BC @ Montreal preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2016 ) Montreal 27, BC Lions 38

The BC Lions look to continue their recent dominance of East Division opponents when they stay on the road to face the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday. The Lions scored the final 18 points en route to a 28-15 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in Week 2 to improve to 8-1 in their last nine games against East Division foes, and hope to stay on the winning track by beating the Alouettes for the fourth consecutive time.

BC has won back-to-back meetings in Quebec, including a 38-18 triumph last season, while averaging 33.6 points during its three-game winning streak against Montreal. The Alouettes let one slip away in the 23-19 defeat to the Edmonton Eskimos last week. Montreal failed to punch the ball into the end zone on multiple trips to the red zone, including a first-and-goal from the Edmonton 1-yard line in the third quarter, and hopes its sputtering offence, which is averaging 18 points, can find its top gear, as the Alouettes search for their first victory against BC since Aug. 20, 2015. "We have to be better as an offence," Montreal running back Tyrell Sutton told reporters. "We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and score points."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPNews

ABOUT THE LIONS (1-1): Jeremiah Johnson continued his strong start to the season as the league leader in rushing yards (162) and touchdowns (two) gained 70 yards on the ground to go along with his game-clinching score against Toronto. Jonathon Jennings threw for 301 yards and a touchdown, with Bryan Burnham the main beneficiary of Jennings' big night as he caught nine passes for 118 yards despite playing with a sore leg. Rookie Ty Long made 3-of-3 field goal attempts, but struggled with his punting while deputizing for an injured Swayze Waters, who should be ready to go in Montreal after suffering a thigh injury in training camp.

ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (1-1): Free agent signing Ryan Phillips, a defensive back who spent the previous 12 seasons with the Lions, left the game in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury and his status is unknown for Thursday. Darian Durant went 14-of-24 for 166 yards and a touchdown, but threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter, which led to Edmonton's go-ahead score. Veteran wide receiver Nik Lewis continues to perform at a high level as he caught five passes for 42 yards to move past Hall of Famer Ray Elgaard (13,198) into seventh place on the league's all-time receiving yards list.

EXTRA POINTS

1. BC leads the CFL in rushing yards (227) and rushing touchdowns (three).

2. Durant is averaging 199.5 passing yards per game, which is the lowest among CFL starting quarterbacks.

3. Montreal has dropped seven of its last nine games against West Division opponents.

PREDICTION: Lions 24, Alouettes 21