Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Davis Alexander sat alone in the locker room at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg with his head buried in his hands.

The 27-year-old suffered the first loss of his professional career as the Montreal Alouettes were defeated 25-17 in the 112th Grey Cup by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

It was no secret that Alexander battled through a hamstring injury for most of the season. With the Alouettes now done for the year, he revealed the extent of what he endured.

“The worst injury I sustained was a grade 3C hamstring tear (against Toronto in July), which is as bad as it gets without being off the bone,” Alexander told 3DownNation.

“Being off the bone requires surgery and 46 weeks (of recovery). It could have ended my season if I had that. The last one I sustained was grade 2A, which is a four-to-six-week injury. Maybe I tweaked it again at the end, but it’s not gonna be an offseason surgery.”

Alexander admitted his grade 3C injury is still not fully healed and will require rest during the offseason. However, he refused to use the injury as an excuse for his performance.

“I definitely felt it a little bit, but I don’t want it as an excuse. I had to play a little more cautious. Coming out of the half, I was thinking I gotta play my game and whatever happens happens. I was fortunate enough that it held up until the end.”

The 26-year-old quarterback took full responsibility for the loss. He finished 22-of-34 for 284 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions, one of which came on a long bomb at the end of the first half. He stayed in the pocket more than he typically does, rushing only two times for 14 yards.

“I just didn’t play well enough to win this game for us,” he said. “I did a couple of things I didn’t do during the year: turn the ball over three times. When you get outplayed in the quarterback position, you put your team at a deficit. Our guys battled out there, our guys battled for me, they kept me in it. Ultimately, I have to be better for this organization on the biggest stage of my life.”

The Gig Harbor, Wa. native gave credit to the Roughriders for their effort and strategies to keep him in his pocket.

“You do ultimately need to tip your cap to them. I just felt like maybe I was out of rhythm, I need to look at the tape. I feel like I was seeing the field fine, maybe a little pressure knocked me off my game. They did a good job at containing me.”

When asked about a possible postgame speech, Alexander said he didn’t give one, leaving the floor to backup quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

“McLeod gave us a really nice speech. I was upset, I probably should have said something. I just wanted to listen.”

For the first time in several months, Alexander will have time to fully rest his hamstring until it makes a full recovery. He will be doing it, however, without a new Grey Cup ring on his finger.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg by a score of 25-17.

Trevor Harris was named Most Valuable Player after he completed 23-of-27 pass attempts for 302 yards, winning his first Grey Cup as a starter. Samuel Emilus was named Most Valuable Canadian after he made 10 catches for 108 yards, finishing only two receptions shy of tying the Grey Cup record.