3 stats that defined Winnipeg's Week 18 win over Hamilton

Yesterday at 10:47 PM

HAMILTON — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their eighth straight game in Hamilton on Friday night, impressing on both sides of the football. In a battle between two in-form teams, the Bombers walked out of Tim Hortons Field with a comprehensive 31-10 victory, moving closer to sealing a West Division crown with the result.

A lofty rushing total from Brady Oliveira gave the Bombers a big advantage on the ground while Kenny Lawler came up with a few splash plays en route to Winnipeg’s eighth straight win. The Bombers protected the football well, not giving up a turnover, while the defence came up with three takeaways.

Here are CFL.ca's three key stats from the Blue Bombers’ win over the Tiger-Cats in Week 18.

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147 – BRADY OLIVEIRA RUSHING YARDS

The Tiger-Cats had no answer for Winnipeg’s ground game on Friday night, allowing Oliveira to reach a season-high of 147 rushing yards. The star back kept finding ways to gain extra yards so the Bombers kept going back to him, giving him 24 attempts on the night.

Oliveira delivered a four-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter to make it a two-score game and there was no coming back from there for the Ticats.

+3 – WINNIPEG’S TURNOVER DIFFERENCE

The Bombers were able to protect the football, not giving up a single turnover, while forcing three takeaways from the Tiger-Cats.

Thanks to Oliveira’s stellar game on the ground, Zach Collaros only had to attempt 19 passes, ensuring that the Winnipeg pivot was never forced to air it out. The Bombers’ defence meanwhile kept Mitchell in check for the majority of the game, with Nichols picking off Hamilton’s quarterback in the second quarter, and Tyrell Ford stopping the very late comeback effort with an interception of his own in the fourth.

2 – TERRY WILSON JR. TOUCHDOWNS

Winnipeg called on the short-yardage skills of quarterback Terry Wilson Jr. on several occasions on Friday night and he did not disappoint.

Wilson ran in for two one-yard scores with the Bombers nabbing touchdowns on three of their four red zone visits. Outside of his touchdowns, Wilson picked up four first downs for his team, converting on second down three times, and once on third down in the fourth quarter.