Davis Alexander lights up stadium off the bench, leads Alouettes to a comeback win (& seven other thoughts)

For the first time since September 2023, the Montreal Alouettes were playing a game coming off a loss.

With some magic from their third-string quarterback, Davis Alexander, the Als erased a 13-point deficit to beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders and become the only team in the CFL with a record of 6-1.

Below are my thoughts on the game.

Alexander’s magic

Though he was hardly a household name, Davis Alexander has been a member of the Alouettes since 2022. The Portland State product had to patiently wait for his turn to shine but when it came on Thursday night, he was ready for it.

The Als third-string quarterback came off the bench after the first half, replacing a struggling Caleb Evans who was starting in place of the injured Cody Fajardo. It totally changed the dynamic of the game and transformed a 16-3 deficit into a 20-16 lead in the process. Alexander completed his first twelve throws in a row and his first two drives ended with touchdowns. He finished the night having completed 15 of his 18 throws for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and, most importantly, no turnovers.

Alexander quickly faced a first-and-20 and then a second-and-long after being inserted into the offence but never panicked, brilliantly escaping the pressure to complete a pass to Tyson Philpot. It set up another escape that ended with his first CFL touchdown pass to Reggie White Jr.

From there, he led two more consecutive drives that ended with points. At the end of the third quarter, the Als had already flipped the script, leading by one.

After the game, the 25-year-old was thankful for the opportunity to show what he could do.

“It’s a moment I wanted my whole life, it’s a moment you think about forever,” he told the media.

Alexander didn’t get a single practice rep with the starters last Sunday and only got slightly involved later in the week. When asked about how challenging it can be to rise to the moment without the benefit of practice time, his answer was honest.

“That’s what we’re paid to do. They (the coaches) don’t care. Guys are wide open and I gotta find a way to get the ball to them”

Two completely different teams

Before halftime, the Als were multiplying mistakes, from coaches to players. Yes, Caleb Evans and the offence had a rough start, but the whole team failed to contribute. The Riders were able to sustain long drives into Montreal territory without much resistance. Kicker Jose Maltos also saw one of his field goals blocked at the end of the first half.

Everything changed when Alexander arrived in the game. The defence completely shut down the Riders, as they didn’t allow a single point in the second half. Special teams also played a role, as James Letcher Jr. started to have more encouraging returns to give his quarterback better field positioning.

Montreal started to play “Alouette” football and it paid off. They ran away with the two points and the CFL’s best record.

A proud general manager

General manager Danny Maciocia usually watches the final minutes of the game on the sidelines before going onto the field to talk to players after the final whistle blows. Thursday night, he had a special hug with Davis Alexander after his big performance. Maciocia brought him to Montreal and always believed he could get the job done. 

When he finished, Maciocia turned around and changed his routine by accepting a post-game scrum with the media. I asked him if he was surprised by Alexander’s level of play.

“Honestly, no, not at all. There are players like that, they are gamers. Sometimes they play better than they practice,” he remarked. “As soon as I saw him playing in Portland, I had the feeling that we could develop him.”

Evans misses his opportunity

The biggest question coming into this week for the Alouettes was the level of play of backup Caleb Evans. With Cody Fajardo placed on the six-game injured list, he needed to show the whole CFL that he could keep the Montreal boat afloat. He missed his chance badly.

After an encouraging first drive that ended with a Jose Maltos field goal, it all went downhill. On his next possession, the fourth-year man fumbled the ball while scrambling and never recovered. He didn’t manage to lead his team to score any more points before being replaced at half-time.

It seemed as if Evans was having issues working through his progression. When the Riders removed his first option, he wasn’t able to get to his second or third read. He was quickly going into survival mode and that impeded him from seeing open receivers.

“It just wasn’t clicking for me tonight. We had a good first drive, but from there we had some miscommunications”, he told the media.

Kudos to the 26-year-old quarterback for facing the music after the game. He added that he is taking things day by day and that he will be ready when the next opportunity comes along.

Two worrying trends

With six wins in seven games, everything is going smoothly standings-wise for the Alouettes. The second-place Redblacks have yet to beat a better team than Hamilton or Edmonton, and Toronto already has a record of 3-3.

However, some worrying trends will need to be addressed. The first one is a run defence that is too generous to opposing rushers. Saskatchewan’s Frankie Hickson, who was replacing an injured A.J. Ouellette, had himself a night with 117 yards on the ground on Thursday. Toronto’s Ka’Deem Carey had 94 two weeks ago with similar schemes. Noel Thorpe will need to adjust and close the running lanes quicker to disrupt the play closer to the line of scrimmage.

The Alouettes have also had slow starts in the last three games. Against Calgary and Saskatchewan, it took a huge second-half comeback and against Toronto, Montreal couldn’t take control of the game early, which was costly.

When things are going well for a team, that’s the best moment for the head coach to be more demanding with his players. Those bad tendencies can be fatal in a playoff game and that’s something Jason Maas must have in the back of his mind.

The end

Once again, the finish at Percival-Molson Stadium was spectacular as the defence held down the fort to win the game. Although it took around ten minutes of real-time, Als fans were involved and disrupted Shea Patterson’s offence.

I don’t know if people who have never been to a game in Montreal can understand how loud the building can get, especially at the end of the game. It wasn’t a sell-out yesterday, with 19,653 in attendance, but the location of the stadium and the fans — with or without air horns — made it a special night.

What’s next?`

The Alouettes will take to the road to visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday, August 2. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.

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