5 things to know about the Eastern Semi-Final

By Kristina Costabile, CFL.ca

The Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers go head to head on Saturday afternoon, with a trip to the Eastern Final on the line.

I took a look at storylines to watch in the game earlier this week, diving into the quarterback matchup everyone is talking about between the kid, Davis Alexander, and the vet, Zach Collaros.

I also looked at the Bombers hoping to make history, becoming the first crossover team to make it to the Grey Cup, and touched on the defences we’ll see on Saturday (more on them later).

With just one day until the big game, here are five things to know about the Eastern Semi-Final ahead of kickoff at 2:00 p.m. ET that can be watched on TSN, RDS, and CFL+.

2025 GREY CUP PLAYOFFS
» 3 storylines to watch in the Eastern Semi-Final
» Division Semi-Final Saturday heads to Montreal and BC

1. BRADY OLIVERIA IS BUILT FOR THIS

If anyone is built for playoff football, it’s Brady Oliveira.

This isn’t anything new for the bruising running back, with plenty of big November performances under his belt. In last year’s Western Final against the Roughriders, Oliveira powered through to the tune of 119 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. His pass-catching ability was also on display, hauling in 22 yards on two receptions. In 2023’s Western Final, Oliveira had another big game, rumbling for 109 yards and a major score on 21 carries. Oh, and in the last two Grey Cups? A combined 203 yards on 30 attempts and a score in each. Yeah, he knows big games.

He also knows this Alouettes defence, and knows how to get to the second, or third, level of it. In the first meeting between these two clubs in Week 12, Oliveira popped off for his best rushing performances of the year, carrying the rock 16 times for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also added 73 yards through the air, catching all nine passes thrown his direction. The reigning Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian was resting in their second meeting in the final week of the regular season, but is hoping to find the same success this weekend in the Eastern Semi-Final.

“Anytime you face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, I think it starts with up front and trying to stop the run against them the best you can,” head coach Jason Maas said. “Even if you put everything in there, they’re going to still get yards. They’re just good at what they do, and they’ve been doing it for an awful long time, and he’s as good as there is.

“Then you combine that with a Hall of Fame quarterback. They’re dangerous at anytime, whether they’re handing it off or throwing it, in my opinion.”

2. MONTREAL’S DEFENCE IS AGGRESSIVE

The story for the Alouettes this season has chapters that sound a lot like the ones that were written on their way to winning the 110th Grey Cup just two years ago. The Als defence was the main character on the way to capturing that title, with their disruptive and aggressive tendencies, along with being turnover machines.

This year’s iteration of Noel Thorpe’s group has been just like that. They get after the quarterback, they’re tied for first with 45 sacks on the season, and disguise what they’re doing very well, especially up front, which keeps opposing offences guessing until it’s too late.

Montreal doesn’t just stop offences, allowing just 23.9 points per game, they create chaos, turning mistakes into opportunities. In the regular season, they forced 17 fumbles, tied for most in the CFL, and recovered 12 of them, another top mark among the league.

“They do a really good job of mixing things up over there,” said Zach Collaros. “They’re very talented. (Tyrice) Beverette is one of the best players in the league, if not the best. Their defensive line is fast and they’re physical. On the back end, they do a really good job of mirroring and mixing up the fronts with the back end.”

With Oliveira running the rock, and a Zach Collaros that completed 87.1 per cent of his passes for 263 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions in the Week 12 meeting he suited up against this team, the Als D will need to be at their best to book their ticket to Hamilton next weekend for the Eastern Final.

3. AND WINNIPEG’S IS TOUGH AGAINST THE PASS

Speaking of defences, Winnipeg’s has been just as tough. Defending the pass has been Winnipeg’s specialty this season, making it tough for opposing quarterbacks to generate offence.

They’ve held quarterbacks to a league-low 62.2 per cent completion rate (for context, Montreal is the next best, allowing 68.5 per cent) and 261.4 yards per game, only second to the Alouettes (256.9). It’s also tough to score through the air against them, giving up a league-low 21 passing touchdowns.

A major part of their ability to disrupt offences is breaking up passes, they sit alone at the top of the CFL with 73 pass knockdowns this season. Two of their playmakers on defence, one along the line of scrimmage and one in the secondary, have been responsible for 29 of them.

Defensive end Willie Jefferson is the league leader in pass knockdowns, batting down passes 16 times with his long, rangy arms and quick timing after the ball is released. Defensive back Deatrick Nichols has locked down his side of the field, breaking up 13 passes while he’s in coverage.

“They play pretty much a different coverage than every other team in the rest of the league,” Alexander told members of the media. “I think that might set them apart. When their communications on, they’re pretty good at doing the right stuff.”

4. THOSE ALS RECEIVERS

If you look at the receiving yards league leaders, you may only see one Alouettes pass-catcher in the top five. But don’t let that make you think they don’t have a group that can do some damage.

Tyler Snead has been the Als’ best receiver in 2025, hauling in a career-high 1,129 yards, sitting fifth in receiving yardage after 21 weeks of play. What’s been even more impressive for the five-foot-seven, 172-pounder is that he’s found success no matter who’s been at quarterback for Montreal, with Alexander, McLeod Bethel-Thompson and James Morgan all getting action this season.

“We put him in every single position,” Alexander said. “He’s blocking guys that are Willie (Jefferson’s) size. He’s digging out MIKE ‘backers. He does everything.

“He’s also as elusive as it comes, right? He’s one of the fastest players on our teams. He runs disgusting routes. He catches everything. He’s just a force, and he’s truly a football player.”

Austin Mack battled injuries this year, suiting up in just 12 games, but he’s been getting hot down the stretch. In his last three games, the six-foot-one, 208-pounder has tallied 230 yards and two touchdowns, averaging a whopping 15.9 yards per catch. And you can’t forget about Tyson Philpot. He, too, dealt with injuries in 2025, but 804 yards in 12 games put him on pace for over 1,200 yards if he played in a full season.

With the Winnipeg defence mentioned earlier lurking to stop Alexander and his offence from production, the Als’ receivers will need to be at their best on Saturday afternoon.

5. TREY. VAVAL. ENOUGH SAID.

It’s been a few seasons since the Winnipeg Blue Bombers could say they had a truly dangerous return game, with Janarion Grant returning kicks back in 2023 and this year, saying their returner is great seems like an understatement.

Trey Vaval has burst onto the scene in 2025, earning nominations for Most Outstanding Special Teams player and Most Outstanding Rookie at this year’s CFL Awards. And those nominations are well deserved.

Vaval led the league in punt return yards (957) and total kick return touchdowns, bursting through coverage teams for scores on a punt return, a missed field goal return, and two kickoffs. Oh, and Vaval also sparingly played on defence this year and tallied an interception against none other than the Montreal Alouettes in Week 12.

His 2,266 total combined yards were good for third behind Javon Leake (2,424) and Kalil Pimpleton (2,299). It’s worthwhile noting that Leake and Pimpleton were also racking up yards on offence, making it even more impressive what Vaval has been able to do this season on returns.

With every yard more important than ever, Vaval and the return game will be looked upon to give Collaros and co. the best field position possible as the Bombers hope to play complementary football in the biggest game of their season so far.

“We came here to play three phase football, and that’s exactly what we plan to,” said Jefferson.