Alouettes come back from 13 points down to beat Riders
We saw two different versions of the Montreal Alouettes during Thursday night’s 20-16 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The team that showed up in the first half struggled to put their best foot forward, but the script flipped over the final 30 minutes of the game.
Let’s break down what happened at Percival Molson Stadium:
The Davis Alexander Show:
We’re not going to bury the lede. This game changed when Davis Alexander entered the game at quarterback in the second half. Before you blame Caleb Evans for all of Montreal’s offensive struggles, keep in mind that the difficult first half wasn’t just on him. The entire offence was out of sync. Head coach Jason Maas needed to give his team a spark and turning to Alexander made sense at that time.
“One of the very first things Cody (Fajardo) said when he came here was that you never really know when your opportunities are going to come,” Alexander said. “You take that with a grain of salt, but he kept saying it. You just want to prepare every week like you’re going to play. You try to keep your preparation the same, even with Cody being (out). Keep it the same and expect great results.”
He certainly got the great results he was looking for. Alexander came out of the gate red-hot, as he went 12-for-12 with two touchdowns on his first two drives of the game. The 25-year-old was locked in. He showed off his strong arm and he made quick and correct decisions. He was decisive and he also showed an ability to avoid pressure while using his legs to gain positive yards.
“I’ve learned that you need to be decisive with your decisions,” the Als’ number 10 said. “Our defence is one of the best in the league. I’ll say they’re the best. I see them every single week (in practice) …Saskatchewan has a great defence, you just have to be decisive. I have to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands as quickly as possible.”
His most impressive play came on his first drive of the game when he ducked under a tackle from Riders linebacker C.J. Reavis. Alexander scrambled forward, adjusted his helmet, and then threw a pass to Tyson Philpot who gained 30 yards on the play.
He finished the night 15 of 18 for 178 yards, two touchdowns (both to Reggie White Jr.) and no interceptions.
Defence dominates in second half:
Alexander is going to get all the attention for his performance in this game, but we can’t ignore what the defence was able to do. After allowing 16 points in the first half, they gave up nothing in the final two quarters.
This unit has been as consistent as any in the CFL through seven games. They made life uncomfortable for Roughriders quarterback Shea Patterson, who seemed to be under constant pressure.
The players deserve credit for executing the game plan, but it’s important to acknowledge the defensive coaching staff who clearly made the right adjustments.
“We came back to the basics (in the second half),” safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy said after the game. “I think we ran the same five plays in the second half and that’s what allowed us to have success.”
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter and the Alouettes up by four points, the defence found a way to ensure that the Riders didn’t get in the end zone. Obviously, that was critical.
The underrated performance of the night belongs to veteran defensive end Avery Ellis who finished with two quarterback sacks, three defensive tackles and two more tackles on special teams. That’s a nice stat line.
Special teams helps turn things around too:
The Alouettes absolutely needed to get off to a great start in the third quarter in order to win this game. Prior to Alexander leading the team on a touchdown drive, they got a great kickoff return from James Letcher Jr.
Letcher Jr. hasn’t scored a touchdown yet this season, but he’s had several big returns, including that one on Thursday.
“After we lost Cody (Fajardo), coach Byron Archambault came to me and told me that we needed big returns from me.
“We need those big explosive returns. Thankfully I did what I did, and it kick-started us in the second half. The team got the win. That’s all that matters.”
Giving your young quarterback excellent field position certainly helped make things a little bit easier on the first drive.
What’s next?
The Alouettes will play back-to-back games against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats starting next week. They’ll play at Tim Horton’s Field next Friday night with the return game scheduled for Sat. Aug. 10 at Percival Molson Stadium.
