The CFL Playoffs are finally here.
First, the Montreal Alouettes will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who are crossing over to the East Division bracket for the first time in franchise history.
Next, the red-hot BC Lions will ride their six-game win streak into the Western semifinal to host the Calgary Stampeders.
Watch every CFL game LIVE on TSN, with Data Enhanced feeds available on TSN+.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Montreal Alouettes – Saturday at 3pm ET
The Als and Bombers will meet for a second-straight week after Winnipeg beat Montreal 19-10 in the Week 21 finale. This week, both teams will have their starters under centre as they clash in a rematch of the 110th Grey Cup.
Alouettes’ starter Davis Alexander remains undefeated as a starter in the CFL and has set a league record with the 11-0 start to his career. Alexander went 7-0 this season in his first full campaign as the team’s starter. The 27-year-old passed for 2,024 yards and 10 touchdowns but missed significant time this season due to a hamstring injury.
Davis did not start in the regular-season finale, and head coach Jason Maas said he was dealing with a minor injury that was not worth pushing through with nothing to gain in the standings.
“When we got here, Davis had been dealing with a little bit, just something small and minor, and it wasn’t prudent to push him through it to play a game that, in our standings, wouldn’t have improved it,” Maas said following last weekend’s loss.
Across the field, veteran signal caller Zach Collaros will be making his ninth playoff start, looking to improve his postseason record to 8-1. The 37-year-old also missed time this season, and threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in 13 contests.
The Blue Bombers swept the season series, taking the first head-to-head matchup 26-13 in Week 12. Alexander did not play in the contest, while Collaros completed 27/31 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Brady Oliveira could be the biggest difference-maker for the Bombers this weekend as he exploded for 137 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in Week 12, adding nine receptions for 73 yards. The 2024 CFL Most Outstanding Player will be a key player as the Bombers try to attack a vulnerable Alouettes run defence.
The Blue Bombers have reached each of the past five Grey Cups, but have fallen in the past three to East Division foes. With Winnipeg hosting the 112th Grey Cup this season, the battle-hardened group will look to reach the pinnacle and win the Grey Cup for the first time since 2021.
Calgary Stampeders vs. BC Lions – Saturday at 6:30pm ET
After starting the season 1-3, the BC Lions fought back and earned the right to host the division-rival Stampeders in the Western semifinal at BC Place.
Watch the Stampeders and Lions LIVE Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT across the TSN Network, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
“I think you want to see your character when you’re tested and when things aren’t going your way,” quarterback Nathan Rourke said of the team’s tough start. ”I think that those are all things that we can look back at earlier in the year when we didn’t come out on the winning side of those things, you can kind of say ‘Hey, those moments built some character and built some toughness.’ So that’s been good.”
Rourke finished the season with career highs in passing yards (5,290) and touchdowns (31) despite missing two games due to injury.
“We definitely had adversity. I think our record was (3-5) at the start of the year. Not where we wanted to be,” defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, the CFL’s sack leader, said Monday. “Adversity will strike again in these playoff games. For us, it’s to keep moving on, keep focusing on the next play, on what ahead, and to really play 60 minutes of football starting play No. 1 on special teams.”
The Lions won both matchups between the teams this season, taking a 52-23 victory in Week 16 before sweeping the season series with another strong offensive performance in a 38-24 win in Week 18.
Rourke was excellent in the two matchups this season, throwing for a combined 745 yards and six touchdowns while adding three scores on the ground.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. returns to BC at the helm of the Stamps after leading Calgary to a record above .500 for the first time since 2022. The veteran tossed for 4,247 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, finishing fifth league-wide in both categories.
The Lions have won the past two playoff matchups between the two, beating the Stampeders in the Western semis in both 2022 and 2023.