4 games that help tell the story of the 2025 season

How do you tell the story of the 2025 CFL season culminating with the Saskatchewan Roughriders winning their first Grey Cup in a dozen years?

You could go down a hundred different rabbit holes, focusing on the rise of the next generation of stars, old veterans still getting it done, new faces in new places, or the work done by so many different coaches.

No matter how you try to tackle such a daunting task, you know you will never be able to cover it all, nor will you satisfy every fan ready to point out “what about …” — and they would be right. Instead of trying to go big, I want to focus on four regular season games that I believe had a significant impact on the year and each helped tell the tale of what 2025 became.

As I am a coward, I’ll be going in chronological order so as not to be accused of playing favourites.

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS BEAT BC LIONS 33-27 | WEEK 7

You never want to draw grand conclusions early in a football season. It is tempting to take small sample sizes and proclaim your bold predictions to the heavens. However, it usually takes a month or so before you start to see any trends that will still matter in November. After Saskatchewan suffered their first home loss the week prior, a 24-10 defeat to the Calgary Stampeders, I was curious to see how they would bounce back on the road against Nathan Rourke and the Lions.

This was the game that finally put to rest the idea of Trevor Harris as merely a “high-end game manager,” as he hit on four passes of at least 30 yards. Harris’ 66-yarder to Samuel Emilus set up a short Brett Lauther field goal in the second quarter, and every time you looked up there was Dohnte Meyers streaking past a defender. The Roughriders’ playoff run was built on elite play from the offensive line, and on this night the Lions’ defence did not register a single sack, giving Harris all the time he needed for a number of deep strikes.

As for the future 2025 MOP, much of Nathan Rourke’s production came with his team down by more than two touchdowns, but his 40-yard touchdown to Ayden Eberhardt — on a play that looked like a Saskatchewan sack seconds earlier — was one of those moments where you knew Rourke was in the midst of a special season.

NATHAN ROURKE OUTDUELS BO LEVI MITCHELL IN OVERTIME | WEEK 10

Did anyone see this game coming when it was 7-6 after the first quarter and the lone touchdown had nothing to do with either All-CFL quarterbacks, coming instead from an Isaiah Wooden punt return?

From a big-picture perspective, this was a huge win for a scuffling Lions team that came into Hamilton at 3-5 to face a 6-2 Tiger-Cats squad celebrating local hero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander before kickoff. A 3-6 start does not doom you to missing the playoffs, but it can plant seeds of doubt. On an even grander scale, this game embodied just how wildly entertaining 2025 was. It featured 10 lead changes, with Nathan Rourke and Bo Levi Mitchell combining for more than 600 yards and six touchdowns.

My favourite Mitchell moment was a 22-yard touchdown to Jevoni Robinson just over Micah Awe, followed later by the QB leading Hamilton to a game-tying field goal after starting the drive with only 32 seconds left. As for the winning quarterback, Rourke’s finest moment came when he connected with Justin McInnis for 43 yards on a third-and-12 with one minute remaining. Two plays later he found James Butler for the go-ahead touchdown, but that long third-down conversion was the highlight on a night packed with MOP-calibre moments where the NBA’s MVP was honoured.

A TOUGH NIGHT FOR ZACH COLLAROS, BOMBERS FALL 34-30 TO SASKATCHEWAN | WEEK 13

Statistically, the two-time MOP had himself a game with 326 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. In most cases, when your offence puts up 30 points on the Roughriders, you have done your job.

But it was the ending of this OK Tire Labour Day Weekend matchup that drove home the fact that 2025 was not going to be a season up to Zach Collaros’ standards. Trailing by eight with half a minute left in regulation, Collaros connected with Dalton Schoen for a short touchdown to cut the lead to 32-30. He looked for Schoen again on the game-tying two-point conversion, but his pass had nowhere near enough power, allowing Tevaughn Campbell to pick it off and go the other way for Saskatchewan’s first-ever pick-two and a 34-30 win.

I know it’s dramatic of me to say, but Campbell’s interception was symbolic of just how up-and-down Collaros’ year had been. Winnipeg’s leader delivered several high-end throws that afternoon, but his mistakes overshadowed all the good he did.

DAVIS ALEXANDER CAN’T STOP WINNING, MONTREAL DEFEATS CALGARY 38-20 | WEEK 17

It is overly simplistic to say the Montreal Alouettes’ remarkable season was directly tied to the health of Davis Alexander. That would be an insult to a defence that allowed the fewest yards and tied with BC for the most sacks.

But you cannot deny the giant statistical truth: when Alexander is on the field and healthy, Montreal does not lose. Entering this game, the Alouettes’ starting quarterback had missed eight straight contests with a hamstring injury (foreshadowing!), and everyone wondered how he would look.

It did not take long for Alexander to announce to the league that he was back. On his second pass of the night, a second-and-10, he scrambled out of trouble, pump-faked once, then threw across his body to an open Tyler Snead for a 15-yard gain. In the third quarter, he collected a bobbled snap, retreated more than 15 yards, and with one defender in his face and the rest of the Stampeders in pursuit, he hit Tyson Philpot for a 28-yard completion. It was in that moment you knew Alexander was fully healthy and ready to lead Montreal on a deep run.

It must be noted: this game was about far more than just the quarterback. Tyrice Beverette had nine tackles, one sack and one interception for an Alouettes defence that swarmed all night, sacking Vernon Adams Jr. four times. And for anyone still wondering why Shea Patterson got the ball on the fateful goal-line play in the Grey Cup, well, Patterson scored three times against Calgary. Just saying.

4 games that help tell the story of the 2025 season

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