The Montreal Alouettes (4-2-0) will hit the road on Thursday, as they’ll travel to Calgary to take on the Stampeders (5-1-0). The Alouettes are coming off a thrilling come-from-behind win over the Toronto Argonauts last week, while the Stamps took down the Bombers in Winnipeg.

Here’s what you need to know about this matchup:

Depth will be tested

The Alouettes will be without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, receiver Tyson Philpot and returner James Letcher Jr. on Thursday night.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson will make his third start of 2025. The 37-year-old has thrown for 472 yards and three touchdowns while accumulating 36 more yards on the ground.

“I expect to play well every time I go out there,” Bethel-Thompson said. “I expect to execute 100 percent. There were four or five poor decisions or missed calls or this or that – I felt both games came down to about four or five plays. A game is about 55-70 plays, and I made four or five not so great ones. Now, it’s about cutting that in half and taking it from four to two and two to zero and playing a complete game, which I’ve done multiple times. I feel more confident. I love this offence. I’m here to show up for this team.”

Protecting the football will be key in this matchup, as the Stampeders defence has been playing very well this season. The Stamps are first in points allowed 18.5 per game), offensive touchdowns allowed (seven), turnovers forced (19) and points off turnovers (54).

“It should be fun, I’m excited,” the veteran pivot said of this week’s matchup. “(Folarin Orimolade) is a great player, (Clarence Hicks) looks good on the other side. (Jaylen Hutchings) is a good player. They have a good front, and they play cohesively on the back end. What a great opportunity to against a team that has some mojo and some juice.”

Letcher Jr., who was injured in the last game against Toronto, will be replaced by newcomer Lincoln Victor.

Victor spent training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks, where he had four receptions for 22 yards against the Alouettes in the preseason finale.

The 24-year-old was a returner and receiver at Hawaii and Washington State before signing a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos.

The Pukalani, Hawaii native signed with the Alouettes on Sunday and practiced with the team every day this week.

“I’m an explosive and dynamic playmaker,” Victor said after Tuesday’s practice. “I like to bring a lot of value to the team. I’m not just a returner. I like to play a lot of special teams. If you look back at my career, I played a lot of special teams in college until my senior year when I had a bigger role on offence.”

Victor added that he was watching last week’s game between the Als and Argos on television when assistant general manager Pier-Yves Lavergne contacted him about signing with the team.

Matchup to watch

There are plenty of good matchups to look out for ahead of this game, but one that I’ll be paying attention to is between Kabion Ento and Stamps receiver and native Montrealer Damien Alford.

Alford was the first overall pick in the 2025 CFL Draft and has had an immediate impact on the Calgary lineup. Alford has scored five touchdowns in his last three games, and he has accumulated 300 yards receiving. 156 of those yards came in a win over Saskatchewan two weeks ago.

Alford runs well and is an imposing figure, as he’s listed at 6-foot-6, 224 pounds.

“Big receivers usually have a big catch radius,” Ento said of Alford. “I feel like I have a little bit of size to myself. I just have to play through the hands and put myself in a position to play the ball. He’s been making a lot of plays deep down the field, so you just have be ready when the opportunity comes. You have to be on the body and be there to make the play.

“Hopefully (my size) can deter them from some throws. I have no control over whether they’re throwing him the ball. My job is to basically make sure I’m in good coverage to at least make it look like he’s covered. Quarterbacks don’t usually throw it to a covered man.”

Matching up against Ento has been no easy task this season though. Heading into this week’s game, the Alouettes cornerback is tied for the league lead in interceptions, with three.

Ento’s most recent interception came late in last Thursday’s, when he picked off Argos quarterback Nick Arbuckle.

Former Als quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who is in his first year with the Stampeders, is second in the CFL in passing yards and fifth in passing yards to start the year.