Winnipeg Blue Bombers overcome receiver injuries to beat Alouettes (& eight other thoughts)

August 22, 2025

Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Montreal Alouettes by a score of 26-13 in front of 20,301 fans at Molson Stadium on Thursday night. Below are my thoughts on the game.

Clean offence

Winnipeg has struggled offensively at times this season but the unit coached by first-year coordinator Jason Hogan was squeaky clean on Thursday night.

Zach Collaros had one of his best games of the year under trying circumstances (more on that in a moment) as he completed 27-of-31 pass attempts for 263 yards and one touchdown. The veteran passer was decisive with the ball, showed impressive accuracy, and took what a talented Montreal defence gave him, though he also wasn’t afraid the throw the ball into some traffic when needed.

Brady Oliveira had first 100-yard rushing performance of the season as he ran 16 times for 137 yards, caught nine passes for 73 yards, and scored one touchdown. He seemed to get better as the game went on, which is a good sign considering how critical he is to the team’s ability to close out games.

It wasn’t a perfect performance from the offence, of course. Collaros took a sack when he pulled the ball from Oliveira and a blitzing defender went unchecked. Right tackle Kendall Randolph allowed a sack when Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund beat him around the edge. Chris Streveler also took a time count violation late in the fourth quarter when there appeared to be confusion at the line of scrimmage on second-and-short.

Regardless, the unit made no major mistakes, which is a significant improvement over what we’ve seen for stretches this season.

The Blue Bombers committed a league-worst 28 giveaways over their first nine games but didn’t turn the ball over once in Montreal, which was a clear step in the right direction.

The unit also kept Oliveira involved into the second half, something they’ve not always done in late-game situations this year. The league’s reigning M.O.P. got 10 touches in the fourth quarter, helping Winnipeg set the physical tone and run down the clock.

Winnipeg’s offence also remained effective even after the Alouettes got a chance to make halftime adjustments. The unit wasn’t terribly productive in the third quarter but managed over 100 net yards in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

If the Blue Bombers are going to get back to a sixth-straight Grey Cup, the offence needs to be better in the second half of the regular season than it was in the first half. It’s a short sample size, of course, but the team is off to a good start.

Explosion plays

Winnipeg entered this week’s game allowing 2.1 completions of 30-plus yards per game, ranking dead-last in the CFL. The defence wasted no time giving up another one as James Morgan hit Alexander Hollins for 45 yards midway through the first quarter.

Hollins ran a double move and field-side cornerback Dexter Lawson Jr. bit hard, allowing the veteran receiver to get behind coverage. Montreal used Travis Theis, Tyler Snead, and Regis Cibasu to help in the blocking scheme, giving the Alouettes eight blockers to handle Winnipeg’s four pass rushers.

On Montreal’s next possession, the Alouettes ran a trick play that saw Snead collect a pitch from Morgan before completing a 44-yard deep shot to Hollins. Trey Vaval was in decent position on the play but didn’t get his hands up in time, almost as if he didn’t realize the ball was on its way.

Demerio Houston, who was brought back this week after being cleared under the CFL’s gender-based violence policy, took second-team reps at boundary cornerback in practice this week. One has to wonder how soon we’ll see him in the starting lineup.

With that said, it was far from a poor performance from Winnipeg’s defence, which allowed only 13 points and 302 net yards of offence, albeit it against a first-time CFL starter. James Morgan finished 18-of-33 for 198 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, which were picked off by Evan Holm and Vaval.

Dropping like flies

Nic Demski caught four passes for 25 yards and one touchdown before leaving for the locker room a little before halftime due to an apparent head injury and did not return.

The Winnipeg native’s score came on a crafty two-yard pass from Zach Collaros, who pulled the ball on a read-option near the goal line to hit the receiver in the flat. Demski’s best catch came along the sideline midway through the second quarter for 19 yards to convert on second-and-long — something the Blue Bombers have struggled with at times this year.

Jerreth Sterns caught a 22-yard pass on second-and-long to set-up a field goal from Sergio Castillo late in the second quarter but took a brutal (but clean) shot from defensive back Arthur Hamlin. He didn’t return to the game, appearing to favour his shoulder area.

Credit to backup quarterback Chris Streveler for finishing the game at receiver, a position he played at the University of Minnesota and has played at least once under similar conditions since returning to the CFL last year. The 30-year-old didn’t record any catches but made some nice blocks in the running game, helping spring Brady Oliveira.

Demski and Sterns entered this week with a combined 980 receiving yards — only 316 yards fewer than every other player on the team combined. If either misses considerable time, that will be a problem even with Dalton Schoen likely to return next week. Joey Corcoran, the only backup Winnipeg dressed on Thursday, finished the game with one drop and one offside penalty. Yikes.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have no reason to help their prairie rivals but Shawn Bane Jr., who was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2023, has been a healthy scratch for the past month as he returns from a torn ACL he suffered last year. Is there any chance he’d be available for the Blue Bombers via trade?

Given how well KeeSean Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, and Joe Robustelli have played this season, Bane Jr. isn’t getting back in the lineup anytime soon in Saskatchewan. Kian Schaffer-Baker and Samuel Emilus are expected to return from injury at some point as well, giving the Roughriders even more depth in the receiving corps.

Pass rush

The Blue Bombers didn’t register any sacks on Thursday but that doesn’t mean the defensive line wasn’t disruptive.

Rookie defensive end Jay Person made a key play midway through the second quarter when he beat left tackle Nick Callender off the edge to disrupt the throwing motion of James Morgan right as the ball came out of his hand.

The result was a high throw that fluttered in the air, allowing field-side halfback Evan Holm to make his fourth interception of the season and second in as many weeks. On paper, it was Holm who made the play, but the one who truly caused the turnover was Person.

Willie Jefferson made two pass knockdowns in the win, including one that caused a turnover on downs near the midway point of the fourth quarter.

Winnipeg’s defence needs to find a way to get at least a little more pressure on opposing quarterbacks but sacks aren’t always the best metric of success. Disrupting throws and knocking down passes are still great ways to affect the game.

Logan’s run

Peyton Logan made his much-anticipated Winnipeg debut on Thursday night as he caught two passes for 10 yards, returned three kickoffs for 55 yards, and returned one punt for five yards. The Blue Bombers listed him and Trey Vaval as co-returners against Montreal and they split the duties with the rookie returning two punts for 14 yards.

Logan suffered his thigh injury on one of the first days of training camp, so it didn’t occur to me until practice on Monday that I had no idea what number Logan was assigned. It’ll take some time to get used to seeing him in Adam Bighill’s old No. 4.

It wasn’t an explosive debut for Logan but this was his first chance to see game action in over nine months. As he’s now presumably knocked off some rust, look for him to become more impactful over Winnipeg’s remaining games.

Bleeding ears

The fans in Montreal have found a creative solution to the team’s air horn ban as many are apparently bringing noisemakers that mimic the obnoxious sounds made by various emergency vehicles.

Can we please nip this in the bud? The air horns were bad but these noisemakers are worse. There are plenty of perfectly valid ways for fans to make noise at sporting events, including clapping, yelling, stomping, and ringing cowbells. We don’t need emergency vehicle noises spoiling the atmosphere.

Bisons watch

The Manitoba Bisons lost to the Regina Rams by a score of 31-28 in preseason action at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday night. I wrote a season preview on the Bisons, who are coming off a 7-1 season that saw them finish atop the Canada West standings before suffering an upset loss in the Hardy Cup semifinal last year.

Manitoba will play three regular-season home games that don’t conflict with the Blue Bombers this year: Sept. 13 against the Saskatchewan Huskies, Oct. 4 against the UBC Thunderbirds, and Oct. 18 against the Calgary Dinos. If you’re looking to get out to a game or two, put those dates in your calendar.

Next up

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-4) will visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-1) for the annual Labour Day Classic on Sunday, August 31 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Roughriders will play a game between now and then as they’re is scheduled to visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday evening.

The Blue Bombers have won three of the last four Labour Day Classics, including last year when they built a 29-14 lead at halftime when Zach Collaros left the game with a neck injury and Chris Streveler wrapped things up. It should be a rockin’ house at Mosaic Stadium as some standing room tickets have been added to an otherwise sold-out game.

The context of this year’s game is a little different as Saskatchewan currently has a commanding lead in the West Division, whereas the club was 5-5-1 heading into the Labour Day Classic last season. This is will be the first of three meetings between the prairie rivals in 2025 and the Blue Bombers may have to sweep the series if they hope to host the West Final for a fifth straight year.

Leave a Comment

© 2025 thopnews. All rights reserved.