The Winnipeg Blue Bombers begin a daunting journey to try to play as a rare host team in the Grey Cup when they face the host Montreal Alouettes on Saturday in the CFL East semifinal.
Just one Grey Cup host team in the past 10 seasons has managed to advance to the title tilt — the 2021 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who lost to Winnipeg in overtime in the championship showdown.
The Blue Bombers entered the year as favourites to play in the Grey Cup at home after reaching the CFL final the past five seasons. But Winnipeg (10-8) was no better than so-so after starting the year 3-0, eventually settling for a crossover playoff berth.
The Alouettes had the same 10-8 record, but enter the playoffs with more momentum after winning five of their last six regular-season games, including a 5-0 mark with unbeaten starting quarterback Davis Alexander.
Here's a capsule look at the CFL playoff opener:
The schedule
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
The line
The Alouettes were favoured by 5.5 points as of Thursday by BetMGM.
Weather
The afternoon high is 7 C with winds a potential factor at 26 km/h and gusts up to 39 km/h. Remember last year's wacky, windy Montreal-Winnipeg ending?!
At stake
The winner heads to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats (11-7) in the East final on Nov. 8.
The Ticats will be hosting the East final for the first time since 2019 when, it just so happens, they faced the last crossover team. Hamilton crushed Edmonton, then coached by current Montreal bench boss Jason Maas, 36-16.
Season series
The Blue Bombers won both games, but a giant asterisk goes beside the final score on each of them.
The more meaningful tilt was Aug. 21 in Montreal, where the Blue Bombers won 26-13. The Alouettes started fourth-string quarterback James Morgan after a horrific string of injuries at the most important position on the field. The bigger concern for Montreal, which still holds, was its run defence, which struggled badly against Blue Bombers star running back Brady Oliveira (16 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown along with 73 receiving yards).
Last week, the Blue Bombers beat the visiting Alouettes 19-10 in the season finale, but both teams dressed a lot of backups with the game meaning little in the standings.
Playoff history
Coach Mike O'Shea's Blue Bombers are trying to become the first team since the Edmonton dynasty (1977-82) to go to six consecutive Grey Cup games. Winnipeg has lost the past three championship games as the favourite after winning the title in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled because of COVID-19).
The Alouettes are making their third consecutive playoff appearance under coach Jason Maas and sixth overall. The Als won the Grey Cup in Maas' first year before losing to the visiting Argos in last year's East final.
Three key matchups
Blue Bombers vs. crossover curse
The crossover rule, introduced in 1996, sends the fourth-place team in one division to the other division's playoff bracket if it finishes with a better record than the third-place team in that division.
Twelve teams, all in the West, have qualified for the playoffs as a crossover team, but they are 0-for-12 qualifying for the Grey Cup.
The Blue Bombers are taking the crossover route for the first time.
The good news for the Bombers is they know what it takes to win playoff games on the road. They started their Grey Cup run in 2019 as the third-place team in the West, winning a pair of playoff games on the road before taking down Hamilton in the championship contest in Hamilton. That team also was quarterbacked by current QB Zach Collaros and coached by O'Shea.
Brady Oliveira vs. Montreal run defence
We saw what Oliveira could do against a so-so Montreal run defence in August.
You can be sure Als defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe has watched that tape dozens of times to try to come up with better answers this time around.
The Winnipeg-born Oliveira was the CFL's most outstanding player last season and had his fourth consecutive 1,000-plus-yard rushing season in 2025.
The Alouettes were sixth against the rush this season and first against the pass.
Collaros has had a down year and Winnipeg has the worst passing offence in the league. The Blue Bombers also likely will be missing top receiver Nic Demski (hamstring).
Therefore, you have to think the Blue Bombers will need a productive day running to have any chance of pulling off the upset.
Davis Alexander vs. Winnipeg pass defence
Alexander is an amazing 11-0 as a starter, including 7-0 this year. He is the reason why the Als cut ties with Cody Fajardo last off-season.
When he's been healthy, Alexander has been one of the best players in the CFL. Had he played more than half the season, the Als would have had a very good chance of winning the East.
Alexander never has started against the Blue Bombers and, per 3 Down Nation, has not started a playoff game since his senior year of high school in Washington State in 2015.
The Blue Bombers defence is second against the pass, so this will be a good test.
Prediction
Alouettes 31, Blue Bombers 17
