By The Numbers: Alouettes, Blue Bombers going separate ways after Grey Cup clash

After a hard-fought battle at the 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton to close last season, the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers have gone their separate ways to begin the 2024 season. 

The defending Grey Cup champion Als, who captured last year's Grey Cup with a 28-24 victory, haven't slowed down a bit. The team is off to an impressive 4-0 start, including a 27-12 rout of the Bombers in the season opener. Montreal has now won 12 straight games, dating back to last season.

On the other hand, the Blue Bombers, who have played in four Grey Cups since 2019, winning twice, have looked out of sorts at times in 2024, losing all four games. Winnipeg does have a silver lining, however, as their three losses since the opening-night blowout have been by three points, two points and three points. 

After coming into this season as Grey Cup betting favourites at +250, the Blue Bombers now have the fifth best odds at +850, according to FanDuel. 

Both teams will hit the gridiron in Week 5 action as the Blue Bombers host the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday (8:30pm ET on TSN1/3, TSN.ca, TSN App) while the Alouettes welcome the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday (7pm ET on TSN1/3, TSN.ca, TSN App).

Let's take a closer look at the numbers behind the starts for the Blue Bombers and Alouettes. 

Offensive Opposites

Simply put, the Alouettes have had one of the best offences this season while the Blue Bombers have had arguably the worst. 

Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo has thrown for 1,200 yards with a CFL-leading eight touchdowns passes and two interceptions alongside a 75.4 completion percentage which ranks second-best in the CFL behind Toronto Argonauts pivot Cameron Dukes (76.3 per cent), who has played one less game. 

Wide receiver Tyson Philpot has been Fajardo's top target, recording 430 yards receiving and a league-leading four touchdowns. 

Blue Bombers veteran quarterback Zach Collaros has struggled in 2024, throwing for just 796 yards with no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 62.3 completion percentage over four games. 

Collaros missed Tuesday's practice with a thorax injury after leaving Saturday's Week 4 loss against the Stampeders. His status for Friday's game against the Redblacks is up in the air, meaning backup Chris Streveler could get the nod behind centre. 

As seen below, the Alouettes have had a much more effective air attack than the Blue Bombers.

The Als have scored a league-leading 127 points compared to just 74 from the Blue Bombers, who are averaging a league-low 18.5 points per game. Montreal has a league-leading plus-54 point differential, despite playing three games on the road, while the Blue Bombers are minus-24. 

Maybe the most notable stat is that the Bombers have thrown just a single touchdown pass in 2024. They threw 42 touchdowns last year and averaged 33 points per game, both of which led the CFL. 

The ground attack, led by Canada's Brady Oliveira, has been the Blue Bombers' strength, with 78.5 rushing yards per game, slightly better than the Alouettes.

Defensive Leaders

Montreal had a very strong defence last year and they haven't missed a beat in 2024. 

They're allowing just 18.3 point per game, representing the only team in the CFL to average under 23 points allowed.

The Blue Bombers led the CFL in that statistical category last season (20.9), but are allowing 24.5 points per game in 204. 

Montreal's defence has been led by linebackers Tyrice Beverette and Darnell Sankey, who share a combined 47 tackles and four forced fumbles.