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<\/p>\nAlexander then threw it back at Jefferson, mimicking the defensive lineman\u2019s trademark \u201cC\u2019mon down to Winnipeg\u201d taunt.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cBring Willie over, bring Winnipeg over,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWhat does he say? \u2018All right, come on down to Winnipeg?\u2019 Come on over to Montreal. Let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander will make his first CFL playoff start after going a perfect 11-0 as a starter in the regular season \u2014 including 7-0 this year \u2014 to set a league record for consecutive wins to begin a career.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also the 27-year-old\u2019s first taste of post-season action in a decade, having last played a playoff contest during his senior year of high school in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still football,\u201d he said. \u201cBut obviously, if someone were to tell you that it\u2019s not a little different, they\u2019re a liar. It\u2019s 60 minutes, do or die. There is no next week if you don\u2019t do what you\u2019re supposed to do. The good thing is my preparation has stayed the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander \u2014 who hasn\u2019t thrown an interception in his last 120 pass attempts \u2014 threw for 2,024 yards at a 72 per cent clip with 10 touchdowns and three picks this season.<\/p>\n
The Alouettes are a different team without the explosive QB, going 3-8 in his absence with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re looking at a first start in a professional career, your first training camp, there\u2019s always a first,\u201d head coach Jason Maas said. \u201cGuys who have gotten to this point have done pretty well with pressure. That\u2019s the way I look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers, meanwhile, have loads of playoff experience. <\/p>\n
While Alexander prepares for his first playoff game at Molson Stadium, his counterpart Zach Collaros will make his ninth appearance \u2014 not including Grey Cup games \u2014 as the Blue Bombers begin their quest for a sixth straight championship final.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s their first divisional semifinal since 2019, and for the first time, they\u2019ll go through the East as a crossover after finishing fourth in the West at 10-8.<\/p>\n
History hasn\u2019t been kind to crossover teams, who are 0-for-12 in reaching the Grey Cup, but star Canadian running back Brady Oliveira has adopted a \u201cWhy not us?\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI totally stand on that,\u201d Oliveira said. \u201cWe have the right group of guys in the locker room to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Collaros: \u201cI think we\u2019d all be lying to you (if we said) we hadn\u2019t thought about how cool it would be to make that kind of a run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers swept the season series with Montreal 2-0, though last week\u2019s 19-10 win featured no Alexander and plenty of backups.<\/p>\n
In the other meeting, Oliveira tore through Montreal\u2019s defence for 210 yards from scrimmage in a 26-13 win over the Alexander-less Alouettes on Aug. 21 after injuries to Winnipeg receivers Nic Demski and Jerreth Sterns.<\/p>\n
The Alouettes boast one of the league\u2019s best defences, but ranked sixth in opponent rushing yards (103.1) this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stop the run. It\u2019s an explosive offence,\u201d Montreal safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of their strengths, with also a quarterback who is a veteran in Collaros. So we\u2019re aware that we need to stop the run, and we can\u2019t let the offence gain momentum with big plays on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliveira will be the focal point again Saturday. Demski, a Canadian receiver who led Winnipeg with 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns this season, is a game-time decision with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give him as long as he needs,\u201d Bombers coach Mike O\u2019Shea said. \u201cWith a veteran like that, that\u2019s that good an athlete, we\u2019ve got a window that we can use and we will use that window to see whether or not he can play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defensive end Lwal Uguak (ankle) is a game-time decision for the Alouettes, and defensive tackle Mustafa Johnson is out with a shoulder injury. Veteran lineman Shawn Lemon, who hasn\u2019t played since Week 14, is back in the lineup.<\/p>\n
And for the first time against the Bombers, outside a couple of quarters last season, Alexander will be under centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope he\u2019s ready to go out there and play four quarters of football, because I\u2019m ready to play four quarters of football,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cWe\u2019re ready to come in and handle business.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexander then threw it back at Jefferson, mimicking the defensive lineman\u2019s trademark \u201cC\u2019mon down to Winnipeg\u201d taunt. \u201cBring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-253228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}