The BC Lions will wrap up their regular season at home as they host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday night. Vernon Adams Jr. will get his first start at quarterback since week 9 as the Lions look to tune things up ahead of their Western Semi-Final matchup in Saskatchewan.

Montreal has 1st place in the East secured with 2 games remaining in their season. Cody Fajardo will be back under center for the Alouettes after being away last week welcoming a newborn to his family.

Game Details:

Date/Location: Saturday, October 19 /BC Place, Vancouver, BC

Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM PT

Channel: TSN, RDS (Canada), CFL+ (USA, Global)

Odds: 

Spread: B.C. -2.5 (-115), Montreal +2.5 (-105)

Moneyline: B.C. -142, Montreal +118

Over/Under: 49.5 (Over -105, Under -115)

B.C. Lions: The BC Lions are coming off an 8-39 loss in Saskatchewan last week that saw the Riders clinch home-field advantage for their upcoming playoff meeting in the Western Semi-Final. Last week saw Nathan Rourke complete 15 of his 23 passes for 200 yards with 2 interceptions before the Lions switched to Chase Brice in the 4th quarter. This week against Montreal, Vernon Adams Jr. will get his first start since week 9’s loss to Montreal.

Montreal Alouettes: The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Ottawa RedBlacks last week 19-12 to sweep the season series against them by winning all 3 of their meetings. Last week saw Davis Alexander improve to 4-0 as a starter with Cody Fajardo away from the team. Fajardo will start for Montreal on Saturday night. Fajardo has completed 73.1% of his passes for 2,874 yards and 15 touchdowns with 7 interceptions over 12 games. Montreal has a home-field advantage secured in the playoffs but will still be rolling their starting lineup.

Lions Keys to the Game

Pound the Rock

Montreal has the 2nd longest average yards per carry allowed from their opponents at 5.6. Last week saw Stanback rush only 8 times for 35 yards. So far this season Stanback has rushed 225 times for 1,147 yards and 3 touchdowns, 5.1 yards per carry. He is 2nd in yards in the league. This week will be a great week for the Lions to lean into the run game against a Montreal defense that uses a lot of 3-man defensive line schemes.

A Strong Game From VA

Vernon Adams Jr. was on pace to have the third most passing yards in a CFL season after he had 2,395 yards and 14 touchdowns with 5 interceptions after 7 games. However, things took a quick turn in the opposite direction when he was injured after a down performance on the road in Winnipeg. Since then he has not had a start at quarterback. Montreal’s pass defense is one of the best if not the best in the CFL so he will be coming in after a long break to a strong test.

Stop the Run

Montreal has the 2nd fewest rushing attempts in the league at 263 which is only 6 more than Hamilton who has the fewest. Montreal at times will go away from the run quickly when it is stopped which can make them less dimensional.

Lockdown Pass Coverage

BC so far this season has the worst passing efficiency allowed from their opponents at 108.2. Last year they had the third-best pass efficiency allowed from opponents at 89.9. This week is an opportunity for BC to tighten up in this area ahead of the playoffs.

Alouettes Keys to the Game

Run the Ball

Walter Fletcher has a strong yard per carry at 5.5 this season after rushing 129 times for 711 yards. Last week he rushed 10 times for 37 yards. This week is a good week to mix in the run game against a team that often has a formidable run defense. Montreal will face either Toronto or Ottawa in the Eastern Final who are both strong teams against the run.

No Injuries

Montreal will most importantly want to finish this game without any key injuries. They do not need any drastic improvements as a football team but need to avoid setbacks such as a key injury.

Defend Against the Run

Montreal will face William Stanback for the 2nd time this season. It will be a good game for Montreal to tighten up their run defense.

Keep up the Strong Pass Coverage

Montreal currently has the lowest passer efficiency rating allowed from their opponents at 84.9. As long as they can maintain strong play in this area they will be a very difficult opponent.

5 Lions to Watch

#18 WR Justin McInnis

McInnis leads the CFL in receiving after catching 85 passes for 1,363 yards and 7 touchdowns. Last week saw him catch 6 passes for 119 yards.

#25 RB Jeshrun Antwi

Antwi will face his old team for the first time since being traded to BC from Montreal a few weeks ago for a third-round pick. He has not yet seen much meaningful playing time but it will be interesting if he is mixed in more in his 3rd game as a Lion as he faces the team that drafted him.

#46 LB Ben Hladik

Last week Hladik had 7 tackles and a sack. He was involved in 4 shared run stops. It’s been a season limited by injury but he seems to be getting back to last year’s form at the right time.

#92 DT Josh Banks

Last week Banks led the team in pressures generated as he had 5 QB hurries by my count.

#40 DE Pete Robertson

Last week he was credited with 1 tackle and was in on 3 shared run stops. He also had 2 QB hits in the pass rush.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#81 WR Austin Mack

Mack returned from injury and led the team in receiving as he caught 4 passes for 92 yards.

#11 Kaion Julien-Grant

Grant was the most targetted receiver in Fajardo’s last start in week 18 when he caught 5 passes on 9 targets for 40 yards. He has 41 catches for 425 yards and a touchdown over 10 games this season.

#44 DE Jordan Domineck

Domineck had his first start last week and made a positive impact recording 4 tackles. He was in on 2 solo run stops and 2 shared run stops. He also generated pressure on 6 plays, 4 of which he was the primary pass rusher to generate pressure for Montreal.

#26 LB Tyrice Beverette

Last week Montreal had Beverette blitz very often and he generated pressure on 8 plays, 3 of which he was the primary source of pressure. He had 6 tackles in the game including a solo stop against a pass and was in on a shared run stop.

#91 DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund

Adeyemi-Berglund had 5 tackles last week, 2 of which were sacks and another 2 were solo run stops. He also had 3 additional QB hurries.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

I predict the Alouettes to win 30-24. I simply don’t see a quarterback getting their first start in 11 weeks against Montreal’s pass defense as a recipe to have a strong likelihood to produce a victory.

@JonathanClink on Twitter