The Montreal Alouettes delivered a commanding performance in the Eastern Semi-Final, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 38-24 and advancing to the Eastern Final. Led by quarterback Davis Alexander in his playoff debut, and a dominant ground game from running back Stevie Scott III.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did show grit in this contest, refusing to go quietly, climbing back into the game after trailing 6-25 at the half to take the lead early in the second half after scoring 3 touchdowns and capitalizing on 2 turnovers.
After reviewing the film, here are the players who stood out on both sides, followed by some thoughts on the game’s pivotal moments and broader implications.
Jonathan of the Game: RB Stevie Scott III
Scott was basically perfect in this game as he had the most rushing yards in a CFL postseason game since 2021, as he gave Winnipeg a taste of their own medicine, pounding the rock 18 times for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. By my count, he had 7 missed tackles forced. He also caught all 3 targets for 29 yards, including a casual 1-handed grab on an 18-yard pickup.
His first carry set the tone: facing contact near the line of scrimmage and getting tackled by two defenders just 1 yard in, he fought forward for a 5-yard gain. Overall, his 18 carries averaged 7.38 yards per carry, marking the most rushing yards in a CFL postseason game since Andrew Harris’ 136-yard performance in the 2021 West Final for Winnipeg. Since the 2020 COVID-lost season, there have now been 8 instances of a running back surpassing 100 rushing yards in a postseason game.
No disrespect to Davis Alexander, but Stevie Scott had the best game for his position, earning him the coveted title of Jonathan of the Game.
Stand Out Performances Among Alouettes
QB Davis Alexander
Alexander had a stellar game, completing 24 of 34 passes for 384 yards and a touchdown, with 1 interception. There were some areas for improvement, like the interception on a late throw while rolling right that was turnover-worthy. There were occasional inaccurate passes under pressure as well. But there were a lot of big passes downfield, and nearly 400 yards in your first playoff game is a baller performance.
WR Charleston Rambo – Rambo Drew First Blood
Rambo ignited the offense early with a great catch on a deep throw for 41 yards on the fourth play of the game. He caught 5 of 6 targets for 95 yards, including a 30-yard play where he forced 2 missed tackles. Austin Mack was also close to the century mark, catching 3 passes for 98 yards, with the longest reception of the day at 50 yards.
WR – Tyson Philpot
Despite a fumble, Philpot had a strong outing, catching 10 of 11 targets for 135 yards and a touchdown. He had the most catches and yards this past weekend in the CFL. Interestingly, the player with the 2nd most yards this past weekend was his twin brother, Jalen Philpot, who caught 7 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
RG Donny Ventrelli
Ventrelli allowed only one pressure by my count (to Willie Jefferson). It’s often said that an offensive lineman had a good game if you don’t notice them, but Ventrelli stood out positively. He climbed downfield, moving bodies on a 10-yard run that set up a 0-yard touchdown the following play in the first quarter, and again on a 17-yard run in the second quarter.
LT Nick Callender
Callender faced a tough matchup against Willie Jefferson, who often elevates in big moments. He allowed only 2 pressures by my count and was excellent in run blocking. He did get beat on an additional sack by Willie Jefferson, but the play was negated by a facemask.
RT Tiger Shanks
The rookie tackle bounced back strongly after struggling against Winnipeg the previous week. His form has impressed me in recent games. He allowed 2 pressures by my count—none of them clean beats. He was also moving people in run blocking.
DT Kori Roberson Jr. – Strong First CFL Start
Roberson stepped up in his first pro start after Shawn Oakman’s suspension. Officially credited with 3 tackles, he contributed to 3 shared run stops and made a game-changing play in the fourth quarter: getting past Winnipeg’s center to strip Brady Oliveira, with the fumble recovered by Marc-Antoine Dequoy at Winnipeg’s 27-yard line. Four plays later, Montreal scored to make it a two-score game.
DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund
Adeyemi-Berglund had a sack-fumble in the second quarter, then forced another fumble by punching the ball from Zach Collaros’ hands on the next drive, recovering it himself. He added 3 pressures past blockers by my count.
LB Tyrice Beverette
Beverette delivered another complete performance with a team-leading 4 tackles, including a sack where he beat an offensive lineman to reach Collaros. He had 2 shared run stops and 2 solo stops against the pass. In coverage, 3 targets his way resulted in 2 completions for 10 yards.
CB Kabion Ento
Ento continued his solid play, allowing few yards. Three targets (only 2 downfield) his way yielded 27 total yards, including a screen he shut down for just 2 yards by getting past a blocker. He finished with 3 tackles.
Stand Out Performances Among Blue Bombers
QB Zach Collaros
In a bit of a “prove-it” game amid heavy criticism this season, Collaros had 2 turnover-worthy throws, including an interception on his final attempt (picked by Darnell Sankey). Still, he made many strong throws against a top pass defense, completing 19 of 26 passes for 306 yards, his most in a CFL postseason game as a Blue Bomber.
WR Keric Wheatfall
Wheatfall was Winnipeg’s most productive receiver, catching 5 of his 6 passes for 104 yards, with the biggest play for him coming in the 4th quarter on a 53-yard pass.
WR Ontaria Wilson
Wilson caught 3 passes for 66 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown with a missed tackle forced early in the 2nd half.
LG Gabe Wallace
Wallace allowed only 1 pressure by my count, on a comical play where Collaros threw illegally to him for a 3-yard gain. Montreal declined the penalty due to down and distance, so it hit the stat sheet.
HB Evan Holm
Holm had 5 tackles and allowed no downfield completions or targets. He covered 2 screens, resulting in 1 completion for 5 yards.
LB Tony Jones
Joens had 5 tackles, including a shared pass stop and shared run stop. He was a brighter spot on a darker defensive day for Winnipeg, getting 2 pressures past a blocker on blitzes and generating 5 more pressures in scenarios in which he was unblocked. In coverage 2, downfield targets came his way, resulting in 14 yards plus a screen pass for 3 yards.
K Sergio Castillo
Castillo went 4 for 4 on field goals, the longest being from 44, and made all 3 extra points.
P Jamieson Sheahan
Sheahan punted 5 times, averaging 48.4 yards per punt, placing them in smart locations that limited the return game to see his punts net an average of 43.6 yards after the return.
A Few Thoughts on the Game
Costly Turnovers by Both Teams
Collaros struggled with ball security, fumbling twice—one recovered by Montreal at their 43, costing a potential scoring drive (it would have been 3rd-and-2 at Montreal’s 42, possibly a 50-yard field goal attempt).
Montreal had their own turnover flurry that let Winnipeg back in: After Winnipeg’s opening second-half score, Alexander threw an interception rolling right, leading to a Bombers TD. Then, Philpot fumbled on Montreal’s next play, with Holm recovering and returning it to set up another TD from Montreal’s 26.
Oliveira’s uncharacteristic fumble came at a bad time—trailing 30-32, Roberson stripped him at Montreal’s 24, giving Montreal the ball at Winnipeg’s 27 and setting up a game-sealing TD.
Bombers 2 and out first 2 drives put them in a massive hole
Winnipeg chased from the start after going 2-and-out on their first two possessions, trailing 17-0 before their third drive. This led to an imbalanced offense: Collaros threw 26 times versus Oliveira’s 8 rushes.
Where’s the Bomber Run Game?
This was the lowest rushing yards by Winnipeg’s starting RB in a postseason game during their 10-win streak since 2016. Offensive coordinator criticism for underutilizing Oliveira persisted—8 carries for 38 yards echoed the Grey Cup loss (11 carries for 84 yards).
In hindsight, starting with a hard-nosed run might have set the tone. Winnipeg never gave Oliveira back-to-back carries. The only postseason game since 2019 without a Bomber over 80 rushing yards was the 2019 Western Final (Harris: 10 for 41). With two straight playoff losses underutilizing Oliveira, it feels like the Bombers have lost their identity—the dynasty era may be over.
Controversial Touchdown
Scott’s fourth-quarter rushing TD was a bit controversial. On 2nd-and-4, he gained 4 yards, was stopped and pushed back 2 yards, then linemen Justin Lawrence and Donny Ventrelli pushed him 5 yards forward into the end zone. If blown dead, it might have been 3rd-and-inches at the 3. Montreal likely converts and scores anyway. But Winnipeg fans were understandably frustrated at not getting a chance for an unlikely stop.
Great, kid! Don’t Get Cocky
Alexander extended his CFL starter record to 12-0 with a near-400-yard game—plenty to celebrate. But maintaining humility is important. Any team can win on any day. His periodic trash-talking of Winnipeg’s bench and waving goodbye after kneeling on the 2nd last play of the game could paint a bigger target. As QB and leader, he must keep the team grounded. Arrogance often leads to downfall.
Winnipeg Outschemed in a Postseason Loss, Again
Montreal allowed the third most yards per run in the regular season at 5.4, but fewest total yards allowed per game at 338.4. This was in large part due to the fact that they had the fewest passing yards allowed per game at 256.9. Montreal has had a great pass defense for years. Winnipeg was predictable pre-snap: Runs often had receivers bunched middle, no wide right receiver on one run play, and waggling a little too obviously toward the trenches (except some RPOs). Pass plays had waggling away from the trenches in a very different presnap look. It felt vanilla.
Montreal mixed looks and schemes for success in pass and run. Defensively, they brought a game plan catered to their opponent, using 4-man fronts to stop the run with a focus against pass vulnerability. Montreal often used a lot of 3-man fronts in the season, but showed a great capacity to adjust to their opponent in this game.
Winnipeg stuck to 3-man fronts nearly every play, even as Alexander torched them (14/19, 246 yards, TD at halftime). No adjustments for more pressure or run stops. Against a young QB, my philosophy is you need to make him uncomfortable by prioritizing pressure and eliminating run support, and in this aspect, Winnipeg failed.
The failure to adapt to your opponent in this loss by Winnipeg echoes my thoughts on their game plan in last year’s Grey Cup: Toronto Brought a Game Plan to Beat Winnipeg in the Grey Cup, Winnipeg Brought a Game Plan to Beat Themselves
Photo below of Winnipeg’s predictable presnap look on Oliveira’s third carry, which went for 0 yards.
