Blue Bombers defence dominates Alouettes in Canada Day beatdown

The Montreal Alouettes' two-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday night as they dropped a 17-3 decision to the dominant Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Heavy rain and lightning forced the CFL to delay the Canada Day contest by nearly two hours. Kickoff was first delayed to 8 p.m. ET, but later further delayed as it became clear the severe weather wasn’t letting up as soon as officials hoped. The game was originally slated to start at 7 p.m. ET.

It wasn’t until 8:50 p.m. ET that play commenced, with none of the pre-game fanfare planned for the Alouettes’ first Canada Day game at home. The Alouettes won the coin toss, opting to kick first.

Although play looked pretty even to start the first quarter, it wouldn’t stay that way for long. With a 45-yard field goal attempt by Alouettes kicker David Coté, the team had its first chance to open the scoring but the kick was missed and recovered by Winnipeg receiver Janarion Grant and returned to the Bombers’ 15-yard line.

This gave the Bombers’ offence a prime opportunity to break into the Montreal defensive zone. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed a short pass to running back Greg McCrae, but it was called back on a penalty, saving the Alouettes for a split second.

The Alouettes’ defence put up a fight but to no avail as Collaros completed a pass to wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky deep in the Als’ end zone, putting the Bombers on the scoresheet.

This was the first touchdown the Alouettes allowed in the 2023 season in two-plus games.

Winnipeg used this momentum to start the second quarter up 7-0 with a 34-yard rush from McCrae to their 55-yard line and remained offensively dominant. Defensively, the Bombers held the Alouettes to their defensive zone, allowing little room for movement and forcing the Alouettes to punt, sending the ball 54 yards and out of bounds at Winnipeg’s eight-yard line, putting the ball back in Bombers territory.

Winnipeg successfully held off the Alouettes’ offence for the rest of the quarter, scoring a 48-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the half, further extending their lead.

Down 10-0 to start the second half, the Alouettes needed a strong offensive push to kick things off. Gaining 20 yards on their first two plays, the Als were creeping into Winnipeg’s defensive zone, only to lose possession on a fumble forced by Winnipeg’s Deatrick Nicholls.

Things finally seemed to turn in the Alouettes’ favour with an impressive 65-yard pass from Fajardo to receiver Kaion Julien-Grant, only to be denied entry into the end zone with a key interception by Winnipeg defensive back Brandon Alexander returned 62 yards, putting them right back where they started.

Winnipeg held strong on offence throughout the quarter, securing a second touchdown six plays later off a pass from Collaros to wide receiver Dalton Schoen to go up 17-0 with under a minute left in the third.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Alouettes were able to get on the scoreboard as rookie receiver Austin Mack broke into the end zone to capitalize off a 20-yard pass from Fajardo. Upon review the pass was deemed incomplete, but the home team still managed to make something of their possession with a 27-yard field goal from kicker David Coté.

While the Alouettes tried to create some more offensive action to close out the game with Austin Mack adding 46 more yards to his stats sheet, Winnipeg held them off to secure a 17-3 victory, snapping not one but two Alouettes streaks in the process.

UP NEXT

The Blue Bombers (3-1) host the Calgary Stampeders (1-2) on July 7, while the Alouettes (2-1) travel to Vancouver to tackle the B.C. Lions (3-0) on July 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.