Alouettes beat Redblacks 13th time in a row
If anyone was worried about the Montreal Alouettes’ ability to play two games in five days, those questions were answered early on Friday night in Ottawa, as they won 34-13 at TD Place. This was the 13th consecutive win over the Redblacks.
The offence came out of the gate guns blazing in the first half. They managed to score touchdowns on their first three drives, and they would’ve gone four-for-four but a touchdown toss from Davis Alexander to Tyson Philpot was called back because of a holding call.
Alexander finished the game with 420 yards passing, while Philpot had nine receptions for 184 yards and Tyler Snead had 174 yards.
Philpot became the Canadian receiver to reach the 1,000-yard mark in a season the fastest in CFL history. This is also the first 1,000-yard season of his career.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Philpot said of setting a new CFL record. “I think it’ll take a little bit (of time) for it to fully hit. The high of the game is still hitting me, but it’s such a big accomplishment for me. Dealing with those injuries I’ve had before. At the end of the day, there’s still 10 games to go. I have such big aspirations for this team and such big goals for us.”
Philpot is the CFL leader in 2026, with 1023 yards. Snead is second at 794. No other receiver in the league has 700.
“I think we’re the best duo in the league,” Philpot said of he and Snead. “Stats won’t lie, but the whole receiving core– I think that’s what allows Snead and I to get so open. We have Cole Spieker, Alex Hollins, Jerreth Sterns has played like two games…Kaseem Ferdinand is stepping up. We’re such a dynamic and deadly group that we just find ways to get open and Davis just puts the ball in money spots.”
Rob Ong – Ottawa Redblacks
I can’t gloss over Alexander’s performance. He was phenomenal against a rested Redblacks team that was off last week. He was sharp and continuously made throws that were accurate.
“It’s a tribute to the coaches for putting together an unbelievable game plan in one day,” Alexander said. “It’s a tribute to the players…and how much they care and how much they’re chasing greatness.
“I will say that I did feel pretty good out there. I was telling the boys that I was hot. Let’s just keep it rolling, but it was just a ton of fun. The guys were getting open. We saw a lot of man-coverage which kind of gets us pretty happy. It was just good to get everyone involved.”
D-Fence bends but doesn’t break
The Alouettes defence found a way to hold the Redblacks to 13 points in the game and they shut them out in the second half.
The Redblacks’ only touchdown came moments after a controversial 25-yard roughing the passer penalty that allowed Ottawa to get the ball at the Montreal one-yard line.
Despite the Redblacks marching the ball deep into Montreal territory on multiple occasions, they failed to score a significant amount of points. On four trips inside the 10-yard line, the Als held the Redblacks to only 10 points and two turnovers. Canadian defensive end Josh Archibald managed to intercept Jake Maier at the one-yard line and Archibald also forced a turnover on downs at the Montreal seven.
“Personally, we know that our defence is very complex,” Archibald said. “When your number is called, you try to do the best that you can. You try to make the plays. My number was called tonight, and I saw the ball in the air. (The ball) was close to me. I told myself that I had played basketball and other sports, and that I had good hands. So, I went for it and made the pick. And honestly, after the pick I totally blacked out (laughs).”
What’s next?
The Alouettes will get a few days before returning to practice on Tuesday. They’ll host the Edmonton Elks next Saturday afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium at 3 p.m. ET. This matchup will feature the first-place teams in each division.
“It’ll be a huge game. All the hype is going to be around it,” Snead explained. “They got us at their place. Coming back home is going to be exciting. It’ll be a good game, and we’ll need the fans to pack it out. We’re excited to get another shot at them.”
