The Montreal Alouettes hit the road again in week 2 to take on the Edmonton Elks. The Alouettes have won their last 9 games while Edmonton looks to bounce back from their week 1 loss to Saskatchewan.

Game Details:

Date/Location: Friday, June 14 /Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, AB

Kickoff Time: 9:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM PT

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

Odds: 

Spread: Montreal -4.5 (-115), Edmonton +4.5 (-105)

Moneyline: Montreal +225, Edmonton -184

Over/Under: 47.5 (Over -110, Under -110)

Montreal Alouettes (1-0): The Alouettes are coming off of a statement game that saw them defeat Winnipeg in their own building 27-12. The game was more lopsided than the score would indicate as Winnipeg scored a touchdown late in the game. Up until the 3-minute mark Zach Collaros was limited to just 145 passing yards although he did finish the game with 209.

Cody Fajardo had a strong outing as he completed 20 of his 28 passes for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Tyson Philpot hauled in 10 catches for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Edmonton Elks (0-1): The Edmonton Elks are no laughing matter this season. Last year they had 2 glaring issues and that was pass protection on offense and stopping the run on defense. The Elks did a great job in pass protection in week 1 against Saskatchewan. Additionally, the run defense held A.J. Ouellette to just 1.8 yards per carry on 18 carries last week.

While Edmonton’s record would lead 1 to assume them to be the same harmless animal that they were much of last season, that is simply not the case.

Alouettes Keys to the Game

Get Pressure on MBT

McLeod Bethel-Thompson had a successful day in his first game back in the CFL against Saskatchewan. Edmonton has done a much better job protecting the quarterback in week 1 than what we saw most of last year. Montreal will want to make things a bit more difficult for him in the pocket on Friday.

Keep up the Good Cover Defense

Montreal’s defensive secondary was extremely impressive to me all last season and had another good game to open the season. They will be up against a strong cast of receivers and a very good quarterback on Friday.

More Good Pass Protection

Montreal had a strong game in pass protection against Winnipeg in week 1. They will want to see that continue in week 2. Edmonton has some players who can be dangerous in this area.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#6 WR Tyson Philpot

Philpot is coming off a 10-reception performance with 141 yards and 2 touchdowns.

#3 WR Regis Cibasu

The Montreal Carabins product will be getting the start at receiver following the injury to Tyler Snead. He is often primarily used on special teams and pass protection schemes but will potentially get a chance to play a larger role in the offense on Friday.

#0 DE Shawn Lemon

Lemon is coming off of a performance in which he had a sack and by my count 6 additional pressures. He is currently playing during an appeal process for an indefinite suspension from the CFL due to gambling in 2021. Depending on how that appeal process goes we might not get many more opportunities to see the Lemonator on the field.

#30 LB Bryce Cosby

Cosby will be starting at SAM linebacker Friday in place of Reggie Stubblefield who suffered a torn ACL in week 1.

#91 DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund

Berglund did not appear on the stats sheet in week 1 but the Canadian did assist with 3 run stops. He also generated pressure on Zach Collaros on 3 separate plays.

5 Elks to Watch

#8 QB 10 McLeod Bethel-Thompson

MBT completed 33 of his 42 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception in week 1.

#4 RB Kevin Brown

Last week was not a strong outing on paper as Brown rushed 7 times for 23 yards. Despite a down week last week, he is a running back who can be very dangerous.

#17 WR Dillon Mitchell

Mitchell led the team in receiving last week as he caught 7 passes for 93 yards.

#11 WR Hergy Mayala

The ex-Alouette looked very good in an Elks jersey in the preseason as he 6 passes for 90 yards in the Elks’ first preseason game. Last week he caught 5 passes for 40 yards and 2 touchdowns.

#45 LB Nyles Morgan

Last week Morgan recorded 9 tackles including 4 tackles for a loss. He was imperative in the team’s efforts in run defense last week.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

Montreal is running full steam ahead right now while Edmonton is still finding its way although they are certainly moving in the right direction very quickly. Last year Edmonton won 2 games at home and they were on a 20-game at-home losing streak. The Curse at Commonwealth was broken for Edmonton last year but I’m not fully convinced the curse is fully lifted.

I am predicting Montreal to win 25-20.