ALS 38 – 28 EDM. Third win in three games!
The Montreal Alouettes improved to 3-0 with a 38-28 win over the Elks in Edmonton. Unfortunately for the Als, the loss came at a cost, as both quarterback Davis Alexander and defensive lineman Dylan Wynn didn’t finish the game due to injury. The win was still impressive, as it was the Alouettes’ second victory in just six days.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
1 – Davis Alexander locked in:
Before going out with a lower-body injury in the third quarter, Alexander had a terrific first half. He finished the first half 15-for-18 for 210 yards and three touchdown passes. The 26-year-old pivot also used his legs to extend plays, which is exactly what happened on his late second quarter throw to Tyler Snead.
The deep ball gave the Elks all kinds of trouble, especially in the opening 30 minutes. Alexander continues to make those deep shots look effortless. He’s now one victory away from tying Danny McManus for the best start for a quarterback in CFL history. Alexander is now 7-0.
After the game, Alexander mentioned that him not going back into the game was more “precautionary” than anything else.
There isn’t much more information available at this time. Alexander stuck around after the game to sign autographs, and he stayed on the sideline after coming out of the game. The Alouettes will be back on the field for practice on Monday. We’ll probably know more then.
2 – Charleston Rambo doesn’t miss a beat:
Rambo missed last week’s game because he was away getting married, but he didn’t miss a beat in his return to the lineup. He helped set up Tyson Philpot’s first-half touchdown by hauling in a 54-yard bomb from Alexander.
He also drew a 47-yard pass interference call that brought the ball to the Elks six-yard line (the Alouettes scored a field goal on the play).
Rambo finished the game with three receptions for 77 yards. Add the long 47-yard penalty he was able to draw, and he could’ve gone over the century mark.
“It felt great,” Rambo said after the game. “I trust my quarterbacks to make that read, and on that throw, we like it. Shoutout to (Davis Alexander), he made a great throw, and I made a great catch.”
3 – Defence holds strong for 3-plus quarters:
Sure, the Elks were able to run the ball relatively well, but the pass defence was exceptional for three-and-half quarters. In the first half, the Elks got the ball to the Montreal 26-yard line and had to settle for a field goal, and their red zone trip on their final drive of the second quarter resulted in a Kabion Ento interception in the end zone, which kept it a three-possession game in the Alouettes’ favour.
The Elks made some big plays over the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, but with seven minutes remaining, they had fewer passing yards than rushing yards.
4 – Tyson Philpot vs. Tyrell Ford
In the CFL, a cornerback doesn’t typically follow a receiver around, but the battle between Philpot and Ford was fun to watch. Philpot finished the night with eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, but not all of those yards came against Ford. Still, Philpot made a few impressive grabs while Ford was in coverage.
Philpot’s second-quarter touchdown extended the Als’ lead to 14-3 at the time, and they never looked back.
5 – Philpot’s blocking
Sean Thomas Erlington’s 23-yard touchdown run in the second half was the longest run of the night for the Als. He showed some impressive burst and managed to follow his blocking to perfect as he bounced outside on the left side of the offensive line.
If you go back and watch the end of that run, take a look at Philpot’s blocking. The Als receiver managed to get a piece of two Edmonton defenders.
He also made a key block on David Dallaire’s first quarter score.
“Tyson blocked two guys on that play,” Dallaire said of the Thomas Erlington touchdown. Tyson also had a huge impact on that play. Sean just had to execute, and the rest was history”.
6 – McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s debut
Bethel-Thompson made his Alouettes debut when Alexander came out of the game. He finished six-for-eight for 77 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran once for eight yards.
He didn’t need to make any flashy plays. He just came in and moved the ball. Bethel-Thompson had a strong training camp, but he didn’t get to play much in the preseason.
“I’m so glad I got to play tonight,” Bethel-Thompson said. “Training camp was all about learning a new offence. Jason Maas’ offence is a very complicated offence…camp was up and down. In the preseason, I only got to play a little bit. I was looking forward to playing the second preseason game to be honest, but everyone has to get reps, so I understood that I wasn’t going to be playing in that moment. The more reps I can get, the better. It was fun to get out there and get my feet wet. I felt really comfortable.”
7 – Tip of the cap to the Elks:
Let’s give a tip of the cap to the Edmonton Elks organization. I don’t think I’ve seen a team have an anthem singer perform Oh Canada completely in French while we were on the road. The Elks had a young anthem singer sing the entire anthem in French and the crowd was very receptive to it. It was a really nice gesture and a classy move by Edmonton.
What’s next?
The Alouettes will finish up their three-game road swing in Hamilton next Friday night. The Tiger-Cats won’t be playing in Week 3, as they are on their first bye week of 2025. The Alouettes will be back on the practice field on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. The players will get a well-deserved weekend off.
