The Winnipeg Blue Bombers welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night as each team looks to punch their ticket to the 111th Grey Cup.
The Western Final features two squads with strong defences, veteran quarterbacks, bruising running backs, and play-making receivers. All of which will be on full display at Princess Auto Stadium starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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Winnipeg won the season series, 2-1, and will be looking to add another to that tally this weekend. It’s been a while since the Riders have won in Winnipeg; including the Western Final in 2021, the Bombers have won the last eight contests against their prairie rivals in their own home. Saskatchewan’s last win in Winnipeg was on September 8, 2018 with Zach Collaros as the starting pivot for the Riders.
But as they say, history is meant to be broken and while Winnipeg hopes they keep the streak alive, the the Roughriders are looking to snap it and earn their own way to Vancouver.
Here are five things to know about the Western Final.
DEFENCE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
For anyone that is a fan of defence (hello, I am!) the Western Final features two of the best in the CFL.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence was the best against the pass in the regular season, shutting down the aerial option for offences all year long. The Bombers held their opposition to a league-low 234.8 yards per game through the air through 21 weeks. Quarterbacks were also held to a league-low 60.9 per cent completion and passer rating (86.9) against the Blue and Gold D. They were tough to score against in 2024 too, allowing just 20.3 points per game, the least of any defence in the CFL.
On the other side of the matchup, the Roughriders were the best in the league against the run and in turnover margin. Saskatchewan allowed just 80.3 yards per game on the ground, the least in the league. The unit also finished the regular season first in turnover ratio with a +26, with 24 interceptions, led by Rolan Milligan Jr., who hauled in eight on the year. In last week’s Western Semi-Final, the Riders improved that number to +28 with three more interceptions and only one turnover on downs committed.
The two teams also ranked first and second in fewest first downs allowed; Winnipeg was first with an average of 17.3 first downs per game and Saskatchewan was just behind with 19.2.
Will the Western Final turn into a defensive battle?
THE SEASON SERIES BIG PERFORMERS
Speaking of the defence, there were defensive players on either team who had big performances during the three-game season series.
For the Riders, Rolan Milligan Jr. and Jameer Thurman were key factors in the second and third level of the defence. Both recorded 15 total defensive tackles across the three matchups.
Evan Holm and Willie Jefferson were the top performers for the Bombers against their prairie rivals. Holm tallied a whopping 20 defensive tackles in the series while Jefferson had nine defensive tackles and two sacks. Jefferson is suiting up for his 12th playoff appearance and he’s known to make big plays in those big games. He’s tallied five career playoff sacks, four forced fumbles, five pass knockdowns and 13 tackles in those post-season contests.
Oh, and don’t forget about Tyrell Ford who had a pair of INTs on Trevor Harris in the Labour Day Weekend rematch.
With two elite defences going head-to-head on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising to anyone to see these five guys (or any of the other 11 on the field with them) stepping up to the plate with a trip to the 111th Grey Cup on the line.
TREVOR HARRIS DOING TREVOR HARRIS THINGS
Trevor Harris only played in two of the three meetings between these two clubs and while the team didn’t win, he did everything he could to give them a chance. Over the two-game spread, Harris threw for 655 yards, five touchdowns, and the two aforementioned interceptions.
Heading into the Western Final, including last week’s Semi-Final, Harris has won his last five starts. His last loss? Against Winnipeg in Week 14.
Last week’s game against the Lions saw Harris do exactly what Harris does well; he was efficient and accurate and chipped away down the field with only one completion going for over 30 yards. The 38-year-old completed 26 of 33 passes for 279 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and an efficiency rating of 113.1.
“He’s the key to that, to that offence, right?” Jefferson said after the team’s closed walkthrough on Friday. “If we can get to him, make it hard for him to find his his targets early. We can knock some balls down, get him moving around, and not be able to just nickel and dime us down the field and stuff like that, we can have a good game.”
With his dominance in the post-season (see my piece from last week here for all of the records that Harris held going into that game), and his personal success against Winnipeg, can the Riders win and move onto the 111th Grey Cup?
WILL IT BE FIVE-IN-A-ROW?
Since Zach Collaros became a Winnipeg Blue Bomber, all they do is win, win, win no matter what.
Collaros was traded to Winnipeg in 2019 and led Winnipeg to wins in the Western Semi-Final and the Western Final earning their way to the 107th Grey Cup where they beat Hamilton for the coveted trophy.
Since then, in 2021, 2022, and 2023, Collaros and the Bombers have hosted the Western Final and won, earning trips to the Grey Cup in four straight seasons. They’ll be looking to do it all again this year and make it five appearances in a row on Saturday.
If they do so, they will join Edmonton (six: 1977-1982), Regina Roughriders (five: 1928-1932) and Hamilton (five: 1961-1965) as clubs with at least five consecutive appearances. If they do get to the Grey Cup, it will be the first time ever that Winnipeg has made the big show five times in a row.
As everyone watching the CFL this year has seen, Winnipeg has been one of the hottest teams down the stretch of the regular season. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games overall and have beaten opponents six of their last seven home games. Can they make it one more on Saturday?
KICKERS ARE PEOPLE TOO
Sometimes forgotten about but always important, the kickers, Brett Lauther and Sergio Castillo, could be an X-factor in Saturday’s contest.
Lauther hit 200+ points for the first time in his career and was the only kicker in the league that did not miss a single convert on the season (39 of 39). The final stretch of Lauther’s season was perfect, with the Truro, Nova Scotia native going 22 for 22 over the last six regular season games. He was also good on both field goal attempts in last week’s Western Semi-Final against BC. In his playoff career, Lauther has connected on 15 of 17 attempts.
Along with kicking the West Division-clinching 51-yard field goal in Week 21, Castillo has been money from distance for the Bombers. He connected on 11 of his 16 attempts from 50+ yards, including two from 60.
If yards and major scores are hard to come by on Saturday, every point will matter and these two may be relied upon heavily by their teams to add to the scoreboard.