MONTREAL – They didn’t make it easy for themselves, but the Montreal Alouettes just about completed their comeback effort to defeat the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday night. Down by as many as 18 in the third quarter, the Als got their first touchdown of the game in that same quarter before scoring 12 unanswered in the fourth.
Davis Alexander returned from his hamstring injury to deliver his team to victory. His rushing score with less than two minutes on the clock gave Montreal their first lead of the night, while the Alouettes’ defence turned it up a notch late with two fourth-quarter turnovers.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Montreal Alouettes’ win over the Toronto Argonauts.
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2 – FOURTH-QUARTER TURNOVERS
Toronto quarterback Nick Arbuckle played a clean game through three quarters and it looked like he was poised to lead the Boatmen to a big road win. That narrative quickly shifted in the fourth quarter as Montreal’s usually stout defence turned the tide with a pair of turnovers.
After a stunning Derek Slywka strip stopped Cole Spieker just short of getting a potential game-winning touchdown, Montreal’s defence responded with their first turnover of the ballgame. Lwal Uguak got to Arbuckle on a strip sack before Shawn Oakman got onto the loose football, leading to Alexander’s touchdown run. And then to kill the game, Kabion Ento came up with an interception as Arbuckle tried to get the Argos into field goal range.
129 – COLE SPIEKER RECEIVING YARDS
With Tyson Philpot missing on Thursday, Spieker was the Montreal receiver who stepped up in his absence. Spieker saw 13 targets come his way, catching nine of Alexander’s passes for 129 receiving yards.
Spieker made two catches on third down, the second of which being his third-quarter touchdown reception. A 38-yard catch and run also setup Sean Thomas Erlington‘s score in the fourth.
12 – UNANSWERED FOURTH-QUARTER POINTS
Crucial takeaways on the defensive end combined with two touchdown scores allowed the Als to just about get over the line in the fourth quarter. The game took a turn when a Geoffrey Cantin-Arku sack allowed Montreal to start their next possession at midfield. Thomas Erlington would get the short-yardage rushing score on the following drive, setting up a thrilling finish in Montreal.
After Oakman’s fumble recovery, Alexander gave it all he had on a 10-yard touchdown score as he looked to re-injure his hamstring on the winning play.
