MONTREAL — WestJet Thanksgiving Weekend closes with a Monday matinee between the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Ottawa lost a close affair with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week.
Montreal is well rested after being on a bye.
Here’s three keys to victory for both teams ahead of Monday’s 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff, which can be watched on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBSSN in the U.S., and on CFL+ internationally.
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OTTAWA REDBLACKS
1. WORK TO BE DONE
Ottawa has been eliminated from playoff contention but has three games remaining on its schedule. Despite the unfortunate position, jobs are constantly being evaluated, so expect head coach Bob Dyce’s team to come out ready to play against a division rival.
2. EUGENE LEWIS
Veteran receiver Eugene Lewis is 47 yards from hauling in 1,000 for the fourth time in his career and the second straight season. He’ll get his looks again this week and would certainly love to reach the mark against a team he spent his first five seasons with.
3. DUSTIN CRUM TAKEOVER
With quarterback Dru Brown being shut down for the remainder of the season, it’s Dustin Crum’s pocket. Crum has been impressive when called upon, passing for 1,609 yards and rushing for an additional 393. He’s only seen the Als briefly this season when he completed two passes for five yards during a 39-18 Week 2 loss.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
1. STREAKIN’ DAVIS ALEXANDER
Quarterback Davis Alexander has won all five of his starts this season and doesn’t want to slow down now. One of his wins was back in Week 2 when he completed 23-of-32 passes for 344 yards against Ottawa. He’s also thrown for over 300 yards three times.
2. GET THE RUNNING GAME GOING
With the playoffs on the horizon, head coach Jason Maas would love to see more production out of a run game that ranked eighth in average yards with 89.3 through 18 weeks. Running back Stevie Scott III has shown flashes of game-breaking ability, but he will see an Ottawa front that has allowed the second-fewest yards on the ground of any team entering play this week.
3. PASS DEFENCE
The trio of defensive backs Kabion Ento, Wesley Sutton and linebacker Tyrice Beverette, who have combined for 10 interceptions, will try to follow in the footsteps of Saskatchewan in shutting down the REDBLACKS pass game.
NEED TO KNOW:
- Ottawa and Montreal will meet again in Week 20 to close out the season series.
- The Als are 3-5 at home, Ottawa is 2-5 on the road.
- Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, and can be watched on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBSSN in the U.S., and on CFL+ internationally.