The Montreal Alouettes have staked their claim as the best team in the CFL.
Led by quarterback Davis Alexander and receiver Tyson Philpot, the Alouettes made a statement on Saturday with a 48-30 win over the Edmonton Elks. The game was billed as a clash between two of the CFL’s best, but Edmonton seemingly had no answer for the Alouettes’ high-powered offence.
Alexander spoke with TSN radio on Tuesday, and discussed what the massive win meant in the locker room for the 8-1 Alouettes, who have now won six in a row.
“There was a lot of hype going into the game. It probably was a statement win, if I’m being realistic, but it doesn’t really change anything for us. This is what we expect,” Alexander said on TSN690. “We know what the end goal is, but we have to go one game at a time and whoever is in the way, we have to focus on that team.”
Alexander threw for 352 yards and four touchdowns in the offensive showcase, extending his lead in the CFL’s passing list. The 27-year-old pivot now has 3,140 yards through nine games, 332 more than second-place Cody Fajardo.
Philpot, the CFL receiving yards leader, was on the other end of three of Saturday’s touchdown passes, adding 131 yards to bring his season total to 1,154 in nine games. Tyler Snead also caught a touchdown on Saturday as part of a five-catch, 146-yard day, bringing his receiving total to 940 yards.
The Als’ duo is now No. 1 and 2 in receiving yards this season, and both are averaging over 100 yards per game. Philpot is on pace for 2,309 yards, which would shatter the single-season receiving yards record (2,036 yards) set by Allen Pitts in 1994.
Alexander notes, though, that Snead deserves plenty of credit in the offence, and doesn’t want his contributions to get lost behind Philpot’s historic pace.
“He does everything for us. He blocks in the run game, he blocks in the pass game, obviously he’s a deep threat,” he said. “It’s Tyson’s having such a good season and Snead’s getting a little lost in that. But I mean, the guy’s almost at 1000 yards. He’s averaging over 100 yards a game. He’s unbelievable.”
Alexander also praised running back Travis Theis, who continued his breakout season in Saturday’s win, as he posted his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season. He is up to 700 yards on the season and now trails Calgary Stampeders RB Dedrick Mills by seven yards for the CFL lead.
“His development’s been incredible. He’s just selfless as can be. I can’t speak enough about how he’s totally helped this offense be what this offense is,” said Alexander. “ I think in the past, you’re adjusting to defences, but we think defenses have to figure out what to do with us.
“We just have a perfect balance, but we have a long way to go for sure.”
The Alouettes have scored 321 points this season, trailing only the Stampeders’ 352, and have put up 30 or more in all but one of their games. The lone exception was a 32-29 loss to the Elks on June 20, their only loss of the season.
Montreal will look to extend their winning streak to seven games as they host the last place Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 20 after their bye week.
