Playoff-bound Alouettes looking to play ‘best football’ against CFL-worst Redblacks

MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes are coming out of their third and final bye week of the CFL schedule with the coveted “x” beside their name.

Montreal (8-7) secured a playoff spot following the Ottawa Redblacks’ 20-13 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Oct. 3. The Alouettes have also guaranteed themselves a home playoff game next month.

Nevertheless, the Alouettes enter its Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Redblacks at Percival Molson Stadium motivated as ever to run their winning streak to four games.

“You want to be playing your best football,” said Alouettes head coach Jason Maas on Saturday. “For us to be playing our best football, in my opinion, it’s getting better each and every week with the mindset that you win each and every day, and you win each and every game going forward.

“I don’t think anybody in here wants to lose. We’ve done enough of that during the season.”

“Our job is to come out here, win football games and put the best product out there,” added starting quarterback Davis Alexander. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to go chase the championship.”

The Alouettes still have an outside chance of finishing atop the East Division standings, following the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 37-20 home loss on Saturday to the Calgary Stampeders.

Montreal needs to win its three remaining regular-season games and hope Hamilton loses its final game of the season (against Ottawa) to lock up top spot and a bye straight through into the Eastern Final on Nov. 8.

Ottawa, meanwhile, has a league-worst 4-11 record and is already assured of missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the past six seasons. To make matters worse for the Redblacks, they will be without starting quarterback Dru Brown, who has been shut down for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Backup Dustin Crum will start in Brown’s place on Monday. The 26-year-old has completed 147 of his 205 throws for 1,609 yards, six touchdowns and just two interceptions across six starts and three relief appearances this season.

“Life’s full of challenging situations and when you don’t achieve a goal, it’s disappointing,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce following last week’s loss to Saskatchewan. “I don’t think there’s anyone in that locker room who is not disappointed, just like I am. At the end of the day, if you don’t battle back from it, you’re not going to be a successful person in whatever you do.”

Despite Ottawa’s struggles, Alexander cautions against taking the Redblacks too lightly.

“It definitely could be labeled a trap game,” admitted Alexander. “I know in our eyes, we’re going to play our butt off. We’ve been talking all week; this is playoff football. It’ll be playoff football from here on out because we need to be playing our best ball going into November.”

Alexander will be looking to improve his CFL-best record to 10-0 as Montreal’s starter with a win against the Redblacks. The Alouettes pivot has won all five games he has started this season in what has been an injury-riddled season for the American, twice sidelined with a hamstring strain.

Monday’s contest also may prove to be a memorable one for Montreal wide receiver Tyler Snead. The 25-year-old is just 20 yards shy of his first career 1,000-yard season.

“It would mean a lot,” said Snead, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Alouettes last month. “This year has been filled with ups and downs and I kind of just tried to stay consistent. I think the 1,000-yard mark would be a testament to that.”

“I’m just super happy for him,” said Alexander. “It’s always cool to hit a milestone like that. He works super hard. He’s smart. He does everything for us.”

Redblacks wide receivers Justin Hardy and Eugene Lewis could also reach the 1,000-yard threshold this week, as they sit 63 and 47 yards away, respectively.

Montreal has won its last nine meetings with Ottawa dating back to October 2022.

HONOURING HALL OF FAMERS

The Alouettes will pay tribute to offensive lineman Bryan Chiu and wide receiver Jermaine Copeland during a halftime ceremony on Monday, following their recent induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Chiu spent his entire 13-year professional career in Montreal, winning the Grey Cup in both 2002 and 2009. Copeland, meanwhile, played his first four CFL seasons in Montreal, recording 213 catches for 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns with the Alouettes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2025.

Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press