We are a few days removed from the devastating third consecutive Winnipeg Blue Bombers Grey Cup loss. There are lessons for the Bombers to learn between now and next season, but the Winnipeg Jets can stand to learn a few things from this wild rollercoaster the Bombers have been on since 2019.

This has been a problem for both the Bombers and the Jets. They can regularly beat the teams in their league that are bad, or slightly above average, but the top teams in their leagues have exposed the Winnipeg teams for the frauds they are.

It’s great that the Bombers can beat up on 6 of the other 8 teams in the CFL. It’s even cooler that the Jets can regularly walk away with a win over most teams in the NHL during the regular season. But if you can’t beat the top teams on a regular basis, and you look like a bunch of pee-wees whenever you play them.

The Bombers have been terrorizing most of the CFL for the last 5 seasons. But since 2022 the Bombers have been terrorized by the Toronto Argonauts, having just two victories over Toronto since then.  It doesn’t matter what their accolades are during the regular season you are still falling short of being the undeniable best.

The moment a top-ten team in the NHL steps up against the Jets, it’s a pointless game to watch. How many times have we seen the Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, or the Toronto Maple Leafs have a need to win, the Jets get rolled over. I like this team, but four years of the same core is hard to watch when the Jets are still running into similar walls year after year.

The Jets historic start is amazing but we are still running into those patterns that we have seen in the past. They show up early in a game against Florida Panthers but then fall off the rails and lose 5-0. Watching the Panthers game on Nov. 16 felt reminiscent of the games against the Colorado Avalanche. That really spooks me and should freak out the fan base a little.

You can get mad at me for being negative after the Jets beat the Panthers at home on the 19th, but we do need to be realistic, could the Jets take the Cats out in a seven game series and if given another chance could the Bomber be the Argos? I’m going to say probably not. You can flex on the nerds all you want but until you can beat the big dogs its not worth your time. Changes might need to be made.

Having a star quarterback and a GOAT goaltender sure makes everyone look better on your team. It allows for mistakes to happen without too much to worry about. Guys can play more loose, and it translates into confidence, which turns into wins.

Zach Collaros had a “down” year—he only threw 17 touchdowns this season and had a 70% completion rate. He also cut his finger wide open in the Grey Cup game. Although the Bombers were already on the slide at that point, they were exposed for not believing in their third-string backup. But the guy hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in three straight Grey Cup games.

Connor Hellebuyck was a Vezina winner last year with a .921 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. But the moment he was overwhelmed in the postseason, he was allowing five or more goals against.

What happens if an injury occurs in week 18 against the Als and he can’t get healthy before the first playoff game against the Riders? What happens to the Jets if Hellebuyck gets hurt in game 72 and is out for the first round of the playoffs?

All that good work you have built up is gone. What’s the solution when your cornerstone is injured or having an off night when it matters? The Bombers and Jets can both get away without their secondary stars, but the moment they’re without their Hellebuyck or Collaros, you’re probably toast.

I know it’s tough to get elite players to Winnipeg on a good day, but the Jets need a guy who can force a win as a forward at any time. The Bombers just need to find a third starting QB for years like this one.

It felt like, over the weekend, both Winnipeg teams made uncharacteristic small bad plays that led to goals and touchdowns against.

The Bombers turned the ball over 5 times in the Grey Cup game. In the two games that took place in Florida this past weekend, the Jets turned over the puck 23 times against the Tampa Bay Lightning and 13 times against the Florida Panthers. Those giveaways led to momentum swings and goals scored against.

I get that you can’t always be perfect, but you can’t give teams those inches. Otherwise, we’re watching balls get run down the field and pucks going the other way.

It’s ok to make the shorter play to let things materialize. It would have been obvious to keep running Brady Oliveria or make 5-yard passes but it would have given the Bombers a chance to take inches and maybe yards from Toronto but instead we got to watch long passes that were short and extinguished the chance for the Grey Cup.

Same thing with the Jets over the weekend I was just praying for a short pass that could connect and we just saw the same long passes that sometimes don’t work. Sometimes you gotta change your game plan when the first one isn’t working or your top player is injured and has new equipment on.

These Winnipeg teams need to be mindful that even when they think they are great, other teams can make them look like the biggest fools and make them pay. Respect all opponents. As James Dalton in Roadhouse said best, “Expect the unexpected.” I think both teams have failed to do that when it matters most.