The Montreal Alouettes (10-1) concluded Week 12 of the CFL season on Sunday against the Edmonton Elks (3-8) from Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Montreal welcomed back Cody Fajardo after missing four games and wide receiver Austin Mack who had a stint with the Atlanta Falcons. On the other side, McLeod Bethel-Thompson started for the second straight week as Tre Ford continues to recover from a chest injury.
The Montreal Alouettes honored the 1974 Grey Cup championship team by wearing the throwback uniforms from 1974 and they looked neat on the field. The Alouettes should make those jerseys permanent.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Montreal’s defense forced a quick two-and-out. Montreal’s offense started their first drive on their 3-yard line. Quarterback Cody Fajardo threw four passes for 39 yards, and running back Walter Fletcher had three carries for 13 yards.
Edmonton was penalized two times during this drive for 23 yards. Montreal moved the ball to the Elks’ 5-yard line before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 12-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:34 left of the first quarter.
Edmonton’s offense was back out for their second series starting on their 43-yard line. After Kevin Brown rushed for a gain of 3 yards, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw two passes for 31 yards. Running back Kevin Brown got two more carries for 30 yards to reach the Alouettes’ 6-yard line.
On the next play, Bethel-Thompson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Lewis, who beat his man one-on-one to put Edmonton up 7-3 with 4:39 left of the first quarter capping off a six-play drive for 70 yards in over three minutes.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw an 8-yard pass to Austin Mack on second down but not enough for the first down. Edmonton’s offense had the ball for the final two minutes and 48 seconds of the first quarter. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw two passes for 37 yards, plus a roughing the passer penalty by Montreal, and running back Justin Rankin had three carries for 6 yards to reach the Alouettes’ 12-yard line as the first quarter ended up 7-3.
Edmonton had 119 yards on offense (74 yards passing, 45 yards rushing), 6 first downs, and 1 for 2 in the red zone. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 6 of 7 passes for 74 yards, and one touchdown, and running back Kevin Brown had 4 carries for 39 yards.
Montreal had 87 yards on offense (74 yards passing, 13 yards rushing), 4 first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 6 of 7 passes for 74 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Edmonton backup quarterback Dakota Prukop got the Elks closer with a four-yard run to the Alouettes’ 8-yard line. On the next play, Thompson threw a quick pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. for an 8-yard touchdown extending their lead 14-3 with 13:39 left capping off an 8-play drive for 70 yards in four minutes.
For the majority of the second quarter, it was all defense. With 9:33 left, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo attempted a pass to Austin Mack but well overthrew him and it was intercepted by Devodric Bynum on their 24-yard line. The Alouettes challenged the play for defensive pass interference but lost and were charged a timeout.
On the other side, Montreal’s defense started to put more pressure on McLeod Bethel-Thompson. With 5:53 left, Bethel-Thompson was sacked by Geoffrey Cantin-Arku for an 8-yard loss on second down forcing Edmonton to punt the ball.
Montreal’s offense was back out on the field with 4:45 left of the second quarter. Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 25 yards and rushed for a gain of 3 yards. The drive stalled and kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 28-yard field goal and the Alouettes trailed the Elks 14-6 with 2:41 left before halftime capping off a four-play drive for 31 yards.
Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson started the next drive by rushing for 8 yards before Kevin Brown had two carries for 29 yards. Kevin Brown would get two more carries for 13 yards and Bethel-Thompson rushed for four yards to the Alouettes’ 2-yard line. They did not go for it on third down. Instead, they took a time count penalty and kicker Boris Bede made a 19-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead at halftime capping off an 8-play drive for 59 yards.
First Half Stats:
Edmonton had 213 yards on offense (109 passing yards, 112 yards rushing, 8 yards lost), 12 first downs, and 2 for 3 in the red zone. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 9 of 13 passes (69.2%) for 109 yards, two touchdowns, and two carries for 13 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had 10 carries for 87 yards, and Justin Rankin had 4 carries for 9 yards.
Wide receiver Tevin Jones made three catches for 47 yards, while Dillon Mitchell made two catches for 26 yards, and Eugene Lewis made two catches for 20 yards, and one touchdown. Edmonton’s defense had one tackle for loss and one interception. They were penalized 3 times for 33 yards.
Montreal had 129 yards on offense (109 yards passing, 22 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), 7 first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 9 of 14 passes (64.3%) for 109 yards, one interception, and 3 carries for 1 yard. Running back Walter Fletcher had 6 carries for 21 yards.
Wide receiver Nate Behar made 3 catches for 44 yards, and Charleston Rambo made 1 catch for 38 yards. Montreal’s defense made one sack. They were penalized 2 times for 18 yards.
Third Quarter:
Montreal got the ball to start the third quarter. Running back Walter Fletcher started with a 19-yard run reaching the Elks’ 45-yard line. Next, quarterback Cody Fajardo completed two passes for 12 yards to the Elks’ 33-yard line.
Two plays later, Cody Fajardo found a wide-open Cole Spieker for a 33-yard touchdown. Montreal attempted a two-point conversion to get within a field goal but did not get it. The Alouettes trailed the Elks 17-12 with 11:19 left of the third quarter.
For the next three drives, Montreal’s defense forced two two-and-outs, and Edmonton’s defense forced a two-and-out. Montreal got the ball back with 7:05 left. The Alouettes moved the ball to the Elks’ 7-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Cody Fajardo could not find anyone open and took off running.
He was running out of bounds when Nyles Morgan nailed him and the two both hit the advertising signs. Morgan was injured after the play and was given an objectionable conduct penalty. Montreal defensive lineman Dylan Wynn was also issued an objectionable conduct penalty for going after an Edmonton player on the sidelines.
Two plays later, Fajardo scrambled out of the pocket again before throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker, who kept both feet inbounds. They attempted a two-point conversion for the second time and did not get it. Montreal took an 18-17 lead with 3:17 left of the third quarter capping off a 9-play drive for 87 yards in 4 minutes.
On the second play for Edmonton, Montreal linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku sacked McLeod Bethel-Thompson for the second time on second down forcing the Elks to punt the ball. Montreal had the ball for the final one minute and seven seconds of the third quarter. On the final play, quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a 14-yard pass to Austin Mack to reach the Elks’ 15-yard line. The Alouettes led the Elks 18-17 with one quarter left to play.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo was sacked by Elliott Brown for a 4-yard loss backing them up to the Elks’ 19-yard line. On the next play, Cody Fajardo attempted to complete a pass to Charleston Rambo but Darrius Bratton appeared to have intercepted the ball but the play was ruled an incomplete pass.
Edmonton head coach Jarious Jackson challenged the play but the play stood and he lost a timeout. Montreal kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 26-yard field goal extending their lead 21-17 with 13:44 left in the game capping off a five-play drive for 67 yards.
On Edmonton’s next series, they moved the ball to the Alouettes’ 34-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Boris Bede attempted a 41-yard field goal but he missed it wide right. Montreal returner James Letcher Jr. returned the ball 42 yards before getting pushed out of bounds to their 25-yard line with 8:43 left of the game.
Edmonton’s defense gave up 14 yards before Noah Taylor sacked Cody Fajardo on second down forcing them to punt the ball. Edmonton’s offense moved the ball to the Alouettes’ 12-yard line. On third down, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 6-yard pass to Eugene Lewis well short of the end zone and Montreal took over on their 6-yard line with 1:23 left of the game.
After Edmonton’s defense forced a two-and-out, the offense was back out with 47 seconds left. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw three passes for 24 yards, and running back Kevin Brown had one carry for 3 yards. Edmonton had two shots to win the game. However, Montreal’s defense stood tall to force two incomplete passes and the Alouettes survived to beat the Edmonton Elks 21-17. The Alouettes have now won four straight games and Edmonton snapped a three-game winning streak and are now 0-7 in losing a game by one score.
Final Stats:
Montreal had 398 yards on offense (336 yards passing, 69 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), 18 first downs, and 0 for 2 in the red zone. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 22 of 34 passes (65%) for 336 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and 2 carries for 8 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had 11 carries for 54 yards and 6 catches for 45 yards.
Wide receiver Cole Spieker made 5 catches for 107 yards, and two touchdowns, and Charleston Rambo made 3 catches for 95 yards. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made 3 of 3 field goals with a long of 28 yards. Montreal’s defense made 48 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and 8 tackles for loss. They were penalized 5 times for 48 yards.
Edmonton had 329 yards on offense (200 yards passing, 143 yards rushing, 14 yards lost), 21 first downs, and 2 for 5 in the red zone. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 21 of 33 passes (64%) for 200 yards, 2 touchdowns, and two carries for 12 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had 16 carries for 105 yards, and Justin Rankin had 6 carries for 19 yards.
Wide receiver Tevin Jones made 5 catches for 67 yards, while Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made 4 catches for 30 yards and one touchdown, and Eugene Lewis made 3 catches for 26 yards, and one touchdown. Kicker Boris Bede made 1 of 2 field goals with a long of 19 yards. Edmonton’s defense made 37 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, one interception, and 9 tackles for loss. They were penalized 5 times for 58 yards.
Final Thoughts:
This game was a tale of two halves. Edmonton did a good job in the first half. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson released the ball quickly and his guys were making the catches. Running back Kevin Brown also had a nice game back since injury and Edmonton should continue to use both Brown and Justin Rankin in the running game.
Montreal’s defense was sluggish and the offense had problems moving the football in the first half. Whatever was said at halftime worked because they got back to playing Montreal football and were putting pressure on Bethel-Thompson and Edmonton’s offense struggled to find the end zone in the second half.
Cody Fajardo regained his form to throw two touchdown passes in the second half. After a slow start in the first half, Fajardo started to find his rhythm and the team started clicking. Before the first half ended, head coach Jason Maas was contemplating putting in Davis Alexander but he stuck to his guns and the team came back from 11 points down to win the game.
Next week, the Montreal Alouettes are on a bye, and the Edmonton Elks visit the Calgary Stampeders on Monday at 6 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
