Montreal Alouettes aiming to continue their winning ways versus Ottawa Redblacks

Winnipeg Free Press

4 days ago

There has been no place quite like TD Place for the Montreal Alouettes.
Montreal (1-0) visits the Ottawa Redblacks (0-1) on Friday night. The Alouettes have not only won their last eight head-to-head meetings with their East Division rival but are riding a 10-game win streak at TD Place.
And there's the matter of Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander sporting a 5-0 record as a CFL starter. Bo Levi Mitchell, currently of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, was the last quarterback to start 5-0 when he was with the Calgary Stampeders.
Alexander, in his first full season as Montreal's starter, was 19-of-26 passing for 205 yards with a touchdown and interception in last week's season-opening 28-10 home win over Toronto. He also ran four times for 50 yards.
Montreal converted on 14-of-24 second-down opportunities while rushing for 163 yards on 26 carries (6.3-yard average). That's noteworthy as last week all four opening-week winners were not only at home but also rushed for more yards than their opponents.
A stout Montreal defence did its part, holding Toronto to 276 net offensive yards while forcing three turnovers (two interceptions, fumble recovery) in the contest.
Ottawa opened its season with a 31-26 road loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown threw for 413 yards and two touchdowns, becoming just the fourth player ever to have 400 or more yards passing in three straight regular-season games, dating back to 2024.
Brown is the first to do so since Calgary's Doug Flutie in '93 but has been limited in practice this week with a hip ailment.
Justin Hardy (eight catches, 133 yards, TD) and Bralon Addison (eight catches, 112 yards) were Brown's favourite targets. Veteran Eugene Lewis had five receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown in his first game with the Redblacks.
Lewis has recorded TD grabs in nine straight games dating back to last season with Edmonton. If he can do so versus Montreal, Lewis would tie Terry Evanshen's CFL record of 10 consecutive contests with a touchdown reception.
Ottawa was a CFL-best 7-1-1 last season at TD Place.
Pick: Montreal.
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B.C. Lions versus Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Thursday night)
At Winnipeg, the Bombers open their season minus starter Zach Collaros, who will serve the one-game suspension he received last month from the CFL for failing to respond to an off-season drug-testing request. Veteran QB Chris Streveler starts but guard Pat Neufeld remains a game-time decision. Nathan Rourke was the league's offensive player of the week after passing for 324 yards and three TDs in leading B.C. (1-0) past Edmonton 31-14 but he's 0-3 lifetime versus the Bombers with three TDs and five interceptions. Lions head coach Buck Pierce returns to Manitoba, where he spent 10 seasons as an assistant and won two Grey Cups before being hired by B.C.
Pick: B.C.
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Calgary Stampeders versus Toronto Argonauts (Saturday afternoon)
At Toronto, the Argos (0-1) are 27-7 at BMO Field under head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, including 16-2 the past two seasons. But Calgary (1-0) is the only team Dinwiddie has a losing record against (3-4) and Stamps head coach/GM Dave Dickenson is 12-3 all-time versus the defending champions. Nick Arbuckle is expected to make a second straight start for Toronto ahead of Chad Kelly (leg). Stamps' starter Vernon Adams Jr. is 2-5 versus the Argos but has 14 TD passes in those matchups. He threw for 284 yards in last week's 38-26 home win over Hamilton with two interceptions.
Pick: Toronto.
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Saskatchewan Roughriders versus Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Saturday night)
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At Hamilton, Mitchell again chases his 100th career regular-season win. He was 31-of-50 passing for 304 yards and a TD last week in Calgary. Over his last six starts, Mitchell is averaging 346 yards passing and is 12-6 versus the Riders. But last week the Ticats defence had no answer for the Stampeders' ground game (158 yards on 31 carries, three Dedrick Mills' TDs). Trevor Harris threw for 277 yards and two TDs in leading Saskatchewan (1-0) past Ottawa last week and is 9-5 versus Hamilton. This week, the club signed veteran running back Ka'Deem Carey, who ran for 1,060 yards last season with Toronto before surprisingly being released after training camp.
Pick: Saskatchewan.
NOTE — Last week's B.C.-Edmonton game marked just the 12th time in 5,395 CFL games that both teams started Canadian quarterbacks (Rourke for the Lions, Tre Ford for Elks).
Last week: 3-1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.