Montreal Alouettes hit the Winnipeg wall in second loss (& seven other thoughts)

Photo: Samantha Keen/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Montreal Alouettes headed to Winnipeg to face an enigmatic Blue Bombers team on Friday night. The hosts took control of the game and never let it go. In the end, the Als lost 44-28.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Unexpected lesson

A month ago, the Alouettes were constantly playing with fire, giving opponents life for no reason before pulling out victories in the final three minutes. That could have been a valuable moment to suffer a loss and learn a lesson.

Instead, the Als seemed to learn without having to endure that setback, delivering their two best performances of the season against Edmonton and Ottawa.

Heading into Winnipeg, there was little indication the team would slow down or hit a wall. No 3DownNation contributor picked the Blue Bombers to win, and for good reason. Zach Collaros has struggled throughout the season so far, and Winnipeg had blown a 16-0 lead against the Edmonton Elks just a week earlier.

That’s the CFL for you. Upsets happen, and Mike O’Shea’s group deserves plenty of credit. The Bombers were ready from the opening kickoff, played a more physical brand of football, and simply wanted the win more.

Winnipeg exposed nearly every flaw that had popped up sporadically throughout Montreal’s season and did it all in the same game. Hats off to them.

Defensive miscues

Winnipeg offensive coordinator Tommy Condell has faced his share of criticism in recent weeks, but on Friday night, he was at the top of his game.

He seemed to have an answer for everything the Alouettes threw at him. It started with an offensive line that dominated in the running game and held up well in pass protection, allowing Collaros to settle into a rhythm and gain confidence early.

As Noel Thorpe dialled up more pressure in an attempt to disrupt the veteran quarterback, the Bombers countered with jet sweeps and well-designed routes that attacked the spaces left vacant by blitzing linebackers. Winnipeg repeatedly put itself in favourable situations on first down.

The most concerning aspect of the defensive performance, however, was the inability to adjust. Winnipeg recorded 32 first downs compared to Montreal’s 17, racked up 447 net offensive yards, and ran 62 plays.

Even more telling, the Bombers scored on eight of their first ten offensive possessions. That’s simply too much to overcome.

Battle of possession

Those defensive struggles played a significant role in the Alouettes losing the time-of-possession battle for the first time since Week 6.

Winnipeg controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes and, when the moment came to put the game away, the team successfully killed the clock.

Offensively, Montreal’s drives were often short. In the first half, several ended in touchdowns, but they still didn’t give the defence enough time to recover from Winnipeg’s long, exhausting possessions. In the second half, those quick drives allowed the Bombers to tighten their grip on the game and never look back.

Special teams issues

One recurring issue that resurfaced was mistakes on special teams.

The Alouettes surrendered a blocked punt, committed an illegal kickoff infraction, and allowed a long return by Trey Vaval. On all three occasions, Winnipeg capitalized by finding the end zone on the ensuing drive.

It’s worth noting that Louis-Philippe Bourassa’s injury forced Alexandre Gagné into the long-snapping role. With Gagné no longer leading protection duties, Joseph Zema’s blocked punt became a costly consequence.

Still, it was the accumulation of mistakes that hurt Montreal most. While Devonte Dedmon provided a few encouraging returns, they weren’t enough to offset the self-inflicted damage.

A scare and a decent performance from Davis Alexander

Davis Alexander appeared headed for another outstanding performance after three of Montreal’s first five possessions ended in touchdowns.

Unfortunately for the Alouettes, that was about as close as they got to the Blue Bombers the rest of the way. Alexander finished 20-of-31 for 257 yards and four touchdown passes.

On paper, those numbers are solid, but Alexander will likely be the first to admit he missed some open receivers and wasn’t reading Winnipeg’s defence as effectively as he wanted to.

He faced steady pressure throughout the night as both his offensive line and running back Travis Theis struggled to win key matchups against Winnipeg’s defensive front.

On one scramble, Alexander attempted to extend the play rather than throw the ball away, ultimately injuring his right leg. It gave the entire Alouettes fanbase a scare, but he managed to finish the game. We’ll find out next week how serious the issue really is.

Déjà vu

The start of the game felt strikingly similar to last week’s contest in Montreal.

The Bombers marched down the field with ease on their opening drive. A pass interference penalty against Robert Kennedy helped along the way, but the reality was that nearly everything Tommy Condell called worked perfectly. Montreal’s pass rush couldn’t get home, and Collaros looked comfortable from the outset.

The Alouettes’ first offensive series lasted only two plays before Joseph Zema was called upon to punt. Winnipeg grabbed the early lead and never relinquished it.

Last week, Nate Beauchemin’s takeaway on Ottawa’s second drive completely changed the momentum of the game. This time, he forced a fumble on Tommy Nield at the goal line in the final seconds of the first half with a tremendous hit.

Unlike the Ottawa game, however, that turnover didn’t change the script. The Alouettes were thoroughly outplayed in the second half.

A questionable call

Trailing by 14 points in the third quarter, the Alouettes appeared to force a fumble from Nic Demski while he was still on top of several Montreal defenders.

The command centre overturned the call, ruling that Demski’s forward progress had been stopped.

It’s the first time I’ve seen a ruling like that on a player who wasn’t actually down on the ground, though I can understand what the officials saw. Demski didn’t appear to make an additional effort to advance after initial contact.

My issue is that the sequence happened very quickly. Was it truly clear and obvious that his progress had been stopped? I’m not convinced.

Bad habits

Barring a dramatic collapse, the Alouettes should secure a home playoff game within the next few weeks.

The focus now needs to be on maintaining momentum and ensuring the team is playing its best football in November, unlike what happened in 2024.

Two years ago, Montreal looked destined for a Grey Cup appearance, but bad habits eventually caught up to the team in an upset loss in the East Final.

Are we at that point this season? I don’t think so.

The issues highlighted above haven’t appeared often enough to be considered habits. It’s far too early for Alouettes fans to panic. The team simply played a poor game against a very motivated opponent, and I fully expect a bounce-back performance next week against the B.C. Lions.

What’s next?

The Alouettes return home to host the B.C. Lions on Friday, September 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.

Pablo is an Alouettes and CFL reporter based in Montreal.