Montreal Alouettes shut door on Blue Bombers, move to East Final (& seven other thoughts)

The Montreal Alouettes hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East Semi-Final on Saturday. Davis Alexander, who was making his CFL playoff debut, put the league on notice with a clutch performance to send his team to the East Final.

Below are my thoughts on the game.

The chosen one

It’s been 12 years since Anthony Calvillo retired from the CFL. It’s been that long since the Alouettes have had a franchise quarterback they can build around for multiple years. The drought is over as Alexander is officially that guy for the Als. After a perfect 11-0 record in the regular season, he showed he’s built for the playoffs as well. He completed 24-of-34 passes for 384 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

The 27-year-old made some mistakes, but when the lights were brightest, he delivered. It started with his first three drives that ended with a field goal and two touchdowns. In each one of them, he drove the field with ease, not scared by the moment. Among his best throws, he completed a 41-yard pass to Charleston Rambo and a 48-yarder to Tyson Philpot. At halftime, he had 246 passing yards.

Then, things went south at the beginning of the second half. Alexander threw an interception, while the Bombers piled three touchdowns and all of a sudden, the visitors had the lead. How did he answer? By driving the field for a touchdown.

Finally, when Winnipeg was looking for an opportunity to have the ball back with time remaining on the clock, he calmly led the game-clinching drive. Alexander used his legs on second down and five, juking Kyrie Wilson in the open field for an 18-yard gain.

That’s what great quarterbacks do, not good ones, great ones. Asked post-game to compare Alexander to other legendary quarterbacks he’s been around (Mike Reilly, Ricky Ray), head coach Jason Maas said his quarterback will need to be consistent for many years to reach their level. However, he insisted he has the mentality to accomplish great things in the CFL.

Starting strong

It was clear if Montreal wanted to win the game, the Alouettes needed to stop Brady Oliveira. With limited resources on the defensive line, their best chance was to take an early lead and that’s precisely what they did.

It started with the coin toss: the Als won. Maas decided to take the ball to run the game on his terms. Alexander and his offence delivered with a promising drive that led to the first three points of the game. The defence followed with a two-and-out, setting up Alexander for another drive that led to Tyson Philpot’s first touchdown of the game. Then, the defence quickly gave the ball back to its franchise quarterback as Alexander hit Philpot for a 48-yard strike that put the Als in a commanding 17-0 lead.

Oliveira was almost a non-factor from there. In the end, he only carried the ball eight times for 38 yards on the ground. Mission accomplished for the Als.

Learning from 2024

Maas said it all week: the team has learned from the 2024 East Final. In that game, the Als handed it to the Toronto Argonauts with a lot of turnovers and with multiple explosive plays allowed.

There were shades of that game at the beginning of the second half, where Winnipeg scored three straight touchdowns off two Als turnovers. However, Montreal kept its cool and played its best football from there. The Alouettes played the type of football needed in tight playoff games, nothing spectacular, but really effective.

Stevie Scott III shines again

Travis Theis was named the Als’ Most Outstanding Rookie. After being sidelined by an injury, he returned as a full participant in practice, and many expected him to reclaim the starting running back role.

However, Maas decided to keep running the ball with Stevie Scott III and it paid off. He ran 18 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns. He added 29 yards on three catches. Like every good running back, he imposed his will in the second half, especially in the last three minutes. He sealed the game with a 39-yard run that put the Alouettes deep in Winnipeg territory.

Scott III was supposed to be the starting running back for the beginning of the season, but he injured himself in training camp and had to miss some time. Since his return to the lineup, he has consistently been improving and Saturday’s game was his best. Alexander called Scott III “the Derrick Henry of the CFL.”

Receivers delivered

Alexander had the most productive game of his CFL career, passing-wise, but his receivers helped him, too. Charleston Rambo, Austin Mack and Philpot all finished with more than 90 yards.

Rambo started it off with two important catches along the sidelines. He hasn’t been as dominant as he was last year this season, but he made his presence felt early on.

Then, it was Philpot’s turn to showcase his abilities. Alexander connected with him on a 48-yard pass to blow it open in the first quarter. Ironically enough, he beat Demario Houston, the same defensive back he beat in the 2023 Grey Cup for the game-winning touchdown. Philpot has been double-covered a lot in previous games, but when he gets a one-on-one matchup, he is hard to stop.

Mack battled some injuries this season and we’re truly seeing the best version of him over the last month. Saturday afternoon, he came through with the most important catch of the season so far for his team. After the Bombers had scored the go-ahead touchdown, he made a ridiculous grab for a 50-yard gain to put his team in scoring position. The ball wasn’t perfectly placed, but it didn’t matter.

Story of three tales

Defensively, the Als started really strong. Montreal didn’t let Oliveira or Zach Collaros find any rhythm and contributed largely to a 25-6 lead going into halftime. The defensive backs were on point from a coverage perspective and the pressure was on.

Then came some adversity in the third quarter. Some defensive backs were simply outplayed by Winnipeg’s receivers as Noel Thorpe insisted on three-man pass rushes. I still can’t wrap my head around that play-calling when pressure was getting to Collaros and he was forcing throws.

However, after the Als regained the lead, the defence came back to its high level and only had two field goals against the visitors.

The passing defence will be key for the Als Saturday in Hamilton, Bo Levi Mitchell will aim to exploit Montreal defensive backs if he’s given too much time in his pocket.

End of an era?

I have to finish this column by talking about the great years the Bombers had. Five straight appearances in the Grey Cup is an incredible accomplishment. However, I feel it’s the end of an era. The core group is getting older and the level hasn’t been the same as in previous years.

Collaros, Willie Jefferson, Pat Neufeld, and company wanted to give it one last ride, knowing the Grey Cup was going to be played on their home field.

I feel many changes are coming and those might benefit the team in the long term.

What’s next?

The Alouettes go on the road to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Saturday’s East Final, kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. ET.