‘Definitely unsettling’: Blue Bombers fall short of making Grey Cup game as hosts

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

WINNIPEG — The Blue Bombers were finding it extra difficult to clean out their lockers on Sunday.

That’s because the empty stalls will be filled in just over a week with gear from another team competing in the Grey Cup game Winnipeg is hosting on Nov. 16.

“It’s definitely unsettling,” Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said. “It doesn’t feel great.

“On the ride over, I picked up (defensive tackle) Jake (Thomas) and that was one of the things we talked about briefly. Obviously losing and not coming to work today is difficult. Just the thought of having another team in your locker room is tough.”

The game that could have advanced the Bombers one step closer to leaving their stuff in their lockers and competing in a sixth consecutive Grey Cup was a roller-coaster ride.

When it stopped, the Montreal Alouettes had defeated the visitors 42-33 in Saturday’s CFL East Division semifinal.

Winnipeg was down 25-3 late in the second quarter when Sergio Castillo kicked off a rally with a 37-yard field goal at 14:45.

With the boost from a pair of Montreal turnovers, the Bombers added three touchdowns and led 27-25 at 6:16 of the third quarter. But the Alouettes, led by quarterback Davis Alexander, regained the lead and never let go.

Montreal will travel to Hamilton to play the Tiger-Cats in Saturday’s East final, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders are hosting the B.C. Lions in the West final the same day.

The Bombers finished fourth in the West with a 10-8 record and had to cross over to play the Alouettes. They’re now the 13th crossover team to fail to advance to the Grey Cup.

Collaros, who entered the CFL in 2012 and is under contract for next season, was asked if the season was his most frustrating.

“It probably was because of, just again, how high of expectations we had for the team and, obviously, the expectations for myself never changes,” he said.

Collaros joined the Bombers in a trade in late October 2019. The team went on to win its first of back-to-back Grey Cups, but lost the last three.

Knowing the Grey Cup was in Winnipeg didn’t add pressure, but it was always in the back of players’ minds, he said.

“We know you’re not going to make the Grey Cup every single year, you’re not going to win the Grey Cup every single year, but it just never felt like we were moving kind of in that direction,” Collaros said.

Veteran receiver Nic Demski described the season as “different.”

“Definitely a lot of ups and downs. A lot of adversity,” he said.

Demski faced some of that adversity.

Winnipeg’s leading receiver injured his hamstring on Oct. 11 and missed the team’s final two regular-season games. He was a game-time decision on Saturday, but his attempt during warmup to see if he could sprint didn’t pan out and he watched from the sidelines.

“With the (hamstring), it’s just a tough one,” said Demski, who finished the season with 67 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns and is a pending free agent.

“They just linger on. You try to kind of find that sweet spot and I just couldn’t find it.”

Winnipeg reportedly has 33 potential free agents, including star running back Brady Oliveira, who was unavailable to the media on Sunday.

Go-to receiver Dalton Schoen also doesn’t have a contract for next year. He tore his ACL on July 3, tried to rehab it instead of surgery, but was eventually shut down for the season in early September.

Backup quarterback Chris Streveler injured his knee in Winnipeg’s final regular-season game.

Streveler said Sunday he re-tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus in his left knee. Last year, he had the ACL and medial collateral ligament repaired, plus the posterior cruciate ligament was damaged.

“Thankfully, my MCL and PCL were intact,” Streveler said of the latest injury. “That’s the bright side of things. I don’t even know if heartbreaking does it justice.”

He plans surgery soon and then rehab, but added he tried to get ready to play in the East final. When his knee swelled after running, he knew it was a pipe dream.

Winnipeg’s defence and special teams carried most of the load during the season, with rookie kick returner/defensive back Trey Vaval emerging as a star.

Vaval, the West representative for the league’s most outstanding rookie and top special-teams player, led the CFL in punt return yardage (957), missed field-goal yardage (391) and kick-return touchdowns with four. The awards will be handed out Nov. 13.

“I’m happy how I did, I’m happy how my teammates did,” Vaval said. “I couldn’t have done what I did without them at all.”

Defensive end Willie Jefferson turns 35 in January and is coming off a season in which he tied his career high for pass knockdowns (16). He’s not signed for next year.

“I would love to play another season here,” he said. “This is where I’ve been for the last five years and made some great things happen and I continue to see great things happening.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2025.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press