The Saskatchewan Roughriders are Grey Cup Champions after seizing victory over the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg. Trevor Harris was highly efficient, setting a record for completion percentage in the Grey Cup. Saskatchewan’s defense won the takeaway battle with 3 interceptions and a forced fumble recovered.
Jonathan of the Game: QB Trevor Harris
Trevor Harris was highly efficient as he set a Grey Cup record in completion percentage after completing 23 of his 27 passes for 302 yards. He intelligently read the defense, recognizing blitzing linebackers and safeties as open field to throw at, exploiting Montreal’s creative blitzing tendencies. He did have a turnover-worthy throw that could have been a pick-6.
His patience and understanding of his opponent was the foundation for a stable offense as he earned his place in the history book, setting a CFL completion percentage in the Grey Cup at 85.2%
Honorable Mentions: RB A.J. Ouellette, WR Samuel Emilus, CB Marcus Sayles, RT Jamarcus Hardrick
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A Few Thoughts on the Game
Very Strong Game From Saskatchewan’s Offensive Line, Pass Blocking Unit
Consistent play from all the offensive linemen, keeping pressure infrequent and insignificant for the most part when pressure was allowed. There were times in this game that Montreal brought multiple players to blitz without it translating to added pressure on the quarterback, which is very rare against Montreal.
Missed Interception Opportunity by Kabion Ento
On the eighth play, Ento had a chance for an interception on a short left pass to A.J. Ouellette. He jumped the route in a similar fashion to what we’ve seen from him in the past, which led to him scoring a touchdown, but this time, he did not come away with the pick. The pass breakup ended Saskatchewan’s drive, but had he caught the ball, it likely would have been a touchdown for Montreal to open the scoring and change the course of the game.
Despite some tougher moments for Ento lately, he remains a player that I hold the opinion of that would do well in the NFL if given the opportunity.
To Challenge for PI…
Early in the second quarter, Saskatchewan went for it on 3rd and 2 at the 4. Kabion Ento made the play to break up the pass near the goal line, ending Saskatchewan’s drive, and the game goes to commercial. After the commercial, it’s first and goal for Saskatchewan at the 1-yard line, setting up a rather easy touchdown after Kory Mace’s challenge for defensive pass interference helped change the outcome of the game.
The call caused some controversy as many fans considered it to be a soft call. Ento did have his right arm around the receiver, which could have potentially slowed the receiver down, but it felt less impactful to the outcome of the play. With the receiver still being in the path of the ball, the pass was broken up to Ento’s left arm, reaching across in very tight coverage. Whether or not there was enough contact to constitute clear evidence to overturn the officials’ not calling it PI has been debated by fans.
… or not to Challenge for PI
Earlier, on just the 12th play of the game, Davis Alexander took a deep shot to Charleston Rambo, which fell incomplete. Marcus Sayles extended his left arm to Rambo, and it does appear that the receiver’s path is altered, landing out of bounds on a play that appeared as though he was driven out of bounds. Had Montreal challenged for DPI, I think they would have won and moved the ball roughly 45 yards downfield, extending a drive that ended in a punt 1 play later.
Trevor Harris Exploited Montreal’s Blitzes
Harris read the grass exceptionally well, turning blitzes into opportunities. He threw a 29-yard deep middle to Dohnte Meyers against a safety blitz late in the first quarter, a 24-yard completion to Samuel Emilus after a SAM LB blitz early in the 2nd, and a 13-yard pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker with all LBs blitzing in the 2nd quarter. There were other examples of him putting the ball into the empty space abandoned by the blitzer that helped keep the offense rolling.
Field Goal Opportunity at Halftime
Montreal opted for a long touchdown attempt instead of attempting a 58-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Jose Maltos had made a 58-yarder in Week 8, and in a low-scoring game, those three points could have been crucial. A 58-yard field goal from Maltos feels a lot more likely than a 51-yard touchdown to me.
Costly Shea Patterson Fumble
Patterson’s fumble on a goal-line rush with 3 minutes left in the game, forced by Terrell Campbell and recovered by Marcus Sayles, ended a drive that looked like it was leading to a sure touchdown for Montreal. It eliminated Montreal’s best chance to tie the game, and what made matters even worse was that it was recovered on the goal line, resulting in a touchback that gave the Riders much better field position. It was one of many painful moments for Alouette fans in this game.
Davis Alexander’s Hamstring Aggravation
Alexander visibly aggravated his hamstring on a play on a 4-yard rush with just under a minute left, but stayed in. It was clearly affecting him, and his throwing mechanics were more upper-body reliant as a result. At the time, I thought it would be a good moment for Montreal to put in McLeod Bethel-Thompson as it was clearly making pushing the ball downfield a tough task for Alexander. Alexander did still manage to put a lot of air under his final throw with Montreal lining up 54 yards from the endzone. His last pass travelled 64 yards and actually went slightly over his receivers. I adamantly believed it would not be possible for him to throw that far with what he was playing through, and he proved my belief to be incorrect.
Declining an Offside Penalty?
With 32 seconds left in the game, Montreal got an offensive offsides penalty, blowing the play dead before it began. Saskatchewan opted to decline the penalty, which I have never seen before. This put more clock management pressure on Montreal, as once the ball was spotted again, the clock continued to tick as they lined up from their own 43.
Stand Out Performances Among Roughriders
QB Trevor Harris
(Outlined earlier in the article)
RB A.J. Ouellette
Ouellette would have been another good option for Grey Cup MVP after he rushed 17 times for 83 yards (4.9 average) and a touchdown with 5 missed tackles forced on the way (by my count). He also caught a pass he took for 32 yards.
WR Samuel Emilus
Samuel Emilus was deservedly named most outstanding Canadian after he caught all 10 of his targets for 108 yards with 2 missed tackles forced by my count.
WR Dohnte Meyers
Meyers caught all 4 of his targets for 46 yards and had a missed tackle forced.
RT Jamarcus Hardrick
I attributed only 1 pressure allowed by Hardrick. He was tied for the fewest pressures allowed in the game at 1 and was the lowest among tackles.
C Logan Ferland
Ferland allowed 1 pressure in the game by my count, an impressive feat considering the high standards I have for blockers regarding how I count pressures.
DT Mike Rose
Rose had 1 tackle, which was a solo run stop. He generated pressure on 7 plays by my count, 1 of which were a secondary source of pressure.
DT Micah Johnson
Johnson had 2 tackles, including a tackle for a loss on a screen play. He generated pressure on 3 plays, 1 of which was a secondary source of pressure.
DE Habakkuk Baldonado
Baldonado gave Montreal some trouble as he generated pressure on 9 plays (1 of which was a secondary source of pressure) with 1 being a QB hit. He had 2 tackles, including a shared run stop.
LB Jameer Thurman
Thurman led the game in tackles with 9. He had a solo run stop, shared run stop, and 3 solo stops against passing plays. In coverage, 6 passes came his way, resulting in 4 completions by my count for 19 yards (not including screens).
CB Marcus Sayles
Sayles was the cornerback of the postseason. Last week, he had an interception and a pass defended and allowed 22 yards his way downfield (by my count).
In the Grey Cup, he had 4 passes come his way, resulting in 1 completion for 14 yards, and again had an interception and a pass defended. He also recovered a fumble on Saskatchewan’s own goal line in a game-changing turnover.
S C.J. Reavis
Reavis had 3 tackles and a pass breakup. He had a strong day in coverage as I attributed only one downfield 1 completion his way, which was for 24 yards. Additionally, he covered a screen pass that went for 8 yards..
HB Rolan Milligan Jr.
Milligan Jr. had an interception to close out the first half and allowed only 1 pass his way, which was for 15 yards.
Stand Out Performances Among Alouettes
QB Davis Alexander
Alexander showed a lot of grit in this contest, fighting through a hamstring injury that was clearly causing some pain and affecting his throwing mechanics at times. He completed 22 of his 34 passes for 284 yards with 3 interceptions. One interception was not a true turnover as it did not give the other team a possession as it occurred on the final play of the first half on an attempt at a 51-yard touchdown.
WR Tyson Philpot
Philpot was again Alexander’s most targeted receiver as he caught 5 of his 9 targets for 87 yards with 2 missed tackles forced.
WR Charleston Rambo
Rambo caught 4 of his 5 passes for 50 yards and had 3 missed tackles forced.
WR Tyler Snead
Snead caught 3 of his 5 targets for 78 yards, including the longest passing play of the game at 51 yards.
RB Stevie Scott III
Scott rushed 15 times for 78 yards (5.2 average) and a touchdown, with 2 missed tackles forced on the way.
DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund
Adeyemi-Berglund led Montreal in pressures generated with pressure on 4 plays (2 of which were a secondary source of pressure), including a QB hit.
DE Lwal Uguak
Uguak had 2 tackles, which were both solo run stops. He was the only player to have more than 1 solo run stop in the Grey Cup.
LB Tyrice Beverette
Beverette had 5 tackles, including a shared run stop, a solo pass stop, shared pass stop. He had 5 targets come his way in coverage, which resulted in 5 completions that he kept limited to 34 yards.
LB Darnell Sankey
Sankey had 2 tackles on the stats sheet. He was in on a handful of stops as he had a solo run stop, was in on 4 shared run stops, and a shared stop against the pass. (Only 1 tackler is credited for the tackle in CFL)
LB Najee Murray
Murray had 9 tackles and was in on a shared run stop and 2 shared pass stops. He had 1 target come his way, resulting in 5 yards.
CB Lorenzo Burns
Burns had 4 tackles, including a solo pass stop. 3 targets came his way, resulting in 2 completions for 35 yards (by my count).
HB Robert Kennedy III
Kennedy had 5 tackles, including a solo stop against a 0-yard pass. He had 3 targets come his way that resulted in 33 yards.
S Marc-Antoine Dequoy
Dequoy had 4 tackles and was in on a shared run stop and a solo pass stop. He had 1 target come his way downfield, which was incomplete, and covered a screen pass that went for 3 yards.
Closing
Another Close Game to Close Out A Great CFL Postseason
At times, this game felt as though Saskatchewan was fully in control as they put together some nice-looking drives while holding the lead. This was ultimately very close in more ways than just the score. Saskatchewan led in time of possession, 30:44 to 29:16, and led in passing yards, 302 to 284. Montreal led in rushing yards, 105 to 93, and led in first downs, 13 to 12.
Closing the season out with a Grey Cup decided by 8 points is very fitting for a postseason that had an average margin of victory of 4.5 heading into the Grey Cup.
This CFL postseason finished with an average margin of victory of 5.2, the lowest average margin of victory in a CFL postseason in the last 30 years. We were treated to a lot of close games with all but 1 being a 1-score game.
A few other examples of very close CFL postseasons:
2017 had an average margin of victory of 5.8 and similarly had all but 1 game decided by 1-score games. Toronto won the Grey Cup 27-24 over Calgary.
2007 had an average margin of victory of 5.4, with 3 of the 5 games being 1-score games. Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup 23-19 over Winnipeg.
2000 had an average margin of victory of 6.2, with all the games outside the division finals being 1-score games. BC won the Grey Cup 28-26 over Montreal.
Jonathan Clink on X
