The Montreal Alouettes players have been imperfect, irregular and unpredictable since the start of the season. However, the uncertainty that has marked recent weeks seems to have dissipated. The team is officially qualified for the playoffs.
Montreal needed a win against the Ottawa Rouge et Noir on Saturday to secure their place at the fall ball.
Not only did they succeed, with a 32-15 victory, but they did it with panache.
In fact, Jason Maas’ men have just played their two best games of the season, including last week’s game in Calgary against the Stampeders.
They have also picked up in Ottawa where they left off in the West. Running back William Stanback was just as explosive on the ground, throwing for 71 yards in the first half. He scored the first touchdown of the game, in his team’s first offensive sequence.
Even though his production slowed down during the game, the attack led by Cody Fajardo set the tone and gave himself an extremely comfortable cushion. Rarely have the Alouettes seemed so comfortable, despite the absence of Austin Mack, the group’s number one receiver.
Tyson Philpot, author of the second touchdown of the game, Cole Spieker and Kaion Julien-Grant stood up. After 30 minutes, the Alouettes led 15-0 and Fajardo had completed 13 of his 15 passes.
But as has been the case on numerous occasions since June, the defensive unit was flawless. Even more, it allowed the Alouettes to qualify for the playoffs.
The first points for the Rouge et Noir were scored at the start of the fourth quarter. The men of Noel Thorpe, defensive coordinator, not only allowed themselves to defend well and do their job efficiently, but they also worked overtime by adding points to the table.
Marc-Antoine Dequoy, uncompromising in 2023, intercepted a pass from Dustin Crum at the goal gate. The Quebecer brought the ball back 108 yards, from one end of the field to the other, to make the score 22-0.
Dequoy draws praise from coast to coast with every campaign. And, every year, it’s as if he finds different ways to distinguish himself. This play was his fifth interception of the season and his second touchdown. He also made a vitally important play in Calgary during the last game.
About ten minutes later, Shawn Lemon took advantage of an almost burlesque fumble from the opposing quarterback to score the team’s second defensive touchdown.
And even if they didn’t give the scorers any work, linebackers Reggie Stubblefield and Tyrice Beverette were the real stars of this meeting. In hockey parlance, it seems like they both deserve the first star.
Stubblefield made his presence felt early in the game with an interception in the end zone. Between that moment and returning to the locker room at halftime, he had added two sacks to his record.
As for Beverette, a real spark plug for the Montreal defense this season, he accumulated two sacks at two opportune moments.
This meeting was a faithful representation of what the current edition of the Alouettes is. That is to say, effective complementarity between attack and defense.
However, because there is nothing perfect, the Alouettes were still carried offensively by the defense. Half of the team’s touchdowns were scored when Fajardo and his cohorts were resting on the bench.
On the one hand, this much depth would please the supporters and leaders of any organization. On the other hand, in the coming weeks, it will be difficult to fight, with a production of 14 points, against a team that is not last in its division.
The Rouge et Noir still finished the game with 98 yards more than the Alouettes.
The difference in points at the end of this duel could have been much higher, had it not been for the inaccuracy of kicker David Côté. The Quebecer missed three of his four precision kicks. Which is far from the standards to which he has accustomed us.
However, it is true that the trend of recent weeks is rather unusual. Côté now has 11 failed attempts in 15 games. He had missed just eight in 20 games in 2022.
Byron Archambault, the special teams coach, can at least be pleased with the performance of James Letcher Jr., who replaced the excellent Chandler Worthy on kick returns. The diminutive returner ran six times, totaling 105 yards, averaging 17.5 yards per return.