Brown looks for another win under centre as Bombers prepare to host Stampeders

WINNIPEG — Dru Brown hopes to keep the good times rolling.

Since being traded from the Ottawa Redblacks on June 23, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback has stepped in for injured starter Zach Collaros and delivered back-to-back victories.

With Collaros on the six-game injured list, Brown will try to ride the momentum as the Bombers (4-2) host the Calgary Stampeders (2-4) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night.

“From the time I’ve been here, I’ve tried to communicate and work with those guys pretty relentlessly,” Brown said following practice Thursday. “I’m pretty happy with where we’re at and just look forward to building.”

Brown, a former Winnipeg backup and two-year starter in Ottawa, kicked off his return with a 30-21 win over the Toronto Argonauts. Despite limited practice time, he threw for 339 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

He followed that up by erasing a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to edge Ottawa 36-34 in overtime. Brown finished with 317 passing yards — including 181 in the final 16 minutes — and two touchdowns.

Brown is a modest 14-14-1 as a starter, but has never lost to Calgary, owning a perfect 4-0 record.

“I try not to think about how successful or how non-successful I’ve been. I just treat it like a clean slate,” Brown said. “I try to look at it from a practical standpoint: what are they doing now, and how do we execute this week?”

Winnipeg receiver Nic Demski, who leads the team with 400 yards, credits Brown’s steady demeanour for keeping the offence ticking during their three-game winning streak.

“What you see is what you get with Dru,” Demski said. “It’s always good to have the guy calling the plays and the guy behind centre being calm and cool, and everybody else can kind of follow that lead.”

On the other side, Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. enters Friday’s matchup on a torrid run of his own.

The 33-year-old has thrown 17 touchdowns and zero interception this season, tying Ricky Ray and Darian Durant for the most touchdowns without a pick to start a campaign. Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson holds the record with 20.

Adams has thrown 243 consecutive passes without an interception dating back to last season. He is on pace for 51 passing touchdowns and more than 6,000 yards, which would smash his previous highs of 31 and 4,769.

“He’s not afraid to just gun it in there, so you can never relax as a defender,” said Bombers defensive back Evan Holm, noting Adams’ unique scrambling ability. “He’s thrown some (interceptions), people just haven’t caught them. He’s on a tear, for sure.”

Adams is quick to pass the praise onto his teammates.

“I give my receivers a lot of credit,” said Adams, noting a few times they’ve knocked the ball out of defender’s hands. “Owning the ball is one of our core values, so I try to pride myself on that.”

As good as Adams has been, victories have been hard to come by.

All four of Calgary’s losses this season have been decided by a single score. Last week, they erased a late 18-point deficit against the Montreal Alouettes before falling 38-32 on a last-minute touchdown.

“The best teams find ways to win, even when they’re not playing their best, and they also know how to close and finish out games,” Dickenson said. “We’re not there yet. We’ve got to develop into that team.”

Winnipeg beat Calgary 30-28 on a walk-off field goal in Week 1 and can clinch the season series with a win Friday. Calgary gets a major boost with the return of standout defensive linemen Folarin Orimolade and Jaylon Hutchings, both of whom missed the first meeting between the two division rivals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2026.

Jeff Hamilton, The Canadian Press