MONTREAL - The Montreal Alouettes' two-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday night as they dropped a 17-3 decision to the dominant Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The other major problem for the Als was a two-hour delay as heavy rain and lightning forced the CFL to reschedule the start of the Canada Day contest.
鈥淚t was probably one of the more difficult games I鈥檝e ever been a part of,鈥 said Alouettes starting quarterback Cody Fajardo of the delay that kept everyone, players included, questioning if Saturday鈥檚 matchup between the Als and Blue Bombers would even take place.
It wasn鈥檛 until 8:50 p.m. ET that play commenced without any of the pre-game fanfare planned for the Alouettes鈥 first Canada Day game at home.
While the Alouettes fought hard, grit wasn鈥檛 enough to keep them in the game against arguably their toughest opponent to date.
Winnipeg went up 7-0 in the first quarter and a series of offensive mistakes on the Alouettes鈥 end, combined with a rock solid Winnipeg defence, meant the Blue Bombers would stay ahead right until the end.
鈥淲ere we good enough? No, absolutely not,鈥 said Montreal coach Jason Maas after the game. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think we executed at a high enough level throughout the night.鈥
A major point of struggle for the Alouettes was maintaining possession of the ball. Turnovers got them down and kept them down for the majority of the game.
鈥淔ighting can only get you so far,鈥 said Fajardo. "I had a terrible pick in the red zone, which hurt us there. I know we had a fumble when we were driving, just a bunch of opportunities that we kind of squandered."
Add to that the uncertainty before the game, last-minute lineup changes, and poor playing conditions and it wasn鈥檛 business as usual for the Alouettes.
鈥淭here are a lot of outside factors that we just had to shut off throughout the play,鈥 admitted Fajardo. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just 鈥榞o out and play football鈥 like it normally is.鈥
Trailing 10-0 to start the second half, the Alouettes were in desperate need of an offensive boost to kick things off. Gaining 20 yards on their first two plays, the Als were creeping into Winnipeg鈥檚 defensive zone, only to lose possession on a fumble forced by Winnipeg鈥檚 Deatrick Nicholls.
鈥淚t was hard to score points tonight,鈥 said Fajardo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to move the ball in those elements and it鈥檚 very difficult to stay on the field. In those situations I felt like the turnovers caused us to get down on ourselves.鈥
When the Blue Bombers had the ball, they were a force to be reckoned with. While they matched the Alouettes in effort, they had them totally beat when it came to execution. Winnipeg native Brady Oliveira in particular did a stellar job of keeping his team in enemy territory, totalling 112 rushing yards on the night.
Late in the third quarter, things finally seemed to turn in the Alouettes鈥 favour with an impressive 65-yard pass from Fajardo to receiver Kaion Julien-Grant giving Alouettes fans hope the team had found its offensive spark, only to be denied entry into the end zone with a killer interception by Winnipeg defensive back Brandon Alexander, which was returned 62 yards, putting them right back where they started.
鈥淚 have to give them credit,鈥 Maas said of the Bombers' defensive abilities. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e able to create pressure.鈥
It鈥檚 this constant pressure that kept the Alouettes offence from capitalizing on their possessions. Not only did the Blue Bombers force three fumbles, but they also kept their defensive line tight, providing little space for the Alouettes to create plays. Alouettes鈥 punter Joseph Zema was forced to punt six times throughout the night, totalling 304 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Alouettes were able to get on the scoreboard as rookie receiver Austin Mack broke into the end zone to capitalize on a 20-yard pass from Fajardo. Upon review the pass was deemed incomplete, but the home team still managed to make something of their possession with a 27-yard field goal from kicker David Cot茅.
While the Alouettes tried to create some additional offence to close out the game, Winnipeg held them off to secure a 17-3 victory, snapping not one but two Alouettes streaks in the process.
with the Alouettes set to take on the BC Lions in Week 5, coach Jason Maas and quarterback Cody Fajardo both said they鈥檒l be putting this loss behind them and going back to the drawing board so the Alouettes can go into next week鈥檚 matchup a little more efficient on offence.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to watch the film, we鈥檙e going to bury it and we get another opportunity next week,鈥 said Fajardo.
UP NEXT
The Blue Bombers (3-1) host the Calgary Stampeders (1-2) on July 7, while the Alouettes (2-1) travel to Vancouver to tackle the B.C. Lions (3-0) on July 9.
This report by 好色tvwas first published July 1, 2023.
