Blue Bombers come up big in beating Alouettes

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers came up with a total team effort and stunned the CFL-leading Montreal Alouettes 44-28 in front of a sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night.

The Bombers entered the CFL contest with losses in three of their last four games, creating major doubts with a fan base that’s become accustomed to greatness following five straight trips to the Grey Cup between 2019-2024.

Few had the Bombers beating an Alouettes team riding a seven-game win streak and boasting a 9-1 record. Winnipeg had suffered their worst loss of the season a week earlier, giving up a 16-0 lead in a 22-19 road defeat to the Edmonton Elks.

With the victory, the Bombers improved to 6-5 and have now beat Montreal in three straight games dating back to last season. The win also keeps Winnipeg in a hotly contested West Division playoff race, now in third place ahead of the B.C. Lions (5-5) and just behind the second-place Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-4).

The Alouettes dropped to 9-2. With a win, they could have clinched a playoff berth by the end of the weekend with a Hamilton loss.

Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros made his third consecutive start since returning from a neck injury, finishing 26-for-32 passing for 324 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bombers recorded 447 net yards of offence, with Ontaria Wilson adding two receiving touchdowns to go with a pair of rushing majors from Bryce Perkins and one from Brady Oliveira. Sergio Castillo rounded out the scoring with three field goals, hitting from 51, 43 and 20 yards.

Wilson led all receivers with 114 yards on nine receptions. Running back Oliveira rushed 13 times for 84 yards.

Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander threw for 257 yards on 20-for-31 passing, along with three touchdowns to Tyler Snead and one to Tyson Philpot. It was Alexander’s first regular-season start against Winnipeg and just the second loss of his career (21-2).

Montreal’s offence totalled a season-low 284 net yards and lost the turnover battle 3-1. Running back Travis Theis, who was averaging more than 100 rushing yards in the last six games and had a touchdown in seven of his last eight, was kept out of the end zone and limited to 31 yards on eight carries.

The Bombers had a strong start, taking a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive. The nine-play, 32-yard series was capped by a one-yard plunge from Perkins, the score aided by a successful pass interference challenge that moved the ball from Winnipeg’s 43-yard line to Montreal’s 32.

It was the Bombers’ first, first-quarter touchdown since Week 6 — a 30-21 win over the visiting Toronto Argonauts on July 10.

Minutes later, Alexander connected with Philpot for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 7-7 through the first 15 minutes. Philpot now has 10 touchdowns — leading all CFL receivers — with six in his last three games.

Oliveira scored on the first play of the second quarter to regain Winnipeg’s lead. The Alouettes answered back on the next drive with Snead’s 13-yard score.