Between taking a 13-0 lead and pitching a defensive shutout for nearly the entire first half — virtually unheard of in the CFL — the Alouettes appeared in full control last Saturday at Edmonton.
How then did Montreal suffer its first loss of the season, 32-29 in overtime? General manager Danny Maciocia had myriad explanations.
“I think to a certain extent we didn’t help ourselves,” Maciocia told The Gazette on Wednesday. “We were in control of the game. We could have been more opportunistic earlier on. We could have capitalized more. And I’m disappointed with our tackling.
“We have to do better. We have to tackle better. We have to secure the football. And when we have the opportunity to go up multiple scores, we have to take advantage of it.”
The Als still have a 2-1 record heading into Sunday night’s home game against winless Ottawa (0-2) before enjoying their first bye week in the schedule.
The Redblacks on Tuesday traded former starting quarterback Dru Brown to Winnipeg for a pair of draft choices, including the Blue Bombers’ first-round selection in 2027. Ottawa then signed former Als QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson to back up Jake Maier.
Montreal didn’t allow an Edmonton first down until the final play of the opening quarter and held the Elks off the scoreboard until the final seconds of the opening half, when Cody Fajardo connected with Austin Mack — both former Alouettes — on a nine-yard touchdown.
Elks try to block a field goal attempt by Alouettes’ Jose Maltos-Diaz on June 20 in Edmonton. Greg Southam / Postmedia
The Als were then outscored 13-0 in the third quarter, with Edmonton tailback Justin Rankin scoring both touchdowns on runs of 36 and 47 yards, respectively, before the period was nine minutes old.
On the second score, Edmonton gambled on third-and-two, with linebacker Najee Murray and defensive-end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund both missing tackles.
Rankin accounted for 120 yards in the third quarter and finished the game with a mind-boggling 179 yards on 18 carries. He was also a threat coming out of the backfield, catching five passes for 51 yards. At one point, Edmonton scored 23 unanswered points.
The Als have been outscored 27-10 in the third quarter this season.
“We’ve just got to tackle,” Maciocia said. “We played a near-perfect first half, with the exception of that last drive. In the second half, we really struggled tackling — that’s what it came down to. We’ve got to figure it out and clean it up. And we’ve got to be better.”
Under the collective bargaining agreement, teams are allowed 12 padded practices, with tackling, throughout the season — but not more than one per week — at the discretion of the coaching staff.
Maciocia isn’t questioning the defensive personnel, although the Als have lost middle-linebacker Darnell Sankey, safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, rush-end Shawn Lemon and tackle Dylan Wynn from 2025. And with a league-wide average of nearly 63 points being scored per game, defences in general have had their issues through three weeks and 10 games.
“I can’t explain it. Usually, it’s the other way around and the offences are a little slower coming out of the block,” Maciocia said. “Not this year. I don’t know if there’s more defensive personnel turnover compared to offence. But I do know a lot of points are being scored.
“I’m not concerned about the defence,” he added. “We’ll be fine. We’re still sitting here 2-1. We’re not 0-3.”
While the Als have only three sacks this season, Maciocia has never been a big fan of that statistic. To him, putting pressure on the quarterback and making him rush his throws is more relevant.
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Leading 3-0 in the first quarter, backup quarterback Dustin Crum failed on a third-down gamble from the Edmonton 32. New returner Mario Alford fumbled a fourth-quarter punt at the Montreal 11 that resulted in a short field goal. That was one of three turnovers committed by Montreal.
But the Als, to their credit, mounted a late surge. Trailing by 10 points with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time, Davis Alexander passed 34 yards to Tyler Snead for a touchdown before Jose Maltos-Diaz sent the game to overtime with a 31-yard field goal.
But the Als might have deserved a better fate. Alexander, losing for the first time after 13 regular-season wins, passed for 356 yards and a touchdown. Montreal had 30 first downs and controlled the ball for 34:16 while producing 481 net yards.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Als signed defensive-back Faion Hicks. The 28-year-old attended Montreal’s training camp in May. He was selected in the seventh round by the NFL’s Denver Broncos in 2022 and played two games for the team. The Als completed Saturday’s game without injured cornerbacks Kabion Ento and Lorenzo Burns.
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com