Montreal @ Ottawa preview
TD Place Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 6, 2019 ) Ottawa 20, Montreal 20
The Ottawa Redblacks look to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday. The Redblacks beat the Calgary Stampeders (32-28) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (44-41) before they were held without an offensive touchdown in the 29-14 defeat to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 4 and hope to get back on track by downing an East Division rival for the fourth consecutive time.
"We'll learn from it and get back to playing good football," Ottawa coach Rick Campbell told reporters. "It's going to be a tough league this year and everyone is going to be scratching and clawing for victories so onward we'll go." Montreal is hoping to build on one of its biggest wins in years after knocking off the previously unbeaten Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-29. The Alouettes had dropped their first two games of the 2019 campaign, including a 41-10 setback to the Tiger-Cats in Week 3, and were heavy underdogs in the rematch, but rode a punishing ground game - led by William Stanback's 203 yards - to the biggest upset of the CFL season. "We understand our identity and we can run the ball," Stanback told reporters. "We have the blockers up front to do it and open up some holes for me."
TV: 4 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS, ESPN2
ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (1-2): Stanback was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after becoming the first Montreal running back to gain over 200 yards in a single game since Mike Pringle did it on Oct. 19, 1998. Quarterback Antonio Pipkin returned to practice for the first time since injuring his ankle in the season opener, but is expected to miss another week while linebacker Glenn Love was placed on the six-game injured list with a knee problem. Wide receiver DeVier Posey was back at practice after missing the Week 4 loss with a calf injury while Luc Brodeur-Jourdain was hired as an assistant to the offensive line after retiring last weekend.
ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (2-1): Dominique Davis completed 21-of-36 passes for 234 yards and was picked off twice as Ottawa was limited to 258 yards of offence in the loss to Winnipeg. Jonathan Rose returned a fumble for a touchdown while Lewis Ward made a pair of field goals to extend his streak of consecutive field goals to 59 in a row, which is the longest in professional football. Ottawa signed linebacker Jeff Knox Jr., who made 31 tackles in seven games with the Toronto Argonauts last season, and released wide receiver Ryan Lankford, defensive lineman Blaine Woodson and defensive back Ranthony Texada.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Montreal has lost 17 of its last 20 road games since the start of the 2017 season.
2. Stanback leads the CFL in rushing yards (357).
3. Davis has thrown a league-high six interceptions.
PREDICTION: Redblacks 28, Alouettes 24