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

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won’t compete for the Grey Cup on their home field after being eliminated by the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

MONTREAL — Everything flipped on Davis Alexander in a six-minute blur, but his belief held firm.

“I’m going to bet on myself every single time,” he said. “I don’t care. I’m never going to be scared of the moment.”

Montreal’s quarterback threw for one touchdown and rushed for another in a wild 42-33 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s East Division semifinal Saturday, helping the Alouettes avoid an epic collapse to reach the division final.

The Alouettes were in the driver’s seat early, leading Winnipeg by as many as 22 points in the second quarter. Six minutes into the third, it was all undone.

“Felt like the sky was falling,” Alexander said. “Somehow we blink and we’re down two.”

Winnipeg came out of the half and stunned Montreal with three consecutive touchdowns early in the third — including one after an Alexander interception — to take a 27-25 lead.

Many teams would have folded after such a momentum shift. Alexander and the Alouettes went back to work.

The 27-year-old American hit Austin Mack for a 50-yard diving catch, leading to Stevie Scott III’s first touchdown to restore Montreal’s lead, one the Alouettes wouldn’t squander.

And when Montreal needed a first down in the dying minutes of a one-possession game, the shifty quarterback, who appeared out of options, rushed for a crucial 18-yard gain on second down to keep the ball out of Winnipeg’s hands.

A 12-yard field goal from Jose Maltos Diaz soon after sealed Montreal’s win with 33 seconds left, ensuring Alexander — who set a CFL record with 11 straight regular-season wins to begin his career — remained undefeated in his first playoff start.

“In the most humble way possible, I feel like I’m built for this,” said Alexander, who finished with 384 yards on 24-for-34 passing. “I’m built for this league, I’m built to be the quarterback of the Montreal Alouettes.”

Head coach Jason Maas, who was a longtime CFL quarterback and has seen many of the league’s legends up close, described Alexander’s competitiveness as unmatched.

“There’s a belief in him, a competitiveness in him that’s unnatural in my opinion,” he said. “He’s just one of those guys that does that to the nth degree.

“That man will fight to the end for his teammates and for that locker room on every single play, and it shows.”

The Alouettes travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats on Nov. 8 for their third consecutive East Division final. The winner advances to the Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.

Meanwhile, the Blue Bombers’ streak of five consecutive trips to the championship game — in which they won two titles — came to an end.

“A lot of memories, a lot of great memories,” said veteran quarterback Zach Collaros. “A lot pain when you lose games, but it’s about the work, it’s about the process of it all. And just so blessed to have gone to work for the last six seasons with this group.

“That’s what makes it so hard, having the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, right? It’s a goal for everybody to make the Grey Cup, but especially when it’s at home, and to not be able to do that, it’s tough.”

The 37-year-old Collaros, a two-time outstanding player, chose not to field questions about his future but did say that, at this time, he hopes to keep playing. He had 306 passing yards with one TD and one interception.

“It’s been incredible. I’m not saying that I’m like … right now I’m not saying it’s gone,” he said. “I hope to continue, continue making those memories, but reflecting on the last six seasons and because it ended like this, and it’s tough. It’s really special.”

Tyson Philpot scored two touchdowns for Montreal — one rushing, one receiving — while Scott ran for two TDs and totalled 133 rushing yards before an announced crowd of 19,785 on a windy, 7 Celsius day.

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.

“It was impressive to see, I mean they just went out there and made some plays and were determined to get back into it,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “We made it a regular football game again, you end up being plus two at a certain point and it’s just a regular football game and then from there, it just didn’t work out.”

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.

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.

The Bombers kicked another field goal 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.

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

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press