Photo: CFL.ca

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are officially the CFL’s crossover team this year as they’ll look to reach the 112th Grey Cup as the third seed in the East Division.

The team finished the 2025 regular-season with a 10-8 record — clinching a ninth-straight winning season — though they finished behind the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-6), B.C. Lions (11-7), and Calgary Stampeders (11-7) in the West Division standings.

Playing in the East Division, which the Blue Bombers called home for 21 seasons over three previous stints, might be good for Winnipeg as the team went 4-6 against West Division opponents and 6-2 against East Division opponents this year.

Before the Blue and Gold visit the Montreal Alouettes in this year’s East Semi-Final, let’s take a look back at how crossover teams have fared since the rule was instituted in 1996.

1997 — B.C. Lions (8-10)
Lost East Semi-Final

The Leos became the CFL’s first-ever crossover team when they earned the third playoff spot in the East Division over the putrid Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-14) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-16). The bad news for B.C. was they had to play the powerhouse Montreal Alouettes (13-5) in the East Semi-Final, which resulted in a 45-25 loss at Olympic Stadium. Mike Pringle ran for 264 yards on the day, which remains a single-game CFL playoff record.

2002 — Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-10)
Lost East Semi-Final

The Green and White sneaked into the postseason but immediately lost to the Toronto Argonauts, who were also 8-10 on the year. The Boatmen won this game 24-14 as then-rookie Bashir Levingston, who was named All-CFL and the league’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player the following year, recorded an interception and a punt return touchdown. This marked Toronto’s first playoff win in five years.

2003 — B.C. Lions (11-7)
Lost East Semi-Final

There was no parity whatsoever in the CFL this season as the West Division had four teams with at least 11 wins and the East Division had only one team with a winning record. Despite going only 9-9 during the regular season, the Toronto Argonauts crushed B.C. in the East Semi-Final by a score of 28-7 as Damon Allen, who was playing his former team, threw for 232 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the victory.

2005 — Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-9)
Lost East Semi-Final

The Montreal Alouettes (10-8) had only a slightly better regular-season record than the Roughriders but won a relatively one-sided East Semi-Final by a score of 30-14. Anthony Calvillo diced up Saskatchewan’s secondary for 302 yards and three touchdown passes, while Ben Cahoon made seven catches for 101 yards and a score. Marcus Crandell threw two touchdown passes and three interceptions in the loss.

2008 — Edmonton Football Team (10-8)
Won East Semi-Final
Lost East Final

This was another bizarre year in the CFL as all four West Division had winning records and three teams in the East Division had losing records. Edmonton became the first crossover team ever to win the East Semi-Final when they knocked off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-10) by a score of 29-21, though they lost to the Montreal Alouettes (11-7) in the East Final the following week by a score of 36-26.

2009 — B.C. Lions (8-10)
Won East Semi-Final
Lost East Final

B.C. limped into the playoffs on a three-game losing skid but beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-9) by a score of 34-27 in the East Semi-Final. The results weren’t as pretty the following week as the Lions got blown out by the eventual Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes (15-3) by a score of 56-18 in front of 53,792 fans at Olympic Stadium. This game was capped by John Bowman, who returned a Travis Lulay interception 43 yards for a touchdown with a little under one minute remaining.

2012 — Edmonton Football Team (7-11)
Lost East Semi-Final

This Edmonton team has the dubious distinction of having the worst record of any crossover team in CFL history. The squad didn’t find much success in the postseason, either, losing 42-26 to the Toronto Argonauts (9-9) in the East Semi-Final. The Boatmen went on to upset the Montreal Alouettes (11-7) and Calgary Stampeders (12-6) over the next two weeks two win the 100th Grey Cup at home at Rogers Centre.

2014 — B.C. Lions (9-9)
Lost East Semi-Final

In a loss that cost then-head coach Mike Benevides his job, the Lions suffered one of the worst playoff defeats in CFL history when the Montreal Alouettes (9-9) drubbed them 50-17. Kevin Glenn and Jonathan Crompton started this game at quarterback for the two respective teams, though it was Travis Partridge and Tanner Marsh under centre to close out the blowout at Percival Molson Stadium.

2016 — Edmonton Football Team (10-8)
Won East Semi-Final
Lost East Final

This may have been the most lopsided season in CFL history as four West Division teams finished with winning records and all four East Division teams had losing records. Edmonton beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-11) in the East Semi-Final 24-21 but lost 35-23 to the Ottawa Redblacks (8-9-1) in the East Final. One week later, the Redblacks secured arguably the biggest upset in Grey Cup history with a 39-33 overtime win over the Calgary Stampeders (15-2-1).

2017 — Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-8)
Won East Semi-Final
Lost East Final

Saskatchewan knocked off the reigning Grey Cup champion Ottawa Redblacks (8-9-1) in the East Semi-Final by a score of 31-20 and visited the eventual Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts (9-9) the following week. The Boatmen won the East Final 25-21, though the Roughriders came very close to winning it. Down 21-18 with a little over one minute left, Ricky Ray hit James Wilder Jr. with a 22-yard pass to convert on third-and-five, then Cody Fajardo punched in a one-yard touchdown two plays later for the winning score.

2018 — B.C. Lions (9-9)
Lost East Semi-Final

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8-10) had a worse regular-season record than the Lions this season but they still blew the doors off them in the East Semi-Final, winning 48-8. Jeremiah Masoli lit up B.C.’s defence as he threw for 259 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the win. This game was the last ever coached by the legendary Wally Buono, who announced prior to the start of the season that 2018 would be his last.

2019 — Edmonton Football Team (8-10)
Won East Semi-Final
Lost East Final

The Green and Gold were underdogs heading into the East Semi-Final against the Montreal Alouettes (10-8) but beat the home side 37-29. Edmonton then visited the powerhouse Hamilton Tiger-Cats (15-3) in the East Final but lost a relatively one-sided affair 36-16 as Brandon Banks caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. The 2019 East Semi-Final victory over Montreal remains Edmonton’s most recent playoff win.