EDMONTON — The Montreal Alouettes will travel west in Week 17 as they prepare for a Saturday night matchup with the Edmonton Elks from Commonwealth Stadium.
With a win over Edmonton the Alouettes can earn their third consecutive win and continue their stronghold over second place in the East Division.
The Alouettes and Elks matched up in Week 5 of the regular season, in a game which saw the Elks earn one of their four wins in a thrilling 32-31 victory from Montreal.
Edmonton is coming off a bye and defeated Saskatchewan 26-24 in Week 15 and will look to use the momentum as they continue their search for their first home win of the 2022 season.
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In Montreal, the offensive backfield has demanded much of the attention in the week leading up to their game in Edmonton. Running back William Stanback returned to practice for the first time since suffering an injury that has kept him sidelined since the opening week of the season.
Despite the excitement and headlines the return of Stanback has generated, Als fans will have to continue to patiently wait for the return of the star back. According to the team’s injury report Stanback has been ruled out for this week as he continues to work his way back from injury.
Nonetheless, the apparent return of Stanback should provide a spark for the Alouettes as they continue to make a push for the playoffs.
Montreal’s Trevor Harris has completed 70 per cent of his passes this season, giving him the third best completion percentage among active starting quarterbacks. Ahead of Saturday’s contest Harris needs just 15 yards to reach 3,000 passing yards, it would mark the sixth time in his career reaching the milestone.
As has been the case for the vast majority of the season, Eugene Lewis will be relied upon by the Als offence to help move the ball downfield and capitalize on opportunities to score. With a spectacular touchdown reception in Week 16, Lewis surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the second time in his career.
In their Week 6 matchup against the Elks, Lewis led the team with six receptions, 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. Over his last four games the Als playmaker has recorded at least 40 receiving yards and has found the end zone at least once in that same span.
On the defensive side of the ball for the Als, defensive lineman Jamal Davis made his presence felt in his return to Montreal last week. Davis was responsible for one sack and a tackle in Week 16 and has helped fortify a defensive line that has gotten into the offensive backfield for 30 sacks this season.
Edmonton just recently signed quarterback Taylor Cornelius to a contract extension, and the Elks pivot immediately delivered a win as they topped the Saskatchewan Roughriders 26-24 in Week 15.
As Cornelius looks to lead his team to their first win at Commonwealth Stadium in 2022, he will look to continue the upward trending trajectory that he has been on as of late.
Over his last four games Cornelius has completed 72 passes for 1,073 yards and has thrown for at least 237 yards in that span. The Elks pivot has also thrown five touchdown passes in has last four games of action and has currently thrown at least one touchdown in his last three starts. In their last meeting against the Als, Cornelius threw for 230 yards and a touchdown.
Ahead of Week 17 Kenny Lawler will be returning from injury for the Elks, giving Cornelius yet another offensive weapon at his disposal. Lawler is the leading receiver for the Double E, having caught 56 passes for 849 yards and five touchdowns.
The return of Lawler will certainly mean that the Als secondary will have to be aware of where No.89 is lined up at all times, but Lawler isn’t the only Elks receiver who has big-play ability.
Dillon Mitchell has been an offensive star for the Green and Gold as of late. Since joining Edmonton in Week 11, Mitchell has caught 15 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns, including an electrifying 77-yard score in Week 15 against Saskatchewan.
The Elks exploded for 202 rushing yards against the Riders thanks to a 109 yard performance from running back Kevin Brown and 93 yards from Cornelius.
Brown has played in just three games for the Elks this season, but has made the most of his opportunities. Brown has carried the ball 29 times and has rushed for 245 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per carry.
Speaking to team media earlier this week, Brown, said that he feels like he’s just beginning to show what he can do to help the offence.
“My style, I have speed, I’m agile and I don’t like to go down,” Brown told GoElks.com. “The offensive line has been blocking well, so a shout out to them. I’m still processing everything, it’s day-by-day. Once I get it down pat everything will be good.”
The Alouettes offensive line needs to be ready for pressure from all angles. The Elks are coming off a game where they recorded eight sacks from seven different players. Defensive lineman Jake Ceresna leads the team with eight.
Ceresna likes the unity he’s seeing among the defensive line and is looking to build off their strong performance against the Riders.
“I feel like we’ve been doing a pretty good job” Ceresna told GoElks.com. “Guys are coming in and out but we’re still playing together. Guys are buying into what we’re doing here. Against Saskatchewan we had eight sacks, so we need to keep building on that and keep working hard.”
Boasting a defensive secondary that is second in the league when it comes to defending the pass, the disruption caused by their pass-rush should help place added pressure on Harris, limiting his time and forcing him into less than desirable passing situations.
Montreal can pull within two points of the first place Toronto Argonauts by winning for the fifth time in their last six games. Edmonton is on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, but can continue to keep their hopes alive with a win.
Kickoff from Commonwealth Stadium is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on TSN, RDS, ESPN+ and can be followed on CFL.ca’s Game Tracker.
– With files from GoElks.com.
