Still winless and reeling on defense, the Ottawa Redblacks host the East-leading Alouettes with almost nothing left to prove but pride.<\/p>\n
Game Details<\/p>\n
Odds<\/p>\n
Spread: Montreal Alouettes -7
\nMoneyline: Ottawa Redblacks +280, Montreal Alouettes -355
\nOver\/Under: 60<\/p>\n
Ottawa sits 2-2-1 against the number this season, so the winless record hasn’t stopped them from covering more often than not. Montreal, on the other hand, has been money for bettors at 5-2 ATS with six overs in seven games \u2014 this offense doesn’t let up, even against bad teams.<\/p>\n
Overview<\/p>\n
There’s no sugarcoating where the Redblacks are at. Ottawa is 0-6, dead last in the league, and coming off arguably its most gut-wrenching loss yet \u2014 a 36-34 overtime collapse to Winnipeg after leading by three touchdowns. Before that it was a four-interception meltdown from Jake Maier in a 40-17 blowout loss to Edmonton. This defense has allowed 213 points through six games, worst in the CFL, and now it draws a Montreal offense that just dropped 31 on Hamilton and hasn’t lost since Week 3.<\/p>\n
The Alouettes are 6-1 and tied atop the league with Edmonton, riding a four-game win streak that includes back-to-back shootouts with Calgary and a statement win over a Ticats team that had won two straight. Davis Alexander has been nearly untouchable, completing 71 percent of his throws with 11 touchdowns against a single interception, and Montreal’s defense has been opportunistic enough to bail out the occasional shootout. This is about as complete a team as there is in the East, and they’re on the road against a team still searching for its first win of the year.<\/p>\n
These two already met in Week 4, and it was actually one of Ottawa’s better performances \u2014 a 37-35 shootout loss at Montreal where the Redblacks put up 35 points and had a real shot late. That’s the closest thing to a silver lining here: Ottawa can move the ball on this defense when things click. The problem is everything else \u2014 a defense that can’t get stops, a run game that hasn’t been consistent, and a team that’s found every way possible to lose. Montreal has the far better roster, the better quarterback play, and the momentum. This one’s theirs to lose, and recent history says they won’t.<\/p>\n
Key Players<\/p>\n
Davis Alexander (Montreal Alouettes, QB) \u2014 175-of-245 for 2,368 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one pick all season; he’s been the most efficient passer in the league by a mile.
\nJake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) \u2014 Ottawa’s clear top target for the defense after that four-interception night against Edmonton; he’ll need a clean pocket and quick decisions to keep this one competitive.
\nTyson Philpot (Montreal Alouettes, WR) \u2014 55 catches, 839 yards and four scores, the engine of Montreal’s passing attack and a matchup nightmare for Ottawa’s secondary.
\nTravis Theis (Montreal Alouettes, RB) \u2014 Coming off a 156-yard demolition of Hamilton, Theis has 538 yards on the ground and can wear down a tired Ottawa front seven.
\nGreg Bell (Ottawa Redblacks, RB) \u2014 Ottawa’s lead back and a name to watch if the Redblacks want any chance of controlling clock against this Montreal offense.<\/p>\n
Keys to the Game<\/p>\n
Ottawa has to find a pass rush against Alexander \u2014 he hasn’t thrown a pick in weeks and has all day to find Philpot and Tyler Snead if the front four can’t get home.
\nMaier needs to protect the football; four turnovers against Edmonton is the kind of number that turns a competitive game into a blowout against a team this good.
\nThe Redblacks have to win the fourth quarter for once \u2014 they’ve blown leads and let games slip away late all season, and Montreal has proven it can close.<\/p>\n
Injury Report<\/p>\n
PlayerTeamStatus<\/p>\n
King Ambers (DB)Ottawa RedblacksAvailable
\nMcLeod Bethel-Thompson (QB)Ottawa RedblacksAvailable
\nEmeric Boutin (FB)Ottawa RedblacksAvailable
\nBenjamin Dobson (LB)Ottawa RedblacksOut
\nBrett Lauther (K)Ottawa RedblacksOut
\nNick Mardner (WR)Ottawa RedblacksAvailable
\nDaniel Okpoko (DL)Ottawa RedblacksAvailable
\nZack Pelehos (OL)Ottawa RedblacksOut<\/p>\n
Lauther’s absence at kicker is a real story here \u2014 with him out, Ottawa has activated Lewis Ward off the practice roster to handle placekicking duties this week.<\/p>\n
Depth Chart<\/p>\n
Ottawa Redblacks<\/a> starters by position, built from the team’s official Week 9 depth chart. This projected lineup may not reflect any last-minute, mid-week changes.<\/p>\n PositionOttawa Redblacks<\/p>\n QBJake Maier, Bryson Barnes, McLeod Bethel-Thompson Score Prediction<\/p>\n Ottawa Redblacks 27 – Montreal Alouettes 34. Ottawa’s offense should keep this closer than the record suggests \u2014 the Week 4 meeting proved they can hang points on this Montreal defense \u2014 but the same issues that have plagued this team all year, a leaky secondary and untimely turnovers, cost them again against an Alouettes team that’s playing its best football of the season.<\/p>\n CFL Standings<\/a> | Full Schedule<\/a> | League Leaders<\/a><\/p>\n Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Still winless and reeling on defense, the Ottawa Redblacks host the East-leading Alouettes with almost nothing left to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-837296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837296","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=837296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nRBGreg Bell, Daniel Adeboboye
\nFBEmeric Boutin, Anthony Gosselin
\nSBAyden Eberhardt, Keelan White
\nTEJevoni Robinson
\nWR (boundary)Eugene Lewis, Justin Hardy
\nWR (field)Kalil Pimpleton, Nick Mardner
\nLTDino Boyd
\nLGDrew Desjarlais
\nCSean McEwen, Samuel Carson
\nRGGiordano Vaccaro
\nRTJulian Pearl
\nDECharlie Parks, Aidan John, Bryce Carter, Michael Wakefield
\nDTJelani Stafford, Daniel Okpoko, Muftah Ageli
\nWLBBrian Cole II, Lucas Cormier, AJ Allen
\nMLBKJ Cloyd, Aaron Casey
\nSLBMarcus Barnes, CJ Reavis
\nCBShakur Brown, Eric Cumberbatch, Demerio Houston
\nHBDionte Ruffin, Amari Henderson
\nSKing Ambers, Alonzo Addae
\nK\/PLewis Ward, Noah Gettman
\nLSPeter Adjey
\nRETKalil Pimpleton<\/p>\n