{"id":274237,"date":"2025-11-10T13:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/274237\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:15:08","slug":"mmqb-112th-grey-cup-showdown-the-perfect-2025-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/274237\/","title":{"rendered":"MMQB: 112th Grey Cup showdown the perfect 2025 finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can you watch Davis Alexander<\/a> play and not be entertained?<\/p>\n

The still unbeaten Montreal Alouettes quarterback was once again a top story as part of another outstanding CFL playoff weekend. Now 13 total wins (11 regular season, two post-season) without a loss as a starter, Alexander had to gut through a late lower-body injury to lead the Als to a 19-16 walk-off victory in Hamilton. It was another in a long list of stellar performances from Alexander as he cements himself as a bona fide star.<\/p>\n

Overall, Alexander completed 19 of 26 passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and one interception; he added another 64 yards on seven carries. Mixing robotic precision with infectious charisma, Alexander helped engineer a seven-play drive starting at his own 37-yard line, culminating in a game-winning no-doubter from kicker Jos\u00e9 Maltos D\u00ecaz.<\/p>\n

\"112th112th GREY CUP
\u00bb Gallery: Grey Cup touches down in Winnipeg<\/a>
\u00bb 3 things you missed from the Grey Cup arriving in Winnipeg<\/a>
\u00bb Walk-off field goal sends Montreal to 112th Grey Cup<\/a>
\u00bb Riders beat Lions to earn first Grey Cup appearance since 2013<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Alexander, that\u2019s two wins in two playoff starts against two future Hall of Famers on the other side. It\u2019s legend-making stuff for Alexander, and that statement will only hold more weight if he leads Montreal to a win in Sunday\u2019s 112th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n

And how can you confidently bet against him?<\/p>\n

We routinely see swagger and emotion from Alexander, which is something his teammates and a crowd feed on. But when it matters most, like it did late in Saturday\u2019s fourth quarter, Alexander\u2019s steely, laser focus ensures the big play is made at the most crucial times.<\/p>\n

Riding a personal perfect record and an Alouettes wave, I can\u2019t wait to see Alexander gear up in the biggest game of all on Sunday. Win or lose, you just know he\u2019s going to deliver.<\/p>\n

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES<\/p>\n

Corey Mace sure knows how to get the job done, hey?<\/p>\n

In two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he\u2019s appeared in two Western Finals and is now off to the Grey Cup for the first time as a head coach. Already a Grey Cup champion as a defensive line coach (Calgary 2018) and defensive coordinator (Toronto 2022), we probably shouldn\u2019t be surprised with his instant success in Regina. But it\u2019s still impressive.<\/p>\n

And Mace\u2019s expert game management in Saturday\u2019s incredible 24-21 win over the BC Lions deserves a tip of the hat. While some labeled Mace\u2019s fourth-quarter tactics lucky, I thought it was the exact opposite. To me, it was a head coach with an innate knowledge of his team and a finger truly on the pulse of a football game.<\/p>\n

Trailing by seven and then four points, I thought Glen Suitor described it perfectly as Mace opted to kick a field goal and then punt on consecutive drives with less than three minutes remaining. Sure, they were \u201crisky\u201d calls under the circumstances, but I understood them both times in the moment. And the fact Mace made them without hesitation added that much more conviction.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coaching the league\u2019s best defence all season, Mace trusted his playmakers to make two more stops. And on a night where the Riders were forcing two-and-outs at an impressive rate, his group delivered on both occasions.<\/p>\n

Mace also knew he had the perfect quarterback for the situation his team was facing: less than 90 seconds to go against a defence trying not to lose a game. Trevor Harris<\/a> is among the best in league history at mixing lightning-quick decisions with precision accuracy.<\/p>\n

Continually taking what the Lions gave him, Harris took just 52 seconds to complete six of seven passes on the game\u2019s final drive. Culminating in a game-winning Tommy Nield<\/a> touchdown, Harris moved 76 yards in the blink of an eye in one of the most stunning pieces of big-game football I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Mace trusted his instincts, and more importantly, trusted his team. And now they\u2019re playing for a Grey Cup for the first time in more than a decade.<\/p>\n

THE OTHER SIDE<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watching Hamilton\u2019s Bo Levi Mitchell<\/a>\u2019s close-up reaction as the Als hit their game-winning field goal was tough. One of the greatest to ever do it, Mitchell hadn\u2019t started a playoff game since 2021 and you knew how much this opportunity meant to him.<\/p>\n

Now 13 seasons into his pro career, no one knows how fickle this sport is better than Mitchell. But he\u2019ll also be 36 for next season and knows Grey Cup opportunities like Saturday\u2019s aren\u2019t a given.<\/p>\n

The good news? Mitchell is playing perhaps the best football of his career and has been named East Division Most Outstanding Player in two consecutive seasons. His relationship with head coach Scott Milanovich is stronger than ever. And the Tiger-Cats look poised to be in the East Division conversation once again in 2025.<\/p>\n

But it was just a reminder of the stark contrast between thrilling wins and gut-punch losses.<\/p>\n

THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a stellar 1-3 record picking playoff games this year, please take the following words with a grain of salt. Or perhaps a giant block of it. But it\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been this uncertain of a Grey Cup pick, which speaks to how great a matchup we have on our hands.<\/p>\n

It should be a perfect way to close out what\u2019s been a memorable 2025 campaign. This regular season was just outstanding and, with three walk-off finishes, the playoffs have followed right in line. And now we have a Grey Cup showdown with next to nothing separating the two teams.<\/p>\n

With wins in seven of their last eight, the Als are giving all kinds of 2023 flashbacks. The Riders, on the other hand, have been the league\u2019s best team all season. Montreal had the league\u2019s No. 1 pass defence and finished first in net offensive yards against. Saskatchewan? They were No. 1 defending the rush and allowed the fewest points in the league.<\/p>\n

The Alouettes boast a red-hot quarterback who\u2019s never lost a start. The Roughriders have a veteran in his 13th CFL season who will go down as one of the most accurate passers in league history. It\u2019s why most early lines have Saskatchewan by the smallest of margins, from 1.5 to 3.5 points, depending on where you look.<\/p>\n

Betting aside, in a straight pick \u2019em, this one is as good as a coin flip. But because I have to choose one, I\u2019m going with what should be a healthy home-field advantage and the team that\u2019s looked destined for this game since June. But no result will surprise me come Sunday.<\/p>\n

My 112th Grey Cup pick: Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How can you watch Davis Alexander play and not be entertained? The still unbeaten Montreal Alouettes quarterback was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-274237","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\/274237","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=274237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}