{"id":225737,"date":"2025-10-20T00:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T00:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/225737\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T00:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T00:47:09","slug":"montreal-alouettes-beat-redblacks-again-force-hamilton-to-play-meaningful-game-six-other-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/225737\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Alouettes beat Redblacks again, force Hamilton to play meaningful game (& six other thoughts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy: CFL.ca<\/p>\n

The Montreal Alouettes had an objective: force the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to play a meaningful game next week. They achieved it, as they beat the Ottawa Redblacks 38-27 with a complete performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are my thoughts on the game.<\/p>\n

A team effort<\/p>\n

Earlier in the year, when the Als couldn\u2019t get wins, they weren\u2019t playing as a team. The three units were disconnected from each other, and when one of them was in trouble, the others couldn\u2019t cover for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was far from a perfect game for the Alouettes on Saturday afternoon. They had miscues in all three phases, but they never let the game slip away from them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The end of the second quarter is a good example. After Montreal gave Ottawa some life with a missed trick play \u2014 more on that to come \u2014 the Redblacks scored a quick touchdown. How did the Als respond? With a field goal, and an interception on the ensuing Ottawa drive.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the biggest difference since Alexander came back, and the reason the Als have five straight wins. We\u2019re seeing the best version of this team, and it\u2019s dangerous for their eventual playoff opponents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexander\u2019s injuries<\/p>\n

Davis Alexander started his third game following a lengthy absence for a hamstring injury, and Als fans have held their breath in each one. Last week, he got hit in the head when he ran a quarterback sneak, and this week, his right elbow took a big hit on the very first drive. He stayed down for a couple of minutes, but didn\u2019t miss any action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the game, Alexander told the media that he fell awkwardly on his elbow, but that he was feeling good enough to continue and to push the ball downfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of now, there is no concern about his availability for next week\u2019s game against Winnipeg, per Jason Maas.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, he played through it today,\u201d the head coach told 3DownNation. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how he wakes up tomorrow. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be sore tomorrow, but we\u2019ve got three days before we\u2019re back to work. The expectation is that he\u2019ll be ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Hamilton beat Ottawa next Friday, I don\u2019t see any reason to risk another injury to Alexander. He showed he\u2019s ready for the playoffs and would only rest a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I expect he\u2019ll be listed as a game-time decision along with other veterans and removed from the lineup if the Ticats secure the division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still not satisfied<\/p>\n

Last week, Davis Alexander was frustrated with his performance. He called it the worst game he\u2019s ever played, although he led the team to a win without turning the ball over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week, his end-of-game statistics were better. He finished 21-of-31 for 328 yards and two touchdown passes. However, he was still not satisfied when speaking with 3DownNation afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little better, but I\u2019m still frustrated,\u201d he said. \u201cDefence set us up with good field positioning a couple of times, but we only scored a touchdown on one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He indeed missed a couple of throws, but overall, he showed once again why he is the franchise quarterback of this organization. His composure in the pocket, his ability to read zone coverages and push the ball downfield make him one of the best quarterbacks in this league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maas calls great zone beaters, as fake screens to get the defensive backs moving up front, but Alexander really executes them perfectly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gig Harbour, Wash., product is now 11-0 as a starter in the CFL. He keeps rewriting the history books.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The (real) return of the Mack\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since winning the Grey Cup in 2023, Austin Mack has gone to an NFL training camp, returned to Montreal, and gotten injured multiple times for long stretches. He hasn\u2019t had the chance to pick up any rhythm until lately. It really feels like the wind is turning for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After scoring his first touchdown of the season last week, he delivered an eight-catch, 108-yard and a touchdown performance against Ottawa.\u00a0When asked postgame if it\u2019s the best version of him we\u2019ve seen since 2023, he didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, absolutely. I\u2019m finally healthy and finally doing what I\u2019m capable of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack has been targeted in the deep zones more frequently than earlier in the season. He gave all the credit to Alexander for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavis Alexander. That\u2019s the difference,\u201d he said even before the question was finished. \u201cThe first three games, we win. (He) gets injured, we lose. He comes back, we win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack has that swagger back \u2014 the one that made him the top receiver for Cody Fajardo when the Als won the Grey Cup.<\/p>\n

Coming out party for Scott III<\/p>\n

We saw glimpses of it in his first start of the season in Regina earlier this season, but the real Stevie Scott III has arrived in the CFL. He finished with 63 yards on the ground, but added 52 more on five catches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scott showcased his quickness and explosion, along with his physicality. On the first offensive play of the game, he was patient enough to find the gap between his left guard and tackle. His explosion allowed him to beat the linebackers. That\u2019s exactly what the Als were looking for when they kept him on the roster.<\/p>\n

His most impressive play came in the second quarter when he caught a screen pass, got the first down, and then lowered the shoulder on Deandre Lamont for a total gain of 25 yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Travis Theis and Sean Thomas-Erlington still injured, Scott should have the nod for the playoffs and will be key to the Als\u2019 offensive success.<\/p>\n

The crowd<\/p>\n

I made the trip to Ottawa, but I wasn\u2019t the only one. It definitely felt like a home game for Montreal. The Als fans were numerous, and you could hear the typical Montreal chant of \u201cOle, Ole, Ole\u201d from the crowd loud and clear.<\/p>\n

The bond between the players and the fans has become stronger over the past few years. The travelling contingent to Saturday\u2019s game was proof of it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

The Alouettes (10-7) will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) on the road next Saturday, October 25, at Princess Auto Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy: CFL.ca The Montreal Alouettes had an objective: force the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to play a meaningful game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-225737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}