Montreal @ Ottawa preview
TD Place Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2019 ) Ottawa 30, Montreal 27
The Montreal Alouettes look to finish the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2012 when they make the short trip to the nation's capital to take on the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. The Alouettes exceeded expectations by clinching their first playoff berth in five years and hope to build some momentum ahead of hosting the East Division semifinal by winning the season series with the Redblacks.
Montreal coach Khari Jones took out some key players, including quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., midway through the second half of the 38-26 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 20 and is likely to rest a majority of the starters in the regular-season finale. Ottawa is left to pick up the pieces following one of the most disappointing seasons since reentering the CFL in 2014. The Redblacks won their first two games of the campaign before dropping 14 of their next 15, including a 39-9 setback to the Toronto Argonauts in Week 20, to set a franchise record for most consecutive losses with 10, and hope to end the season on a high note by notching their first victory in almost three months. "I don't know how to put it but this sucks," Ottawa wide receiver Brad Sinopoli told reporters. "It's almost sad to look around and see all the effort that goes into it and for it to end up like this."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS
ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (9-8): Adams went 11-of-14 for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns before he was taken out of the game near the midway point of the second quarter with Montreal in front 14-6. Jeremiah Johnson racked up 105 yards on 16 carries with starting running back William Stanback out with an injury while Eugene Lewis hauled in seven passes for 100 yards to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his three-year career. "The thing is no matter how the game ended we showed who we were in that first half," Johnson told reporters. "A lot of guys were not playing and they should be shivering because we played a great game."
ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (3-14): Will Arndt completed 21-of-32 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown while Caleb Holley finished with five catches for 64 yards against Toronto as Ottawa was held to fewer than 20 points for the ninth time in its last 10 games. "We have six days left and we're going to play our butts off for the fans and the organization," Arndt told to reporters. "No matter how you slice it I need to be better and we're not holding up our end of the deal on offence." Sinopoli, who has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in four straight years but will fall short of the mark this season, caught four passes against the Argonauts to eclipse 500 career receptions with 501.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Adams leads the CFL in total touchdowns (34).
2. Ottawa quarterbacks have combined to throw 11 touchdowns compared to 26 interceptions this season.
3. The Alouettes have dropped their last three road games by an average margin of five points.
PREDICTION: Alouettes 27, Redblacks 21