Roughriders force late fumble at goal line, beat Alouettes 25-17 for 5th Grey Cup title

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Tevaughn Campbell forced Montreal backup quarterback Shea Patterson's fumble at the goal line and Marcus Sayles recovered it in the end zone with 2:53 left to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Alouettes 25-17 on Sunday night for their fifth Grey Cup title.

Saskatchewan also won Canadian Football League championships in 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013. Montreal won the last of its eight titles in 2023.

Trevor Harris completed 23 of 27 passes for 302 yards for Saskatchewan, and the 39-year-old was selected the game MVP.

“I’m just grateful for my teammates. I’m so thankful for my teammates,” Harris said. ”“We did it. It wasn’t the prettiest game but it never is.”

Samuel Emilus had 10 catches for 108 yards, A.J. Ouellette ran for 83 yards and a TD and backup quarterback Tommy Stevens had two 1-yard scoring runs.

Sayles also had an interception for the first takeaway of the game.

Montreal starter Davis Alexander lost for the first time after winning his first 13 starts, going 11-0 over two years during the regular season and adding playoff wins over Winnipeg and Hamilton this year. Fighting a left hamstring injury, Alexander threw three interceptions.

“I didn’t play well enough to win this game for us,” Alexander said. “I did a couple things that I didn’t do during the year, you know, turn the ball over three times. When you get outplayed in the quarterback position, you put your team at a deficit right away..”

On the final play of the game, his long heave fell incomplete.

“I thought he ran around pretty good,” Roughriders defensive lineman Micah Johnson said. “I thought we did a good job of taking stuff away from him. In my opinion he was running around decently … he was healthy.”

Saskatchewan led 25-7 in the third quarter on Stevens' second touchdown and Brett Lauther’s 48-yard field goal.

Stevie Scott III had an 11-yard scoring run for Montreal on the final play of the third, and Jose Carlos Maltos made a 23-yard field goal to cut it to 25-17 midway through the fourth. The Roughriders then missed a chance to pad the lead when Lauther's 32-yard field-goal try was wide to the right.

Montreal took a 7-1 lead late in the first quarter on Patterson’s 1-yard run. In the second quarter, Stevens scored his first TD and Ouellette ran in from 4 yards.

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Montreal Alouettes' Darnell Sankey (1) looks on following second half CFL football action against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders' Marcus Sayles (8), bottom, celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble from Montreal Alouettes' Shea Patterson (7) during second half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris (7) celebrates the team's win over the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL Grey Cup football game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris (7) celebrates his team's win over the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL Grey Cup football game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders' A.J. Ouellette (45) celebrates his touchdown against the Montreal Alouettes during first half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders' Tommy Nield (83) gets taken down by Montreal Alouettes' Najee Murray (12) after running 34 yards to the Montreal one-yard line for first down during second half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Tommy Stevens (17) celebrates his touchdown with teammate A.J. Ouellette (45) against the Montreal Alouettes during second half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders' Kian Schaffer-Baker (89) is tackled by Montreal Alouettes' Marc-Antoine Dequoy (24) as Wesley Sutton (37) reaches for the ball during second half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Saskatchewan Roughriders' A.J. Ouellette (45), left, celebrates his touchdown with teammates while taking on the Montreal Alouettes during first half CFL football action in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Atlanta Hawks coach Quinn Snyder believes fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson is still a work in progress. If he’s right, it’s a terrifying prospect for opponents.

Johnson continued his emergence with his second triple-double in two nights Saturday, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 131-116 win over the Washington Wizards.

It was his fourth of a season in which every one of those performances has been needed as the Hawks manage without four-time All-Star Trae Young, who has been out since late October with a sprained right MCL.

Johnson is averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists, all significant improvements from a 2024-25 campaign that was easily his best.

“It’s reflective of a guy that’s done a lot of work that we need to make a lot of plays for us,” Snyder said of Johnson. “The triple-doubles, like the statistics, are great. But he wants to win and there’s more there. He can continue to become more efficient, because we need him to be that.”

Both Friday and Saturday’s performances were historic.

In Friday’s 134-133 home loss to Denver, he recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history, reaching the threshold in only 16:44. (Denver’s Nikola Jokic holds the record of 14 minutes, 33 seconds.)

Saturday, he became only the second Hawks player ever with triple-doubles on both ends of a back-to-back, after Bob Sura did it on April 9 and 10, 2004.

“Yesterday was cool, but tonight was more important because we got the win,” Johnson said. “So I think that’s what makes it better. But it was just a great group effort and like I said before, it’s just a product of my teammates hitting shots and everybody making the game much easier for me.”

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Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dribbles the ball against Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards forwards Justin Champagnie (9) and Tristan Vukcevic (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie (9) fouls Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)