For the second time this season, the Redblacks were able to frustrate the Montreal Alouettes on their home field. Things were looking good at halftime, as the Als held an eight-point advantage heading into the break. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hang on in the second half.
If you missed the Als postgame show on Facebook Live, you could find it by following this link.
Not cashing in in the red zone:
This was arguably the most frustrating part of Monday’s loss. The Alouettes made it in the red zone on six different occasions (if you include the third-and-four play from 19-yard line on the final drive of the game). They managed to score just one touchdown, which is disappointing.
Credit to kicker David Cote for making each of his four field goal attempts, but his longest was only 25 yards. That means that there were a lot of points left on the field.
“It made all the difference (in the game),” offensive lineman P.O. Lestage said after the loss. “You have to score in the red zone. It’s really not that complicated. We scored one touchdown, when we could have had four. It we had scored four touchdowns, we would’ve won the game easily. When you settle for field goals, you lose. We’re not satisfied with what happened. We’ll get back to work, go back to Ottawa, and we’re going to play better on Friday.”
The defence and special teams managed to force one turnover each. Adarius Pickett recovered a Devonte Dedmon fumble in Ottawa territory on a punt. Cote’s field goal cut the Montreal deficit to 7-6.
Late in the second quarter, Tyrice Beverette stripped Ottawa running back William Powell of the ball and the Als linebacker was able to recover his own strip at the Ottawa 35-yard line. Again, had to kick a field goal. That one increased the Als lead to 15-7 going into the break.
Tyrice Beverette does. it. ALL!
FUMBLE!!!! pic.twitter.com/fRPZUnSZnM
— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) October 10, 2022
Difficult Third Quarter:
Give the Redblacks credit for controlling the time of possession in the second half. New offensive coordinator Will Arndt kept the ball moving with his no-huddle offence. The ball was getting out of quarterback Nick Arbuckle’s hands quickly, which made it difficult for the pass-rushers to get after the quarterback.
“The no-huddle, it didn’t catch us off-guard, but it’s something we had to adjust to,” Als defensive back Wes Sutton said after the game. “All the other plays are all plays that we’ve seen on film. As a defence, we can always play better, but we got off the field when we had to, sometimes. But what the (Ottawa) offensive coordinator did didn’t catch us off guard…I think we adjusted.”
The defence was on the field for most of the third quarter. The offence managed to run just four plays from scrimmage during that 15-minute period. They had a two-and-out, followed by a Trevor Harris fumble.
In the end, Ottawa scored just six points in the third quarter, but their fourth-quarter touchdown was set up thanks to a great drive they had in the previous period.
Injuries:
The Alouettes lost two players to injury in this game. Receiver Reggie White Jr. was forced to exit the game on the opening drive after he was pushed into the electric advertisement sign. He was quickly ruled out of the game. With White out of the game, rookie Tyson Philpot got more run with the starting offence.
Philpot finished the game with four receptions for 48 yards. Geno Lewis led the team in receiving with nine catches on 11 targets for 108 yards and one touchdown.
You ❤️ to see it!
Geno Lewis finds the end zone! pic.twitter.com/TL5EACIE4C
— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) October 10, 2022
Starting center Sean Jamieson also exited the game. He needed help getting off the field, and he didn’t return. The veteran was replaced by David Brown, who started games at centre both this year and last year.
“It really sucks, especially because Sean and I have known each other for more than 10 years,” Brown said. “We went to college together and we’ve been through it all together. As much as it’s awesome to get on the field, it’s not the way that I wanted to happen. Hopefully we can get back on track with three straight wins because we control our own destiny.”
We should get more information on the significance of these injuries this week.
Quick Turnaround:
The Als and Redblacks will play again this coming Friday at TD Place in Ottawa. This will be the fourth and final meeting between these two sides.
Don’t get it twisted, this was a disappointing loss for the Alouettes, but it’s one that they can move past quickly if they win on the road this week. Regardless of Monday’s result, the Als will still have to beat Toronto in back-to-back games to finish the season in order to move into first place in the East Division.
“We had a game to give,” added Brown. “We still control our own destiny going forward. You want to perform well in every single game, so it’s still disappointing to lose. It’s not the nail in the coffin. We’ll be alright. We’ll move forward and we’ll be fine.
“It’s not like we have more or less rest than (Ottawa). They’re going through the same thing we’re going through, so it should be the same thing going forward for both teams.”
The Argos now have a four-point advantage over the second place Alouettes heading into the final three weeks of the regular season. As Brown mentioned, the Als still have their destiny in their own hands.
