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News October 26, 2025

Upon Further Review | Wpg 19 Mtl 10

Terry Wilson came off the bench to help the Blue Bombers knock off the Montreal Alouettes 19-10 on Saturday; photos by Cameron Bartlett

@EdTaitWFC

Brady Oliveira sat at his locker stall inside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers clubhouse late Saturday afternoon — not long after a 19-10 regular-season finale win over the Montreal Alouettes in front of another Princess Auto Stadium capacity crowd — and surveyed the room with a wide smile dominating his face.

And as your humble agent was chatting with fullback Michael Chris-Ike, one of several foot soldiers or new faces who had their fingerprints all over the win, the Blue Bombers star running back offered this about his teammate’s 63-yard run that saw him bulldoze through the line of scrimmage and then rumble into daylight:

“What a (very bad word) run! Love it. Just awesome.”

“It feels amazing to help your team win in any way you can,” said Chris-Ike, now in his second year with the club. “And I love it when I get an opportunity like that as a running back. I just made my read and when I saw that hole open, I just hit it as fast as I could.

“This squad has that next-man-up mentality. Every man in here practises and trains as a starter. That’s just how Winnipeg is.”

So, say what you will about the Blue Bombers last two performances — a 17-16 victory over a Saskatchewan Roughriders squad resting a bunch of regulars followed by the win over the Als with Winnipeg sitting seven starters, including Oliveira — but there can be something galvanizing going forward from what we saw this past weekend.

The game had preseason vibes leading into it, what with Winnipeg’s decision to sit some stars down and then the Als following by saving QB Davis Alexander and receiver and Tyler Snead after they were locked into second spot in the Canadian Football League’s East Division following the Hamilton Tiger-Cats win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday.

And so the Blue Bombers will head into the postseason on a two-game winning streak and having won four of their last five — even with so many critics howling at how those results looked.

Still, it’s something and it’s sure as hell better than the alternative.

“It’s a good feeling for the guys in the locker room,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after the game. “It’s flown by. This season is in the rear-view mirror already.

“So, now we’ve moved on. We’re not going to spend a lot of time looking in the rear-view mirror. That part is gone. Let’s go forward from here with everything we’ve got into this now. Let’s earn some more time together.”

Moving forward and putting everything they’ve got into this extra time together now focusses on a repeat against the Alouettes, this time in Montreal, as the crossover team into the Eastern Division Semi-Final on Saturday with a 1 p.m. CT start.

The Blue Bombers will be on the road for the playoffs for the first time since 2019 — and for those of you just joining us, that turned out well for Winnipeg — after hosting the last four West Division finals. It marks the first time in franchise history they will be the crossover, although it’s worth noting Winnipeg was in the East Division for 21 seasons (1987-94, 1997-2001, 2006-13).

Winnipeg did sweep the season series, but has yet to face Montreal star quarterback Davis Alexander, who is unbeaten as a starter in his young career. The Blue Bombers won 26-13 in Montreal in Week 12 and then followed that with Saturday’s victory.

ICYMI, here is our Game Recap from Saturday:

Game Recap | Mtl 10 Wpg 19

And what follows is the rest of this week’s Upon Further Review…

FIRST THINGS FIRST… football can be a cruel business at times and seeing Chris Streveler on crutches after the game is devastating. What shouldn’t be lost here is the value he brings to the club beyond the field as a vocal and inspirational leader who has long has a big-picture appreciation for the game and a mature outlook on life.

The injury not only bumps Terry Wilson up on the depth chart but does impact what the club will be able to do in short-yardage situations. Beyond that and looking at potentially another long rehab process, his future in the game is in jeopardy.

Whatever the case, a salute to the man from this perch and his dealings with those of us in the media.

Streveler, FYI, posted a message on his Instagram account after the game:

“Been trying to wrap my mind around what happened yesterday and the road ahead. All I know is this: I have no regrets. About the way I carried myself as a teammate & leader day in and day out. About how I worked everyday to get better. About how I treated everyone around me. I never cheated the process and laid it on the line every single time I stepped on the field. I’m not sure what the future looks like, but I’m confident there’s better things waiting for me on the other side of this recovery. I hope that my journey and mindset can inspire others to persevere through adversity just like I have done, and will continue to do. Thank you, as always, for all the support and everyone that reached out, it means more than you know.”

THE BLUE BOMBERS GOT BIG-TIME CONTRIBUTIONS… from so many on Saturday including the new defensive ends Kydran Jenkins and Matthew Jaworski, both of whom were just added on October 6th.

Each registered a sack and certainly showed enough to earn more work and a longer look heading into next season. We mentioned Jenkins in the Game Day HQ, and spoke with Jaworski post-game. A star during his days at Fordham University — his father Matt played two games for the Sacramento Gold Miners in 1994 — Jaworski was soaking up everything afterward.

“It was awesome,” said Jaworski, who attended mini camps with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks before signing with Winnipeg. “I sat at home or six months hoping for an opportunity to come so to be able to make the most of it feels great. I was training and just waiting for that call. I did some work with my grandfather to make a little money. I did anything he needed… landscaping.

“I give a lot of credit to the veteran D-linemen here. They welcomed both K.J. (Jenkins) and I, they stayed with us and got on the board with us to look at the plays. It really helped make the adjustment easier. The way I looked at it, every snap is an audition because you could get cut tomorrow. I really wanted to make the most of it.

FYI, Jaworski’s grandfather — Bill — drove up from Buffalo to be here in person for the game.

THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT… after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found here:

1 With all the commentary about style points this year let’s not forget this: the team has now posted nine consecutive seasons with a winning record. That is the best run in that department in franchise history and has included the five straight Grey Cup appearances and two championships.

One more jaw-dropping total: since 2017 this club is a dominating 56-14 at home.

2 Tony Jones added two more tackles and an interception to his defensive totals this year in limited time on Saturday before being rested. He finished the year with 102 tackles and only Barrin Simpson (112 in 2007, 110 in 2006), Greg Battle (108 in 1989), Henoc Muamba (106 in 2016) and Adam Bighill (105 in 2018) had more in a season.

3 Even with the Alouettes opting to rest Alexander and Snead, this can’t be overlooked: Winnipeg’s defence limited Montreal to 236 yards of net offence, including just 182 yards through the air.

It marked the third straight game the defence has kept an opponent’s passing total to under 200 yards. Since August 21, Winnipeg has surrendered an average of just 229.1 yards passing per game.

A QUOTE FROM JAMES VAUGHTERS… before the game that is telling, even though the veteran defensive end didn’t suit up on Saturday:

“I haven’t played in a playoff game in any league since the 2020 season (with the Chicago Bears in a 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round). It takes so much to get to the playoffs. It takes a lot to stay healthy to be able to play in it. And in any sport where it’s win or go home, you can’t help but feel excitement about that.

“That’s the biggest thing we have to impart on some of the young guys on this team AND even veterans that are used to going. It’s not something that should be taken for granted.

“Sometimes that needs to be said but it also should show in the way we practice and in the way we meet.”

AND THIS NEVER GETS OLD, SO LET’S KEEP IT GOING WHEN WE MEET AGAIN…

AND FINALLY… thanks for reading this far and for those who have made it to the bottom and want to see the video evidence of the win over the Alouettes, we have it here with the condensed game: