The Montreal Alouettes edged out the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-16 on a 45-yard game-winning field goal from Jose Maltos as time expired to punch their ticket to the Grey Cup. It was a game with a lot of success by both defenses, entering halftime with Montreal leading 6-3. After reviewing the film, here are the standout performers from both sides, followed by a few thoughts on the game that defined this thrilling matchup.
Jonathan of the Game: LB Darnell Sankey
Sankey was tackling people all over the field. He had the second-most tackles of anyone this past weekend across the CFL with 10, including a solo and shared run stop. He was active against the pass with 3 solo stops against passing plays and another shared stop. His 6 total defensive stops were the most among anyone across the CFL this weekend, for how I count stops. Sankey’s game was a great display of intelligent positioning, pursuit, and strong tackling.
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Stand Out Performances Among Alouettes
QB Davis Alexander
Alexander completed 19 of his 26 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception.
RB Stevie Scott III
Scott was again difficult for defenders to bring down as he rushed 9 times for 48 yards (5.33 average) and caught his lone target for 10 yards.
WR Tyler Snead
Snead caught all 3 of his targets for a team-leading 57 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown, which was Montreal’s only major in the game. He did a good job getting down to secure the catch on his first reception for 8 yards. His second catch, he survived a heavy hit from Stavros Katsantonis and held onto the ball for a 21-yard gain.
LT Nick Callender
Callender had another solid game, allowing only 1 pressure by my count.
LG Des Holmes
Holmes entered the lineup in place of Pierre Olivier-Lestage in his first game since July 5 and allowed only 1 pressure.
DE Josh Archibald
Archibald had a productive game in the pass rush, generating 4 pressures by my count, the first of which was on Hamilton’s interception early in the first quarter. He had the most pressure generated by an Alouette in the game. DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund had 3 pressures past a blocker.
DT Dylan Wynn
Wynn had 2 tackles, including a sack and a shared run stop.
HB Wesley Sutton
Sutton had 2 targets come his way, resulting in an interception and a completion for 5 yards. He had 3 tackles in the game.
CB Lorenzo Burns
Burns had 4 tackles, including a solo stop against the pass and a shared stop. He had 3 targets come his way downfield and only allowed 2 completions for 12 yards. He also covered a screen pass, limiting it to 5 yards.
S Marc-Antoine Dequoy
Dequoy had 2 targets come his way without a completion. He had 1 tackle and generated pressure blitzing twice.
K Jose Maltos
Maltos went 4 for 4 in field goals and made his extra point. His longest was for 45 yards on the final play of the game to seal Montreal’s path to the Grey Cup.
Stand Out Performances Among Tiger-Cats
QB Bo Levi Mitchell
Bo Levi Mitchell completed 29 of his 36 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Outside of the interception, Mitchell was highly efficient against a defense known for being strong against the pass.
RB Greg Bell
Bell showed great patience and vision in the backfield, making intelligent cuts, finding holes as they opened to maximize his yards. He rushed 10 times for 66 yards and caught all 4 of his targets for 26 yards.
WR Kenny Lawler
Lawler’s ability to get open was on display as he caught 9 of his 13 targets for 117 yards, the most of anyone across the CFL this weekend. He had a missed tackle forced on a 17-yard pickup in the third quarter.
RG Coulter Woodmansey
Woodmansey had only 1 pressure allowed in the game by my count.
DE Julian Howsare
Howsare had 3 tackles, including a sack and a shared run stop. He had 4 additional pressures past a blocker by my count (1 of which was a secondary source of pressure on the play.
DE Phillip Ossai
Ossai had 3 tackles plus a shared run stop. He generated pressure past a blocker on 5 plays, 2 of which were a secondary source of pressure on the play.
LB Reggie Stubblefield
Stubblefield had 4 tackles on the stat sheet. He was in on 3 shared run stops and 2 shared stops against the pass. For how I count stops, Stubblefield was in on the 2nd most defensive stops this past weekend across the league behind only Darnell Sankey’s 6. In coverage, 3 targets came his way (not counting screen passes), resulting in 2 completions for 8 yards, and he had a pass breakup.
LB Braxton Hill
Hill led the league in tackles with 12 this past weekend and had 4 total stops (2 shared run stops, 1 solo pass stop, 1 assisted pass stop).
HB Destin Talbert
Talbert had 6 targets come his way, resulting in 3 completions for 26 yards, a pass breakup, and an interception. He was credited with 2 tackles on the stats sheet, including a solo stop against both the run and the pass, and was in on an additional shared run stop.
It was also a strong day in coverage for fellow halfback Deshaun Amos, who did not have a target come his way.
CB Jamal Peters
Peters had only 1 target come his way, resulting in an 8-yard completion.
Fellow corner Quavian White also had a strong game in coverage, having only 1 target come his way for 5 yards, although he did have a PI penalty.
A Few Thoughts on the Game
Costly Interception
Early in the 2nd quarter on 2nd and 6 with Hamilton at Montreal’s 39-yard line, Bo Levi Mitchell threw an interception deep downfield targeting Kenny Lawler. You could argue that Lawler could have adjusted to the ball earlier to break up the pass from being intercepted, but it was a high-risk throw made by Bo Levi. While it was similar to a well-placed punt with Montreal gaining possession on their own 4-yard line, it lost the opportunity for roughly a 46-yard field goal attempt to score 3 points, the exact amount Hamilton lost by.
Montreal did have an interception of its own in the third quarter, losing possession on a 2nd and 6 as well. The interception changed it from being Montreal’s ball at their own 34 to Hamilton’s ball at their 39. A difference of 37 yards. Montreal’s interception stung a lot less, given it did not sacrifice a scoring opportunity.
Opinion: Hamilton Should Have Ran the Ball More
Hamilton giving Greg Bell 10 carries while having Bo Levi throw it 36 times falls outside of my philosophies of what makes an offense balanced and the old adage of how the run sets up the pass. Greg Bell looked good in his carries s he averaged 6.6 yards per carry, which can really contribute to taking over a game.
Montreal had success in stopping the run in the Eastern Semi-Final, but they struggled at times in the regular season, allowing 5.4 yards per carry, which was the third most allowed in the league. On the flip side, Montreal had the third-lowest pass efficiency allowed over the season. So Hamilton throwing the ball nearly 4 times more than they run it felt like playing into their opponents’ strengths, rather than their weaknesses. But we will never know what could have been.
Hamilton was still effective at keeping their drives moving and had 14 first downs to Montreal’s 7. Montreal did have the edge in net offence at 340 to Hamilton’s 338.
The Near Game-Changing Interception
Reggie Stubblefield did a great job tracking the quarterback’s eyes with just a minute left in the game and dropped back with excellent timing, and broke up a pass targeting Tyson Philpot. He nearly flipped the game around with an interception on what would have been a fantastic adjustment, significantly turning left to right. Unfortunately for Hamilton, the next play featured a missed tackle on a 5-yard throw that allowed the pass to go for 19 yards and set up a game-winning field goal 2 plays later.
Costly Penalties For Hamilton
Hamilton had 5 penalties for 81 yards, to Montreal’s 2 penalties for 25 yards. A 41-yard penalty for pass interference called on Quavian White helped lead to a field goal for Montreal in the second quarter. Not long after, there was a 25-yard unnecessary roughness and objectionable conduct penalty by Jordan Murray that pulled Hamilton from Montreal’s 23-yard line to the 48, stalling a drive that ended in a field goal.
Great Game by Both Teams
There were mistakes made by both teams, but not many. All in all it was a fantastic game that came down to the wire that either team could have won. The lower score indicates a strong game from the defenses, rather than poor play from the offenses.
