Alouettes avoid epic collapse to defeat Blue Bombers 42-33 in CFL East semifinal

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Dexter Lawson (27) defends against Montreal Alouettes' Austin MacK (81) during first half Eastern semi-final action, in Montreal on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The Montreal Alouettes avoided an epic collapse to reach the CFL’s East Division final.

Davis Alexander threw for one touchdown and rushed for another in a 42-33 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East semifinal Saturday. Montreal pulled out the victory after squandering a 22-point lead earlier in the game.

The Alouettes led 25-3 in the second quarter and held a 25-6 advantage at halftime.

The script quickly flipped early in the third quarter when Winnipeg stunned Montreal with three straight touchdowns to take the lead.

Montreal regrouped and advanced to the division final for the third consecutive year.

A 12-yard field goal from Jose Maltos Diaz, after consecutive clutch rushes from Alexander and Stevie Scott III to gain first downs, sealed Montreal’s win with 33 seconds left.

The Alouettes travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats on Nov. 8. The winner advances to the Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.

The Blue Bombers’ streak of five consecutive trips to the Grey Cup came to an end.

Winnipeg crossed over to the East after finishing fourth in the West with a 10-8 record this season. No crossover team has reached the Grey Cup in 13 attempts.

Alexander, who set a CFL record with 11 straight wins as a starting quarterback to begin his career — including seven this season — remained undefeated after his first playoff start.

Montreal’s Tyson Philpot scored two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — while Scott ran for two TDs before an announced crowd of 19,785 on a windy, 7 C day.

Several empty seats lined the Molson Stadium stands, largely due to a transit strike that shut down all public transportation, except adapted transit, on Saturday.

Maltos Diaz went 1-for-2 in field-goal attempts with a rouge. Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo was 4-for-4.

Terry Wilson kicked off the Bombers’ third-quarter surge. He punched the ball into the end zone on a one-yard run 2:16 into the quarter after a pass interference call to Wesley Sutton put Winnipeg near the goal line.

Winnipeg safety Cam Allen then picked off Alexander. On the next play, Collaros connected with Ontaria Wilson on a 54-yard TD pass, cutting the lead to 25-20.

And the hits kept coming. Alexander threw a long pass to Philpot on the next drive, but Jamal Parker forced a fumble and Winnipeg’s Evan Holm recovered. The turnover led to another one-yard score from Terry Wilson as the Bombers jumped ahead 27-25 just 6:13 into the quarter.

The Alouettes regained the lead with the clock at 6:37 as Scott rushed into the end zone on a 13-yard TD to make it 32-27.

After a Castillo field goal made it a two-point game early in the fourth quarter, Montreal’s Kori Roberson Jr. stripped Canadian running back Brady Oliveira, whose fumble was recovered by Marc-Antoine Dequoy.

The Alouettes pushed the advantage to 39-30 with 8:53 remaining in the game after Scott, with help from his offensive line, forced his way into the end zone on a seven-yard score.

Winnipeg quickly answered — Collaros hit Keric Wheatfall for a 53-yard gain to bring the Bombers to the Montreal 12. The Bombers settled for a kick to cut the Alouettes’ lead to 39-33 with seven minutes remaining. Montreal’s defence held Winnipeg off the board the rest of the way.

The Alouettes jumped out to a 17-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter, which was the most points in the opening quarter of a playoff game since Montreal also scored 17 in the 2010 East final. The Bombers, meanwhile, ran just seven plays and recorded only one first down in the dying seconds of the quarter.

Montreal maintained control of the game in the second, as Alexander rushed for a three-yard TD to give the Alouettes a 24-3 lead. The defence kept the pressure on Collaros, sacking him three times and forcing two fumbles, one recovered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2025.