The Montreal Alouettes will have an opportunity to become the first team to eight wins in 2024 when they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the second week in a row. Last week, the Als beat the Ticats, 33-16, at Tim Hortons Field.
The Als have now won eight games in a row against Hamilton (six regular season, two in the playoffs). The last time the Tiger-Cats beat the Alouettes was in July of 2022.
Here’s what you need to know about this week’s matchup:
Davis Alexander’s first start at home:
Alexander will be making his second career start but his first at Percival Molson Stadium. The 25-year-old went 19-for-27 for 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception in last week’s victory. The offence got off to a slow start in the first quarter, but they managed to get rolling early in the second quarter.
“It shows a little bit more maturity,” the Portland State alum said of his team overcoming a slow start offensively. “I wouldn’t say I was pressing the issue at the beginning of the game, or trying to make big plays happen. I just made a couple of mistakes. That happens in football. I was really proud of how we all bounced back, not just me. The offence stayed patient.”
Even though he only had two rushes for 16 yards, Alexander was dynamic with his feet as he made several throws on the run and from outside the pocket.
Success with backup quarterbacks:
Dating back to last season, head coach Jason Maas is now 4-0 in games where he’s been forced to use his backup quarterbacks. Caleb Evans won games over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa Redblacks last year, and the Als have won without Cody Fajardo in games against the Riders and Tiger-Cats.
In any football league, winning games without your starter is tricky. No matter how good your backup quarterback is, he remains your second option. With that being said, the Als have built-up quality depth at the position, which helps the coaching staff execute the game plan at a higher level.
“It starts with the preparation of those (quarterbacks),” Maas said. “Caleb and Davis have done a tremendous job preparing and being ready. They have the ability, toughness and effort that we need in our room to be successful, they just had to wait for their opportunity. They’ve been patient. The way we go about business with our quarterback room and there’s a lot that’s expected of them. (Anthony Calvillo) does a tremendous job coaching them up and I think our staff, in general, prepare them each week. The expectation is that you win, and you want to be able to win without your starter and we’ve been able to do it.”
James Morgan and Dominique Davis will serve as the backups to Alexander on Saturday night. Davis, who was with the Alouettes in 2022, returned after the team announced that Evans suffered a season-ending knee injury last week. Davis set the Alouettes franchise record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, with 13.
Injuries:
The only change the Alouettes are making is Evans exiting the lineup for Davis.
On the Tiger-Cats front, they will be without star cornerback Jamal Peters, who exited last week’s game against Montreal. He didn’t practice all week and won’t be available.
