Davis Alexander returns, Chad Kelly remains out as Alouettes host Argos
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Welcoming back a quarterback who does nothing but win should only help.
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Davis Alexander returns from a hamstring injury with a chance to improve his CFL record to 8-0 on Thursday against the Toronto Argonauts.
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'He gives everybody juice,' head coach Jason Maas said Wednesday at Olympic Stadium. 'He's led our football team from the moment we assigned him as the starter.
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'He's a tremendous leader, tremendous player. We're excited to have him back.'
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Maas also emphasized he doesn't expect the 26-year-old to be a saviour.
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'It's more than a one-man show,' he said. 'Davis is a piece of our football team, he's an important piece of the football team, but he's also a one piece, so everybody collectively around him needs to play well.'
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The Alouettes (3-2) opened the season on a 3-0 run with Alexander behind centre, only to falter with back-to-back defeats against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and B.C. Lions with backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson leading the offence.
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The Ticats ran over Montreal 35-17 in Hamilton before the Lions sunk the Alouettes with a last-second field goal to win 21-20 at Molson Stadium in Week 5.
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Now the Alouettes — tied with Hamilton atop the East — will try to get back on track against a team they've already beaten handily this season.
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Montreal defeated Toronto 28-10 to open the 2025 campaign. The Alouettes and Argos (1-4), both coming off bye weeks, play once more at BMO Field on Sept. 19, meaning Montreal would secure the season series with a win Thursday.
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'We try and treat every game the same (but) I'd be lying if I said this one isn't a little different because it is Toronto. It's a divisional rival,' Alexander said. 'They don't like us. We don't like them.'
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The five-foot-11, 210-pound Alexander surged from third-string QB to face of the franchise after leading Montreal to four wins as a starter — and another comeback off the bench — while '23 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo missed time last season.
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So far this year, Alexander has thrown for 803 passing yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 75.6 per cent of his attempts. Alexander was 20-for-24 for 254 yards and three TDs in a stellar first half before exiting Week 3's win over Edmonton.
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He'll try to match CFL great Danny McManus with a record eight straight victories to begin his Canadian career on Thursday.
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'It's a very cool thing,' Alexander said. 'I would love to have the record, but to me, it is most important to get back on track, 1-0.'
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