The Montreal Alouettes welcome the BC Lions to Montreal and Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for the third regular season game in the 2017 Canadian Football League season for both clubs.
Both teams are 1-1 with Montreal coming off a tough 23-19 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in Edmonton while the Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 28-15 in Toronto.
The Lions have stayed in the East for this short week.
Montreal enters the game second in the East division while the Lions are fourth in the West. BC leads the CFL in time of possession (65:14), rushing yards (227) and rushing touchdowns (3) while Montreal’s offensive line has not allowed a sack in two games. Montreal has rushed for 205 yards in two games, good for second behind BC.
BC Lions running back Jeremiah Johnson (24) runs the ball during CFL action between the Eskimos and Lions in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, June 24, 2017. (CFL PHOTO – Jimmy Jeong)
BC won both games between the two teams in 2016, beating the Alouettes in Montreal 38-18 and repeating the feat at home in Vancouver.
The BC Lions have 55 points in two games, with 34 of those points (16 and 18, respectively) scored in the fourth quarter (62 per cent). League-wide, just 30 per cent of 2017’s points have been scored in the fourth quarter.
Montreal has yet to allow a sack in 2017, something no team has done since Hamilton in 2001 and that has occurred only two times across the CFL since 1996. Hamilton also did it in 2000 when they did not allow any sacks for the first four games.
Lions quarterback Jonathan Jennings has thrown for 565 yards and a touchdown in two games placing him sixth in the CFL while Montreal quarterback Darian Durant is seventh and has thrown for 399 yards and three touchdowns. BC’s leading receiver is Bryan Burnham with 161 yards in two games while Ernest Jackson of the Alouettes has a touchdown reception.
Montreal RB Tyrell Sutton takes handoff. Photo: Peter McCabe
Lions running back Jeremiah Johnson comes into this game as the only player to score a TD in each week this season to date and leads the CFL in rushing with 162 yards. His 7.0 yard average per carry is No. 1 for player with at least five attempts. Montreal’s Tyrell Sutton is second, only six yards back, and at 156 in total is on pace for another 1,000 yard season.
The Alouettes defense has allowed only 39 points in two games thanks in part to the play of Kyries Hebert who has 14 tackles, good for second overall in the CFL so far. The Lions have given up 45 points in their two contests with linebacker Solomon Elimimian leading the way with 14 as well.
According to Jamie Nye of CFL.ca, the Lions are slight favorites in this game:
“The BC Lions stayed east after their win in Toronto. Saskatchewan did the same last year and it paid off with back to back wins against East Division opponents.
A strong fourth quarter showed the offensive powerhouse that many were expecting from the BC Lions. Montreal’s offence has scored under 20 points in the first two games of the season but again, the defence has made up for it, helping the Als win game one and nearly upset the Eskimos in Week 2.
I believe the Lions carry over some momentum from their fourth quarter, however, Montreal’s defence will again keep it close. It’s going to be up to Darian Durant to find some magic that they haven’t found yet this season.”
American Football International is collaborating with Yare Media and the Canadian Football League to present every 2017 CFL game live. This is more than a livestream. This is a stream of the top flight TSN network television broadcast.