The Canadian Football League has been known for a lot of wacky endings over the years, and the ending to Sunday night’s CFL game adds to that list. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers pulled off a 18-16 home victory there against the Calgary Stampeders, but for a moment, it looked like they were going to lose 16-15 when Marc Liegghio’s 35-yard field goal attempt inside the final minute went wide (and not through the end zone for a game-tying rouge, either).
However, the whistle had gone. The Bombers didn’t get the play off in time, so they were charged with a time-count violation (roughly equivalent to a NFL delay-of-game, and normally five yards, but it escalates in the final three minutes of a half to either loss of down or 10 yards if on third down). And because the calling of the penalty meant the play didn’t happen, the Stampeders couldn’t decline it and take Liegghio’s miss. So Liegghio got to try again, from 45 yards this time, and he made that one. Here’s the miss:
And the make:
After a time-clock violation cancelled out what would have been a missed field goal, Marc Liegghio splits the upright to give the Bombers the lead late! @Wpg_BlueBombers pic.twitter.com/QwCeaH8jZa
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 30, 2021
After that, the Stampeders almost managed to pull off a win of their own, but a 52-yard attempt from Rene Paredes fell wide and short:
Rene Parades can't get it through, Winnipeg wins a game that came right down to the wire! pic.twitter.com/mMxowQU91X
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 30, 2021
This was a game with some remarkable breaks both ways, and the Blue Bombers were on the receiving end of one earlier in the game. At first, it looked like Kenny Lawler had made a great catch, got up untouched when defenders collided, and raced for a touchdown. However, upon command center review (mandatory for scoring plays), one of the defenders was deemed to have touched him while he was down, and he was ruled down by contact. Here’s that pre-ruling play:
Ladies and gentlemen, Kenny Lawler! 😱 pic.twitter.com/bg6AOyVbUf
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 30, 2021
Still, the final minute penalty here working out in Winnipeg’s favo(u)r was pretty remarkable. Granted, we don’t know that Liegghio certainly would have missed if the whistle hadn’t blown; whistles affect players’ responses, and that’s why a pre-snap whistle like that is ruled to kill the play dead (and take out the option of declining the penalty). But Liegghio certainly didn’t hit that first attempt well for one reason or another (the Bombers’ scramble to get the play off was probably also a factor), and he hit the second one much better from 10 yards further out. And that helped Winnipeg improve to 3-1 on the season, and saw Calgary fall to 1-3.
[TSN on Twitter; screengrab via Clippit]
