What a football game in Regina! The best of the East versus the best of the West matchup didn’t disappoint as the Montreal Alouettes found another way to win, notching a 27-24 victory against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Below are my thoughts on the game.
Davis the gamer
The Riders and their fans must have nightmares about Davis Alexander. A few weeks ago in Montreal, the 25-year-old orchestrated a brilliant comeback after Caleb Evans struggled in the first half. Although the home team had more time to prepare for him this week, he found a way to get the job done in a hostile environment.
Alexander finished 22-of-33 for 285 yards and a touchdown. He also ran four times for 33 yards, the last being the most memorable as he tip-toed the sideline for the winning score.
As in his two first CFL starts, Alexander struggled to start the game strong as his offence didn’t score a single point in the first 26 minutes of action. Thanks to their defence and the Riders’ mistakes, the team only trailed by seven when he found Walter Fletcher in the flat for the first major.
After a rough third quarter, he answered perfectly when the game was on the line. Alexander led his team on a 91-yard game-winning drive, showing his escape abilities twice on important plays, including his touchdown. The other was a second-and-nine deep in Alouettes’ territory that he converted with a pass to Cole Spieker.
Alexander’s dad is fighting Stage 4 lung cancer, and the quarterback missed some practice time this week to fly home and see him. He was playing for something bigger than himself in this game and it showed on the field.
Three down, no problem
The Als went into Regina without Tyson Philpot, Kaion Julien-Grant and Tyler Snead — three key starters at the beginning of the season. Alexander still found a way to get the offence rolling without them.
Although the replacements weren’t targeted much, Spieker and Charleston Rambo stepped up for the team. They combined for 186 yards on 10 completions.
Spieker was the spark at the end of the first half when he caught a 46-yard pass from Alexander. Rambo then took over with a complete domination of Amari Henderson, generating two big plays. It has been a tough season for the Rider defensive back but that shouldn’t take the credit away from Rambo, who made great moves to win yards after catches.
A complete team effort
It took everything to beat an excellent Saskatchewan team. Every unit struggled at some point in the game, but the Alouettes never folded. The defence held down the fort in the first half, limiting the home team to seven points. Special teams finally scored a touchdown, and the offence scored the necessary points at the end of the game.
This team is showing resilience week after week. It doesn’t matter who is in the lineup; the Als are getting the job done.
Thank you, Riders!
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were great hosts for the Alouettes. Cody Fajardo received a warm welcome from the fans and the Canadian national anthem was sung in both languages.
On the field, the home team was too generous. The Riders should have won that game but missed field goals and some head-scratching decisions by Corey Mace gave the Als a chance to leave Mosaic Stadium victorious.
Brett Lauther will remember August 16th, 2024, for the rest of his life. He missed four field goals, including one that could have sent the game to overtime and one that was returned 128 yards for a touchdown by James Letcher Jr.
Corey Mace refused to go for it on third-and-short on multiple occasions. Scared money doesn’t make money, and the Riders paid for it.
Physically dominated at the line of scrimmage
Victories can hide a few flaws, but this must be said: both the offensive and defensive lines need to improve.
I said earlier that Alexander wasn’t the only one responsible for the offensive struggles in this game and it’s true: the pocket collapsed on him too many times. The Riders have a very good line, but questions need to be asked when you allow four sacks and lose battles with extra help.
At times, Alexander kept the ball too long but overall, the unit in front of him needs to be better, especially since they’ve been playing together for the whole year. At the beginning of the season, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, the O-line coach, promised that his unit would be improved from last year; they will need to live up to that down the stretch.
On the other side of the ball, the Riders had a patched-together offensive line and the Als’ pass rushers didn’t get to Trevor Harris once. Although the veteran quarterback generally releases the ball quickly, Montreal didn’t seize the opportunities to hit him when they came. On the Mitch Picton touchdown, the blitz didn’t get there on time. Nafees Lyon didn’t look good either when he fell in transition, but the pressure could have done the job before the ball was in the air.
Finally doing its job
The CFL command centre has been criticized a lot during the 2024 season, but it wasn’t a problem Friday night. It intervened when it was needed and got the calls right.
Yes, there was pass interference against Rambo on Montreal’s final drive. Although the receiver sold it well, Marcus Sayles did extend his arm without playing the ball.
Did Alexander put his foot out of bounds on the deciding touchdown? Even after looking at the replay many times from every angle and at every speed, there is no consensus. When that happens, the command centre shouldn’t change the decision taken on the field and that’s what Al Bradbury and his crew did.
For the record, I do think that Alexander was out of bounds, but I wouldn’t bet my house on it.
CFL at its best
It was 17-13 when the fourth quarter started. A missed field goal turned into a touchdown, two long drives for majors, and a final miss from Lauther made the finish memorable in Mosaic Stadium.
It is hard to sell the CFL in a hockey/Canadiens market like Montreal but if games like this don’t attract new fans, I don’t know what will. It had everything that makes the league an entertaining one.
What’s next?
The Montreal Alouettes (9-1) will host the Edmonton Elks (2-7) next week in Montreal. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 25.
Pablo is an Alouettes and CFL reporter based in Montreal.
