The Montreal Alouettes had a massive opportunity on Friday night. With a win against the Toronto Argonauts, they could buy themselves some breathing room at the second spot of the East Division and put their opponent in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.
It wasn’t pretty, not at all, but the Als found a way to get a 21-19 win. Below are my thoughts on the game.
The good and the very bad of MBT
Last week, McLeod Bethel-Thompson had an almost flawless performance. He protected the football, he moved the chains all night, and he was precise. It was the complete opposite we saw on Friday night for the majority of the game.
At the half, he had 110 yards on only 10 completions, one touchdown pass and three interceptions. MBT was accumulating mistakes, but his defence bailed him out every single time. His first five possessions ended with three punts and two interceptions. It should have been enough to be trailing by at least two touchdowns, but the Als were only behind 6-0 when he stepped on the field for his sixth possession.
It ended up being his best drive of the night, as he capped an 11-play, 64-yard march with a touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo. The problem is that he added another critical mistake at the end of the first 30 minutes when he tried to connect with Tyler Snead in the deep middle of the field. Argos’ safety Derek Slywka read the play perfectly and gave his team a chance to take the lead before the half.
Although head coach Jason Maas deserves part of the blame for his play-calling, there is no excuse for such a mistake from the veteran QB, especially after a pick-six at the end of the first half a couple of weeks ago against the Elks led to his benching.
Bethel-Thompson didn’t have a much more explosive second half, but he connected with Tyler Snead and Austin Mack on key plays to create just enough offence to win. Those were his best throws by far, but he also limited the number of mistakes.
It should be noted that MBT didn’t appear comfortable on some of his throws, which might explain some of the mistakes he had through the game. The balls weren’t as fast as he usually delivers them. It is something to keep an eye on for next week — if he starts, obviously.
Defensive masterclass
After a stint with the Edmonton Elks, Jarret Doege made his first start as a member of the Toronto Argonauts on Friday. After building a winning drive last week in relief of Nick Arbuckle, he didn’t look as comfortable this time around, and that’s because of the Als’ defence.
Noel Thorpe’s unit made his life miserable for most of the night with pressure from the defensive line. It allowed the defensive backs to play more man coverage, which ultimately helped the Als.
The defence was put in tough situations to start the game, but answered brilliantly. Like they did last week in Regina, they forced a lot of two-and-outs, especially at the beginning of the second half when the Als couldn’t handle the football effectively on offence. A grand total of seven Toronto drives ended without a first down gained.
At the end of the game, the only thing missing was a turnover. Wesley Sutton checked that box with a game-winning interception to put a bow on this great performance.
The Moose is back
Mustafa Johnson, in only his second start of the season, dominated the Argos front in multiple ways. He disrupted Toronto’s run game early, which forced Ryan Dinwiddie to change his game plan and ask his third-string quarterback to throw the ball more often than he would have liked.
Johnson also allowed his teammates to shine with sacks while he was taking care of two offensive linemen. It didn’t take long, but he’s back at being one of the best defensive tackles in the CFL.
The secondary was also tested early on by Doege. Lorenzo Burns and Sutton had strong outings for the Als with tight coverages on the Argos’ receivers. Marc-Antoine Dequoy answered after his mistakes last week with timely play-making when needed. He was closer to the football and able to tackle receivers even when he didn’t get his hands on the pass.
Lucky win
At the end of the season, no one will remember the way the Als won this football game; the standings will speak for themselves. With Davis Alexander still out of the lineup, it’s now not how they win games, but how many they do.
However, to achieve this result, it took everything, including lucky bounces and the intervention of the command centre.
It started in the fourth quarter when Toronto’s Darrius Bratton got penalized for pass interference on Charleston Rambo after a review by the command centre. It shouldn’t have been a penalty, as Rambo fell when he realized he wouldn’t be able to reach the ball.
Then, after the Argos scored their lone touchdown of the game, they attempted a surprise onside kick. The Als weren’t ready, and Jonathan Edouard had the chance to recover the ball. However, he could only tip it, and Joshua Archibald pushed it out just before stepping out of bounds.
Finally, on the Sutton interception, he should have been penalized for pass interference, especially since the officials had lowered the standard. He grabbed Makai Polk’s shirt and spun the receiver to get to the ball first.
In the end, the Als won’t complain about the luck they had, but it won’t happen every game.
Ryan Dinwiddie’s gift to the Als
For this week’s thought about the Als’ opponent, I need to cover Ryan Dinwiddie’s end-of-game decisions.
He had the opportunity to kick a field goal with 2:30 remaining in the game with the Argos trailing by five. Instead, he gambled and went on third down, which his team converted. Then, a minute later, the same situation occurred, and Dinwiddie decided to go for the field goal and ask his defence to get the ball back.
If that was the strategy all along, why not kick the field goal earlier with arguably the best kicker in the CFL?
The Argos did get the ball back, but the seconds were winding down when Doege threw his interception. With more time, he might still have thrown that pick, but he would have been able to settle down, and the play calling might have been different as well. The Argos seemed rushed on the final drive.
What’s next?
The Montreal Alouettes (7-7) will head home to face the Calgary Stampeders (8-5) on Friday, September 20. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
