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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Jake Ceresna (94) \u2014 who went down last week with a knee injury \u2014 is cleared to play against Montreal. The defensive tackle leads the team with seven sacks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reinforcements<\/p>\n
The Bombers received some encouraging news on the injury front this week.<\/p>\n
Despite missing practice time with a knee injury, defensive tackle Jake Ceresna \u2014 who leads the team with seven sacks \u2014 has been cleared to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of those relentless workers that happens to be a very large man and very skilled for what he does,\u201d said Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he wasn\u2019t able to go, the guys around would pick it all up, but he\u2019s one of one for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Receiver Ontaria Wilson is also returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for two games. It will mark the first time this season that the Bombers have had their four leading pass-catchers \u2014 Wilson, Tim White, Nic Demski and rookie Dorian Singer \u2014 on the field together.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Thiadric Hansen will make his season debut in Montreal. Hansen is one of several returning Bombers in the lineup Saturday night.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s a receiving group the Bombers could have been using weeks ago, but Singer remained on the practice roster until the Labour Day Classic.<\/p>\n Starting dimeback Michael Griffin II, one of the team\u2019s most versatile defenders, is also back after missing six games with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n \u201cHe moves and has vision like a DB. (And he has) the weight, the physicality to play in the box,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cYou could just put him in a bunch of different spots.\u201d<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Global defensive end Thiadric Hansen, who was called up from the practice squad and is set to make his season debut after rejoining the club more than a week ago.<\/p>\n Brown under centre<\/p>\n Montreal has had Dru Brown\u2019s number.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 0-2 as a starter against the Als, and they are the only team in the CFL that he hasn\u2019t thrown for 300 yards against.<\/p>\n More importantly, last week\u2019s 30-28 loss to Toronto dropped Brown\u2019s record to 2-3 in 2026. With starting quarterback Zach Collaros (head) potentially unavailable down the stretch, Brown needs to elevate his game sooner rather than later if the Bombers hope to make some noise.<\/p>\n His 7.9 yards per attempt and 88.4 quarterback rating are his lowest marks since his rookie season in 2021. Brown has thrown for 1,341 yards, completing 68 per cent of his passes, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.<\/p>\n He could certainly use some better protection from his offensive line, which has surrendered a league-high 36 sacks. Montreal, meanwhile, has allowed a league-low 12.<\/p>\n Run game<\/p>\n The Bombers were expected to have a significant advantage on the ground the last time they visited Montreal.<\/p>\n Instead, workhorse running back Brady Oliveira was held to eight carries for 38 yards in the 2025 East semifinal. He also fumbled late in the game \u2014 a costly turnover that helped sink the Bombers.<\/p>\n The Als, meanwhile, got a career performance from Stevie Scott III, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-33 victory.<\/p>\n With starter Travis Theis on the six-game injured list, Scott will get another opportunity to hurt the Bombers this week.<\/p>\n Winnipeg can\u2019t afford to let that happen again. Oliveira leads the league with 1,223 rushing yards and has topped the 100-yard mark in six of his last eight games.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Peter McCabe \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Montreal Alouettes receiver Tyson Philpot (6) is just 135 yards shy of setting a new single-season record by a Canadian. Philpot also leads the league with 108 receptions, which puts him four away from tying the Als\u2019 single-season franchise record.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Chasing history<\/p>\n History is within reach for Alouettes receiver Tyson Philpot this week. The Calgary native is just 135 receiving yards shy of setting a new single-season record by a Canadian.<\/p>\n The mark has stood since 1967, when Terry Evanshen recorded 1,662 yards as a member of the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n Philpot also leads the league with 108 receptions, which puts him four away from the Als\u2019 single-season franchise record shared by Ben Cahoon (2003) and Jamel Richardson (2011).<\/p>\n \u201cI think about when I first picked up a football, running around in the backyard with my brother (Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot) at five, six years old and tackling each other, and thinking about being great, being one of the best ever,\u201d said Philpot.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to even just be in that conversation is just a product of how hard I\u2019ve worked.\u201d<\/p>\n It certainly helps to have arguably the league\u2019s best quarterback throwing him the ball in Davis Alexander. The Als starting pivot boasts an astonishing 29:3 TD-INT ratio and averages 315 passing yards per game.<\/p>\n But if anyone can slow down Alexander and Philpot, it might just be Winnipeg. The Bombers boast the CFL\u2019s top pass defence, allowing an average of 273.4 passing yards per game.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Reporter
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