The Winnipeg Blue Bombers begin a challenging journey to try to serve as a rare host team in the Gray Cup when they meet the host Montreal Alouettes on Saturday in the semifinals of the CFL East tournament.
Only one Gray Cup host team in the last 10 seasons has reached the title — the 2021 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who lost to Winnipeg in overtime in the championship decider.
The Blue Bombers entered the year as favorites to play in the Gray Cup at home after reaching the CFL finals the last five seasons. But Winnipeg (10-8) looked no better than so-so after starting the year 3-0 and ultimately settled for a playoff berth.
The Alouettes have the same 10-8 record, but enter the playoffs with plenty of momentum after winning five of their final six regular-season games, including a 5-0 mark with undefeated starting quarterback Davis Alexander.
Here's a quick look at the CFL playoff opener:
Saturday, 2:00 pm ET/11:00 pm PT at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
As of Thursday, the Alouettes had a 5.5-point lead. BetMGM.
The winner will travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats (11-7) in the East final on Nov. 8.
The Ticats will host the Eastern Finals for the first time since 2019, when they just so happened to face the last crossover team. Hamilton routed Edmonton, then coached by current Montreal bench coach Jason Maas, 36-16.
The Blue Bombers won both games, but each has a giant asterisk next to the final score.
A more significant turnaround occurred on August 21 in Montreal, where the Blue Bombers won 26–13. The Alouettes started fourth-string quarterback James Morgan after a terrible run of injuries at the most important position on the field. The bigger concern for Montreal, which is still hanging on, was its run defense, which struggled poorly against Blue Bombers star running back Brady Oliveira (16 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown to go along with 73 receiving yards).
The Blue Bombers beat the visiting Alouettes 19-10 in the season finale last week, but both teams used a lot of backups and the game meant little in the standings.
Coach Mike O'Shea's Blue Bombers are trying to become the first team since the Edmonton dynasty (1977-82) to play six straight Gray Cup games. Winnipeg has lost its final three championship games as favorites after winning the title in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19).
The Alouettes are making the playoffs for the third straight time under coach Jason Maas and sixth overall. The Als won the Gray Cup in Maas' first year in charge before losing to the visiting Argos in last year's East final.
Blue Bombers vs. Crossover Curse
The crossover rule, introduced in 1996, sends the fourth-place team in one division into the playoff bracket of another division if it finishes with a better record than the third-place team in that division.
Twelve teams, all in the West, qualified for the playoffs as a crossover team, but they had 0 of 12 Gray Cup qualifications.
The Blue Bombers take the cross route for the first time.
The good news for the Bombers is that they know what it takes to win playoff games on the road. They began their 2019 Gray Cup race as the third-place team in the West, winning a pair of playoff games on the road before defeating Hamilton for the championship in Hamilton. This team was also defended by current QB Zach Collaros and coached by O'Shea.
Brady Oliveira against Montreal passes defense
In August, we saw what Oliveira could do against Montreal's mediocre defense.
You can be sure that defensive coordinator Alsa Noel Thorpe has watched this tape dozens of times to try to find better answers this time.
Winnipeg native Oliveira was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player last season, and in 2025 he posted his fourth consecutive 1,000-plus-yard season.
The Alouettes were sixth this season against the rush and first against the pass.
Collaros has had a down year and Winnipeg has the worst passing offense in the league. The Blue Bombers will also likely be missing top receiver Nick Demski (hamstring).
So you have to think the Blue Bombers will need a productive day to have any chance of pulling off the upset.
Davis Alexander vs. Winnipeg pass defense
Alexander is 11-0 as a starter, including 7-0 this year. He's the reason the Als cut ties with Cody Fajardo last offseason.
When he was healthy, Alexander was one of the best players in the CFL. If he played more than half the season, the Als would have a very good chance of winning the East.
Alexander was never a starter against the Blue Bombers, and according to 3 Down Nationhasn't played in the playoffs since 2015, his senior year of high school in Washington State.
The Blue Bombers defense is second against the pass, so this will be a good test.
Alouette 31, Blue Bombers 17
