan LaFrance Fullbacks 24 Mike Miller FB 32 John Rush Receivers  1 Darvin Adams WR 10 Nic Demski SB  7 Weston Dressler SB 84 Ryan Lankford SB 12 Charles Nelson 81 Daniel Petermann 13 Rashaun Simonise 82 Drew Wolitarsky WR	Offensive linemen 66 Stanley Bryant LT 69 Sukh Chungh RG 59 Michael Couture 61 Matthias Goossen C 51 Jermarcus Hardrick RT 53 Patrick Neufeld LG Defensive linemen 96 Brandin Bryant NT 94 Jackson Jeffcoat 92 Drake Nevis DT 54 Tristan Okpalaugo DE 93 Craig Roh DE 95 Jake Thomas	Linebackers  4 Adam Bighill MLB 34 Jesse Briggs 23 Anthony Gaitor SLB 44 Shayne Gauthier 22 Chandler Fenner 52 Thomas Miles 39 Frédéric Plesius 38 Ian Wild WLB 19 Kyrie Wilson Defensive backs 37 Brandon Alexander HB 41 Abu Conteh  3 Kevin Fogg CB/KR/PR 29 Jeff Hecht 16 Taylor Loffler FS 21 Brendan Morgan 36 Marcus Sayles HB  8 Chris Randle CB Special teams  9 Justin Medlock P/K 46 Chad Rempel LS		1-Game Injured List 68 Geoff Gray OL 35 Chris Humes DB 45 Jovan Santos-Knox LB 62 Cody Speller OL  2 Kenbrell Thompkins WR  6 Corey Washington WR 6-Game Injured List 43 Trent Corney DL 57 Manase Foketi OL  0 Derek Jones DB 31 Maurice Leggett DB 40 Frank Renaud LB Practice Roster 25 Johnny Augustine RB 90 Patrick Choudja DL 26 Tyneil Cooper DB 42 Jacob Firlotte DB 20 Timothy Flanders RB 89 Kenny Lawler WR 64 Qadr Spooner OL 56 Gerald Rivers DL Italics indicate International players Roster updated 2018-11-17 Depth Chart • Transactions 46 Roster, 6 one-game injured, 5 six-game injured, 8 practice → More rosters

Coaching staff

Winnipeg Blue Bombers Staff
	Front office Owner – Community owned (non-profit corporation owned by members) Chairperson of the board of governors – Brock Bulbuck President/CEO – Wade Miller General manager of football operations – Kyle Walters Assistant General Manager / Director of U.S. Scouting – Danny McManus Assistant general manager / director of player personnel – Ted Goveia National scout – Craig Smith Team services coordinator – Matt Gulakow Head equipment manager – Brad Fotty Assistant equipment manager – Kevin Todd Assistant equipment manager – Jared Cronk Video coordinator – Kent Anderson Assistant video coordinator – Colin Thurston			Head coaches Head coach – Mike O'Shea Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/receivers – Paul LaPolice Quarterbacks – Buck Pierce Running backs – Kevin Bourgoin Offensive line – Marty Costello Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Richie Hall Defensive Line & Linebackers – Glen Young Defensive backs – Jordan Younger Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Paul Boudreau → Coaching Staff → More CFL staffs