No Habs game tonight, so let’s talk football. The Alouettes playoffs begin on Saturday, Nov. 7, with the Eastern Final at Molson Stadium, and by the end of this Saturday Montreal will know who’s coming to town. It will be either the Toronto Argonauts or the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and both arrive with real quarterback questions. Here’s how the bracket works and what each opponent would bring, with all stats as of Oct. 26.
How the Alouettes playoffs bracket shook out
Montreal finished first in the East at 14-4, which earned a first-round bye. TSN’s playoff breakdown explains the twist: Saskatchewan’s Week 21 win over Edmonton kept the Roughriders on the West side of the bracket, which pushed Winnipeg over to the East as the crossover team.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: East Semi-Final, Winnipeg at Toronto (BMO Field), and West Semi-Final, Saskatchewan at BC
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Eastern Final, East Semi-Final winner at Montreal; Western Final, West Semi-Final winner vs. first-place Edmonton
- Sunday, Nov. 15: 113th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Option A: the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto finished 9-9 and second in the East. Montreal swept the two-game season series, most recently with a 33-16 win at BMO Field on Friday, Oct. 23, per TSN, although both teams rested a number of starters that night.
The big unknown is Chad Kelly. The Argos quarterback hurt his knee against Ottawa on Oct. 16 and was listed as day-to-day, after earlier being a late scratch against BC with a hand injury. He was jogging in place on the sideline during the finale, but head coach Mike Miller offered no update on his status. Third-stringer Tucker Horn started the finale and went 20-of-26 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Receiver Kevin Mital also crossed 1,000 yards, making him the fourth Argo to do it this season, a franchise first. Defensive back Derek Slywka left late with an apparent injury.
Option B: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg also went 9-9, clinching a 10th straight playoff berth with a 34-10 win in Vancouver in its finale. That win came at a cost: Zach Collaros was hit late in the third quarter and left with what appeared to be a head or neck injury, and coach Mike O’Shea had no update afterward.
Backup Dru Brown was perfect in relief, going 11-of-11 for 185 yards and two touchdowns, and Brady Oliveira ran for 149 yards on 15 carries, including a 63-yard score. “We’ve kind of had just an adverse year, a lot of kind of ups and downs. And I think that that’s a good thing,” Brown said. A Bombers team with a hot backup and a strong ground game is not one to take lightly.
What the Als bring to Molson Stadium
Montreal gets a rested Davis Alexander back for the playoffs. He sat out the finale but entered the final weekend leading the CFL with 35 touchdown passes and a 72.1 completion percentage, and ranked second with 5,257 passing yards. He’s 13-3 as a starter this season.
The Als also went a perfect 9-0 at home this year, as we covered in our look at the unbeaten home season. Depth behind Alexander looked solid in Toronto too, with Dustin Crum running in two touchdowns and Caleb Evans throwing two more. “Coach Maas has created an extremely competitive environment on the team,” Crum said.
Award nominees and a kicking question
According to TSN, Alexander is Montreal’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player, with a league-best 328.6 passing yards per game and a 35-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Tyson Philpot was a unanimous pick for Most Outstanding Canadian after leading the league with 1,809 receiving yards, 124 catches and 13 receiving touchdowns.
The one worry is the kicking game. Kicker José Maltos Díaz was carted off with a left wrist or arm injury in the Week 20 loss to Saskatchewan, so the Als brought back Lewis Ward. The 33-year-old Canadian made 302 of 349 field-goal attempts (86.5 per cent) over eight seasons in Ottawa, was the CFL’s top special teams player in 2018, and once made 69 field goals in a row, a professional record.
Plan your Eastern Final weekend
The Eastern Final is Saturday, Nov. 7, at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. Check the Alouettes’ official site for kickoff time and tickets. For more context on how the Als got here, read our earlier Alouettes Watch, and remember that clocks fall back one hour on Sunday, Nov. 1, the weekend before the game.
The East Semi-Final airs Saturday on TSN. Whoever wins, the road out of the East goes through Montreal. Allez les Als!
It’ll be a busy Saturday in town: CF Montréal also hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps at Stade Saputo on Nov. 7. If you missed how the Als wrapped up their 14-4 season, it’s all in our weekend sports recap, and our This Week in Montreal guide can help fill the days before kickoff.
More on MTL365
- Rainy-Day Rescue: Penguin Feedings at the Montreal Biodome, Northern Lights at the Planetarium and Giant Plush Characters at the Biosphère
- Montreal Food Halls: Your Guide to Time Out Market, Le Central, Le Cathcart and Le Fou Fou
- Flu Shot in Montreal: Who Gets It Free This Fall and How to Book
- More Montreal sports on MTL365
Photo: mark.watmough / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Sources: TSN, TSN, TSN, TSN, TSN (awards), TSN (Ward)
