Dustin Crum leads amazing comeback as Ottawa Redblacks stun ...

Through way too many painful moments, Ottawa Redblacks fans have been waiting for something to cheer about.

Hope. Promise. Neither has been delivered much, going back to 2018. On Saturday, in a stunning 31-28 comeback victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in overtime, the Redblacks provided a bit of both. An unlikely win? An amazing comeback? Yeah, this ranks up there. Ottawa trailed Winnipeg 18-0 in the second quarter and it was 18-3 at halftime.

Quarterback Dustin Crum, not long ago the team’s fourth-string quarterback and given the starting job this week after a season-ending injury to Jeremiah Masoli, was the maestro for the shocker, an unlikely storybook finish, with a happy ending. The Redblacks, who had won just two of 26 home games going way back, have now won two straight at TD Place, with a 2-3 record going into their next game in Calgary.

Crum scored a touchdown (followed by a two-point convert toss to Nate Behar) on the final play of regulation time. Then, he scored the winning touchdown in overtime, running 29 yards. And, he did it with his dad Scott and grandfather Joe Dossa watching it live.

“This is definitely up there for me,” said Crum. “I was feeling excitement. Not only for me, but for the fans, the community and for my teammates. These guys work their butts off and for us to be able to get a bit of a reward is why we do what we do.”

A week ago, Crum was stopped at the two-yard line as the Redblacks tried to tie their game against Hamilton.

“When I got to the five-yard line, I was almost feeling that moment again,” said Crum. “But I was like, ‘I’m not going sideways. I’m going to go right through him.’ I wasn’t going to let it happen again. It was a whatever-it-takes mindset.”

The Redblacks looked they were out of it. Crum was sacked four times in the first half and six in total. Ottawa didn’t get a first down until there were four minutes left in the first half and the cheer that followed dripped with sarcasm. The second first down followed two plays later. Two more plays and a third. Momentum? A bit. A 47-yard Lewis Ward field goal made it 18-3 with 2:31 left.

“That first half, it felt like we were playing a championship football team,” said Crum. “They do some really good things, they have some really good players. They made things hard on us. We had to clean that up and we got a little momentum going. They don’t make it easy on you. The O-line did a great job in the second half, giving me a chance to get the ball off.”

As the game went along, Crum got his legs and arm going. He ran for 103 yards and he passed for 261.

“I told the guys (when we were down by 15), that’s two scores in the CFL,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce, whose team trailed by 16 with less than three minutes left. “With that little amount of time left, NFL games are over a lot of times. One of the things I love about the Canadian game is the game’s never over until the final whistle. I hope the fans enjoyed it. I know the players loved it and I loved it.”

Dyce gave credit to his players for rising up and not giving up and doing what they did.

“Dusty came through,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of guys starting their first game in this situation, against a fantastic Winnipeg team, challenged in the first half and coming out and playing the second half he did. But this is a testament to everybody. If the special teams had let up, it wouldn’t have happened. If the defence had let up, it wouldn’t have happened.”

One of the keys: Ottawa’s ability to limit the Blue Bombers’ punishing running game. The Bombers had just 26 yards on the ground. Yep, 26.

Winnipeg’s Jamieson Sheahan line-drived a 73-yard punt single to open the scoring, then got a 52-yard field goal by Sergio Castillo. Winnipeg made it 11-0 as quarterback Dakota Prukop pushed into the end zone for a touchdown.

The Bombers made it 18-0 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Zach Collaros found Nic Demski open on a slant and he ran it in for a 15-yard touchdown.

With a minute and a half left in the half, Crum had Savon Scarver open down the sideline, dropping a pass right into his hands. But the receiver couldn’t hang on to what would have been a long touchdown pass.

A 42-yard Ward field goal made it 18-6. An eight-yard touchdown pass to Drew Wolitarsky and the convert made it 25-6.

A short field goal by Ward made it 25-9 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Crum pulled a handoff to Devonte Williams and, instead, heaved it downfield to Justin Hardy for a 53-yard gain. A third-and-two gamble paid off. But a third-and-goal gamble from the seven-yard line was stopped.

The Redblacks caught a break when Brady Oliveira had the ball stripped by Adam Auclair after a 43-yard gain. It was recovered by Frankie Griffin at the Winnipeg 41. The Redblacks pushed the ball deep, but another third-down gamble failed.

A tipped pass was snagged by Brandin Dandridge, who ran in 25 yards for a touchdown. It was a huge play. A successful two-point convert pass to Behar made it 25-17.

The Redblacks got the ball back on their 16-yard line with 57 seconds left. Crum ran 12 yards for a touchdown, with Behar catching the two-point convert.

Castillo booted a 48-yard field goal to take a 28-25 lead in overtime. Then, it was Crum time.

“I got an open field. I had 37, (Brandon) Alexander in front of me,” said Crum. “It’s always been my thing as a quarterback – if you’re in an open field, there’s no reason to slide. I was able to make him miss and make it to the end zone. (The Bombers) got upfield, the o-line did a good job of running them by, which opened it up for me. Whenever I have that much green grass in front of me, I’m always going to try and use my feet. ”

Attendance was 18,144.