Winnipeg Blue Bombers celebrate with Julian Feoli-Gudino (83) after he runs the ball in for the touchdown against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during second half CFL action in Winnipeg Saturday, September 12, 2015.John Woods/The Canadian Press
Matt Nichols said earlier this week he hadn't had this much fun on the football field in quite some time.
And while a first-half nightmare probably had him rethinking those thoughts briefly on Saturday, the sentiment certainly held true by the time the final whistle blew as his Winnipeg Blue Bombers were victorious 22-7 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
"Tonight, I definitely had the most fun I had since probably college for me," said Nichols, who was 21-for-30 for 283 yards with a major, an interception and two fumbles while improving to 6-2 in starts in 2015.
"To get back to that is just awesome. Sometimes in the business you can start having it feel like a job. Right now, it feels like you're just out playing with the boys."
Nichols, who was acquired two weeks ago from Edmonton, said one of the keys was the belief he felt coming from his teammates in Winnipeg.
"I just really felt, as a quarterback, you have to be in that position where everyone believes in you and trust you and I felt I have that here," said Nichols. "At times that was lost on me in Edmonton."
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bombers, who improved to 4-7.
The Riders dropped to 1-10 after claiming their first victory of the year in last week's Labour Day Classic over the Blue Bombers.
Julian Feoli-Gudino's first touchdown of the season in the third quarter proved the winning score after breaking a 7-7 deadlock.
Khalil Bass' 59-yard interception returned for a touchdown, capped off 22 straight points for the club after the Riders grabbed an early 7-0 in the first frame.
The Bombers trotted out their eighth different quarterback in their eighth straight Banjo Bowl Saturday and it didn't look good from the get-go.
Nichols' night started out on the rough side, evidenced by two fumbles and an interception.
The Bombers turned the ball over three times in the first 15 minutes — five total in the half — while producing just 14 total yards on offence.
"I thought our defence played outstanding, they really gave us a chance to win tonight," Riders receiver Rob Bagg said. "The offence was quite far from being good enough today."
Bagg half-heartedly credited the Bombers defence.
"They did their job, but mostly, we didn't do ours," he said. "Really, most of our problems were because of our own mistakes. It really wasn't what they were doing, it was our lack of our ability to do things properly."
Winnipeg had a glorious chance early on in the first frame after Riders' punter Ray Early netted just four yards on a shank off the outside of his foot.
But with the Bombers on second down in the red zone, defensive end John Chick split the offensive line of Winnipeg's and strip-sacked Nichols, who watched helplessly as Jeff Knox Jr. pounced on the loose ball.
The comedy of errors continued at the end of the Bombers next drive as kicker Lirim Hajrullahu failed to handle the snap and was sacked deep in Winnipeg's end.
The turnover proved costly two plays later as quarterback Brett Smith found receiver Bagg in the back of the end zone for a 6-0 lead. Paul McCallum missed the ensuing convert.
"Those situations happen and you have to take advantage of them," said Riders interim head coach Bob Dyce. "Not to take anything away from Winnipeg, they're a good football team, but if you look at some of the penalties we took and our lack of execution, we're not good enough at this point to win a game when we don't take advantage of all of our opportunities."
Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea said, despite the five turnovers in the first half, there wasn't that feel on the sidelines the team was going to let the game slip away.
"Our defence was playing so well, they weren't going to let it bother them tonight," he said.
Nick Moore led the Bombers in receiving with 103 yards on three receptions before leaving the game with a lower-body injury in the third quarter. He did not return. No update on his status was available after the game.