The real True Grit

Forget about Rooster Cogburn. Buck Pierce is the real True Grit.

There's no other way to define what the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback did on Sunday, leading his team to a stunning 25-23 victory over the Montreal Alouettes at Molson Stadium.

Even with well-publicized bruised ribs and having thrown five interceptions in a game seven days before, Pierce was determined to play against the Als. Logically, it didn't make any sense. The often-injured quarterback should have taken a pass on the game to let his body heal. In fact, Bombers' head coach Paul LaPolice should have demanded it because of the risk of losing his most valuable player.

But Pierce wasn't going to be denied. He plays the game unlike any other quarterback currently playing in the CFL. He is willing to sacrifice his body to make a play, whether that means standing an extra second in the pocket or lowering his head to gain an extra yard rather than hook-sliding.

If the Als beat the Bombers, they would have tied Winnipeg for first in the East. The Als rarely lose at home. Additionally, the Bombers have had a hard time winning in Montreal in recent years.

So there were reasons why Pierce simply had to play, and to hell with the consequences.

On the Bombers' opening series, which started from their own two-yard line, Pierce led his team to a touchdown. A pass play to Cory Watson turned into a 92-yard gain after various Als simply couldn't tackle the determined receiver. Then Pierce and receiver Greg Carr hooked up on a nine-yard touchdown play.

The Bombers made it 14-0 before the first quarter had even ended. Pierce had a total of 153 passing yards on only two completions. He finished the game with 20 completions in 29 attempts for 312 yards and had a quarterback rating of 113. He threw two touchdowns and had interception, albeit on a tipped ball. In his previous game, Pierce had 287 passing yards on 21 completions in 33 attempts. But he had a QB rating of only 28.2 factoring in his five picks.

But this was a different day and a totally different result.

Meanwhile, Als' quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who had completed 31 of 45 passes the week before for 421 yards and had four touchdown passes, never got into a rhythm. He finished with 22 completions in 39 attempts for 258 yards and had two touchdowns and a QB rating of 93.8. That's decent for some quarterbacks, but hardly for Calvillo. He ran the ball four times for 24 yards, sacrificing his body but nothing compared to Pierce.

The Als hit Pierce several times, and each time you simply had to wince. Even with a flak jacket to protect his ribs, Pierce was exposed to several shots. On one play, Als' defensive lineman Moton Hopkins hit Pierce after he released the ball and was slapped with a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer. But it was Hopkins who ended up injured on the play. On another play, Pierce was sacked and one of his teammates landed on him. Pierce appeared to be hurt, but didn't miss a play.

Nothing could keep Pierce on the sidelines aside from short-yardage, third-down situations in which backup Alex Brink took his place.

The victory wasn't entirely about Pierce. The defence made some key stops, thwarting the Als on an attempted two-point convert late in the game and running Montreal out of downs with 1:10 to go. The Bombers minimized the production of receiver Jamel Richardson. He came into the game leading the league in receiving yards and catches by a wide margin, but he didn't catch a pass until the fourth quarter. He finished with only four catches for 65 yards. He had more than 500 receiving yards in his last four games.

Based on his production, Richardson's name had been mentioned in talk about the Most Outstanding Player in the CFL. Pierce doesn't have the glaring numbers at this point to merit any kind of talk for the award. He is seventh overall among starting quarterbacks with 2,612 passing yards. To put that into perspective, the player immediately beneath him is Cleo Lemon, who was discarded by Toronto two games ago.

But for at least one game - the most important one of this season for the Bombers, who were last in the league a year ago with a record of 4-14 but are now the league's best at 8-3 - Pierce truly was the Most Outstanding Player.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.