The Montreal Alouettes had almost everything against them in Regina.
Coming off a five-game winless streak, they faced the best team in the CFL, had to travel, were playing with a backup quarterback, and lost their starting running back on the first play of the game. Despite all of that, the Als arguably played their best team game of the season and left Saskatchewan with a 48-31 win.
Below are my thoughts on the game.
Bethel-Thompson answers
On August 8, when McLeod Bethel-Thompson left the game against the Elks amid boos at Percival-Molson Stadium, he had just thrown a pick-six to DB Tyrell Ford. Many expected that play to be his last as an Alouette, maybe even his last in the CFL, but the 37-year-old had more to offer.
After weak performances from Caleb Evans and James Morgan, MBT’s return was unexpectedly anticipated, and he delivered his best game in a long time.
He finished 20-of-26 for 379 yards, three touchdown passes and most importantly, no interceptions. He was clinical when the Riders were answering with touchdowns. He kept his cool, managed the game, and drove the field when he had the chance.
Bethel-Thompson distributed the ball well enough, but the most significant improvement was his success on 20+ yard passes. Coming into the game, he was one-for-20 on such throws. He finished four-for-four on Saturday night.
Tyson Philpot’s game
Last week, after his first game back from injury, Tyson Philpot told 3DownNation how frustrating and difficult it was for him to go through another injury after almost a year spent recovering from his previous one. However, he was ready to turn the page and did it brilliantly.
Philpot had the most productive night of his career and became the first Als receiver since Jermaine Copeland in 2003 to have a 200+ yard game. His 238 yards on Saturday night are the second most in team history. Only Hal Patterson, with 338 in 1956, is ahead of him. That’s an incredible achievement. He also scored two touchdowns.
Former Als DB Kerfalla Exume will have nightmares thinking about his game covering Philpot. On the majority of his catches, including his two touchdowns, the receiver beat his former teammate cleanly, though each came in different ways. On his first touchdown, he used his speed to beat Exume with a slant-and-go route. On the second, he had a similar start but beat the defensive back with a true double move.
Scott III to the rescue (ft. the offensive line)
Before the start of the season, the Als released Walter Fletcher and kept Stevie Scott III on the main roster. He hadn’t been able to establish himself prior to Saturday’s game. It took an injury to Travis Theis on the first offensive snap of the game for him to shine. A full game later, he is now the only Als’ running back with a 100+ yard game this season.
Scott showed his quickness and toughness as he found the lanes between his blockers. He punished the Riders’ linebackers when he had the opportunity, especially in the fourth quarter.
Scott III might want to invite the offensive line to dinner after this game. They had arguably their best game of the season in protection and in the run game. Right guard Donny Ventrelli even scored a touchdown when he recovered a fumble from his teammate, Tyler Snead.
Defence regains energy
Last week, the Als looked listless, especially on defence. As I mentioned in my post-game column, Noel Thorpe’s unit couldn’t stop the Tiger-Cats quick enough and didn’t create enough turnovers to compensate for it. Saturday night, it was the complete opposite. The defence came ready to play from the get-go and limited the damage, especially in the run game.
The Als’ defence was the more physical unit and imposed its will at the line of scrimmage. A.J. Ouellette had a quiet night, and it put the game on Trevor Harris’ back. The Als’ defensive backs did their job to remove the Riders’ quarterback on his first read, the DL took care of the rest with well-dosed pressures.
“The game plan was to stop the run,” said DE Lwal Uguak after the game on Joey Alfieri’s post-game show. “It was raining earlier, and we knew it was going to be a dog fight. We just took care of what we needed to take care of.”
Wesley Sutton’s interception was the best example of the defensive display on Saturday. He ran a better route than KeeSean Johnson and beat him to the ball. That’s what he and the rest of his teammates need to do more often.
One of the few drawbacks of this Montreal performance was Marc-Antoine Dequoy. On the first Riders touchdown, he anticipated the pass, but it was too late, and he completely missed both the player and the ball. He wasn’t even close to having the right timing. It was worse on the last Saskatchewan touchdown, where he missed Dohnte Meyers, who went all the way.
Dequoy’s season hasn’t been its best. He was also injured earlier in the season, but he has to step up because Arthur Hamlin is waiting for a permanent look at the position. Although injured, Nate Beauchemin should also be in the discussion when he returns.
The coaches respond
Jason Maas and his entire staff deserve some praise after Saturday’s win. It started well before kickoff as it appears Cole Spieker, Shawn Lemon and Shawn Oakman were all benched as healthy scratches. None of those players appeared on this week’s injury report. It was a significant message to the group, which they understood and responded to.
Offensively, the Als took advantage of Tyson Philpot’s speed against Kerfalla Exume, who was making his first CFL start. Maas exploited the defensive back with different schemes.
Then, defensively, the Als took advantage of the wet conditions to put pressure on the Riders’ passing game by stopping the run. Trevor Harris had to face second-and-long situations all night long, and the coverage offered was adequate. The last minutes of the fourth quarter can be ignored, considering that the game was almost sealed.
Riders failed the test
Like the Als last week, the Riders came out flat in this game. Coming into tonight, they had secured a playoff berth with a bye week coming up. They showed they are human with this performance.
That being said, I don’t understand why head coach Corey Mace didn’t change his strategies to ensure Exume had more help. He clearly struggled with Philpot, while other DBs didn’t against their receivers. Especially in this game, the Als’ Canadian weapon needed to be doubled. He wasn’t on key second downs.
What’s next?
The Als will travel to Toronto to face the Argonauts next Friday, September 19. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
