The Montreal Alouettes flock to Toronto to take on the Toronto Argonauts in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Final which Montreal won. Since that game, neither team has lost. Toronto has opened their season 2-0 with wins against the BC Lions and the Edmonton Elks. Montreal has won all of their last 11 games.

CFL Power Rankings Week 3

Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 4 Picks

Game Details:

Date/Location: Friday, June 28 /BMO Field, Toronto, ON

Kickoff Time: 7:30 PM ET, 4:30 PM PT

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

Odds: 

Spread: Montreal -3.5 (+100), Toronto +3.5 (-22)

Moneyline: Montreal -172, Toronto +142

Over/Under: 50.5 (Over -120, Under -102)

Montreal Alouettes (3-0): The Montreal Alouettes are coming off of a dominant victory in their home opener in which they defeated Ottawa 47-21. Cody Fajardo had his most passing yards in a game last week since 2019 after racking up 393 passing yards and 3 touchdowns and another 39 on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Fajardo is currently tied for first in passing touchdowns.

Toronto Argonauts (1-0): The Toronto Argonauts won a close game over the Edmonton Elks 39-36 last week on a game-winning field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu. Cameron Dukes leads the league in completion percentage among starting quarterbacks at 81.3%. He is also the only starting quarterback yet to throw an interception this season. So far he has 468 passing yards and 5 touchdowns.

Alouettes Keys to the Game

Stop Ka’Deem Carey

Ka’Deem Carey is having a resurgence in Toronto and looks to be in the form that saw him named a CFL All-Star in 2022. He has over 200 yards from scrimmage in 2 games. So far this season he has rushed 35 times for 169 yards and a touchdown, 4.8 yards per carry. He has also caught 7 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.

If Montreal can take run support away from Toronto they will make the game much more difficult for Toronto’s young quarterback.

Get to Cameron Dukes

Cameron Dukes has played very well in his first 2 weeks of the season starting at quarterback for Toronto. He has benefited from strong play from Toronto’s offensive line which has done a good job keeping him protected. Montreal needs to put some pressure on him to cause some rough seas in the backfield.

More Good Pass Protection

Last week the Alouettes did not give up a sack against a very strong pass rush from the likes of Bryce Carter and Lorenzo Mauldin IV. Toronto is deep when it comes to the pass-rushing department. Both Jared Brinkman and Jake Ceresna have 2 sacks for the Argos over the first 2 games.

Keep Running The Ball

Currently, Walter Fletcher is third in rushing yards after having rushed 36 times for 163 yards, 4.5 yards per carry, with 1 touchdown. Last week he had a lower average at 3.8 yards per carry after rushing 12 times for 45 yards. It will be important for Montreal to remain committed to the run to remain less predictable and maintain being a multi-dimensional offense.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#6 Tyson Philpot

Last week Philpot caught 8 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. He is currently second in the league in receiving having caught 23 passes for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns.

#6 WR Kaion Julien-Grant

Julien-Grant is currently 7th in the league in receiving after having caught 16 passes for 235 yards. Last week he hauled in 8 receptions for 116 yards.

#66 LG Pier-Olivier Lestage

Last week Pier-Olivier Lestage had a strong game. By my count, he did not allow a single pressure in pass protection.

#26 LB Tyrice Beverette

Last week Beverette led the team in tackles with 6. He also had a sack, interception, forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He made some key tackles against short passes making a solo stop and was also involved in 2 shared stops against the pass. He also made a solo run stop last week.

#1 Darnell Sankey

Last week Sankey had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was also involved on a shared run stop and stop against the pass.

5 Argonauts to Watch

#86 WR Damonte Coxie

Coxie led the team last week in receiving in what was his first game of the season. He caught 3 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.

#88 WR Rasheed Bailey

Bailey has caught 6 passes for 71 yards and 2 touchdowns over 2 games.

#30 DE Robbie Smith

Last week Smith was a problem for Edmonton’s offensive line as he frequently generated pressure in the pass rush.

#94 DE Jake Ceresna

Ceresna has a sack in both games played this season.

#20 LB Quincy Mauger

Mauger has looked good as an Argo since joining them this past offseason. He was with the BC Lions prior where he primarily played safety. He has been playing well at Sam linebacker for Toronto so far this season. He has 7 tackles on the season.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

I am predicting Montreal to win a contest in which Toronto plays well but Montreal overpowers them. Montreal is playing with a lot of desire right now. Montreal 30-24.

@JonathanClink on Twitter