Playoff stakes high in Montreal

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers slayed the beast from the East once already this season — but can they do it again?

The Blue and Gold (7-7) will try to pull off another upset when they take on the Montreal Alouettes (11-3) on Saturday (6 p.m.) at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

The two teams last met in Winnipeg on Aug. 28 when the Bombers pulled off an unexpected 44-28 victory.

The stakes are much higher this time around. The Als can clinch the East Division with a win, while the Bombers are clinging to the West’s crossover playoff spot by a thread, with the Calgary Stampeders (7-8) hot on their heels.

“We’re trying to get in the playoffs right now, so every play is going to be critical,” said Bombers corner Major Williams.

“They’re coming off a bye week, and with what happened when they were here, I’m sure they’ve got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. But we do as well. We’re coming off a loss.”

To get ready for kickoff, here’s this week’s edition of 5 Storylines.

Sinking Als

The Alouettes are starting to come back down to earth.

They opened the season 9-1 and appeared to be on another level from the rest of the league. Since then, however, they’ve gone 2-2. Through their first 10 games, Montreal’s defence allowed an average of 26.3 points per game. Over its last four, that number has ballooned to 36.8.

Their slide began in Winnipeg and hit a new low two weeks later, when the B.C. Lions thumped them 48-29. Before their bye week, Montreal managed to outlast an uninspiring Hamilton Tiger-Cats team 37-25.

The Als should get a boost from returning home, where they’re a perfect 7-0 this season. They’re also getting several key players back from injury, including receiver Jerreth Sterns, linebacker Najee Murray and safety Wesley Sutton. Corner Don Callis is also back after serving a suspension stemming from a sideline altercation.

Reinforcements

The Bombers received some encouraging news on the injury front this week.

Despite missing practice time with a knee injury, defensive tackle Jake Ceresna — who leads the team with seven sacks — has been cleared to play.

“He’s one of those relentless workers that happens to be a very large man and very skilled for what he does,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

“If he wasn’t able to go, the guys around would pick it all up, but he’s one of one for us.”

Receiver Ontaria Wilson is also returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for two games. It will mark the first time this season that the Bombers have had their four leading pass-catchers — Wilson, Tim White, Nic Demski and rookie Dorian Singer — on the field together.

It’s a receiving group the Bombers could have been using weeks ago, but Singer remained on the practice roster until the Labour Day Classic.

Starting dimeback Michael Griffin II, one of the team’s most versatile defenders, is also back after missing six games with an ankle injury.

“He moves and has vision like a DB. (And he has) the weight, the physicality to play in the box,” said O’Shea. “You could just put him in a bunch of different spots.”

Then there’s Global defensive end Thiadric Hansen, who was called up from the practice squad and is set to make his season debut after rejoining the club more than a week ago.

Brown under centre

Montreal has had Dru Brown’s number.

He’s 0-2 as a starter against the Als, and they are the only team in the CFL that he hasn’t thrown for 300 yards against.

More importantly, last week’s 30-28 loss to Toronto dropped Brown’s record to 2-3 in 2026. With starting quarterback Zach Collaros (head) potentially unavailable down the stretch, Brown needs to elevate his game sooner rather than later if the Bombers hope to make some noise.

His 7.9 yards per attempt and 88.4 quarterback rating are his lowest marks since his rookie season in 2021. Brown has thrown for 1,341 yards, completing 68 per cent of his passes, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He could certainly use some better protection from his offensive line, which has surrendered a league-high 36 sacks. Montreal, meanwhile, has allowed a league-low 12.

Run game

The Bombers were expected to have a significant advantage on the ground the last time they visited Montreal.

Instead, workhorse running back Brady Oliveira was held to eight carries for 38 yards in the 2025 East semifinal. He also fumbled late in the game — a costly turnover that helped sink the Bombers.

The Als, meanwhile, got a career performance from Stevie Scott III, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-33 victory.

With starter Travis Theis on the six-game injured list, Scott will get another opportunity to hurt the Bombers this week.

Winnipeg can’t afford to let that happen again. Oliveira leads the league with 1,223 rushing yards and has topped the 100-yard mark in six of his last eight games.

Chasing history

History is within reach for Alouettes receiver Tyson Philpot this week. The Calgary native is just 135 receiving yards shy of setting a new single-season record by a Canadian.

The mark has stood since 1967, when Terry Evanshen recorded 1,662 yards as a member of the Calgary Stampeders.

Philpot also leads the league with 108 receptions, which puts him four away from the Als’ single-season franchise record shared by Ben Cahoon (2003) and Jamel Richardson (2011).

“I think about when I first picked up a football, running around in the backyard with my brother (Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot) at five, six years old and tackling each other, and thinking about being great, being one of the best ever,” said Philpot.

“And to even just be in that conversation is just a product of how hard I’ve worked.”

It certainly helps to have arguably the league’s best quarterback throwing him the ball in Davis Alexander. The Als starting pivot boasts an astonishing 29:3 TD-INT ratio and averages 315 passing yards per game.

But if anyone can slow down Alexander and Philpot, it might just be Winnipeg. The Bombers boast the CFL’s top pass defence, allowing an average of 273.4 passing yards per game.

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