CFL.CA STAFF
WINNIPEG — The Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to get back in the win column on Thursday night when they open up Week 6 action at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
Both the Als and Bombers lost by small margins last week to divisional opponents in two matches that came down to the wire.
For the Alouettes, it was a 24-19 loss to the former Grey Cup Champion Ottawa REDBLACKS. Montreal scored two second half touchdowns to pull within five points of Ottawa’s lead midway through the second half. The Als managed to find their way into the red zone with less than three minutes on the clock, but Ottawa’s defence came up big by denying a third down rush attempt to hold on for the win.
Darian Durant racked up an impressive 452 passing yards, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Alouettes loss while receivers Ernest Jackson and B.J. Cunningham posted 101 receiving yards each.
It was also a milestone night for Nik Lewis, who became only the fourth player in CFL history to record 1,000 catches in his career.
Montreal’s offence has been preparing for a loud fan base on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quarterback Matt Nichols (15) throws against the Toronto Argonauts during the first half of CFL action in Winnipeg Thursday, July 13, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Durant told MontrealAlouettes.com about his team’s goals for the week:
“Number one, be able to deal with the crowd noise. Don’t have any pre-snap penalties. Eliminate the errors and eliminate the turnovers. We have a great defence and we don’t want to put them in bad situations.”
The Als will be without receiver Tiquan Underwood, who is out with an ankle injury. Taking his place in the starting lineup in his CFL debut will be 24-year-old Eugene Lewis.
Also out of the lineup this week is starting running back Tyrell Sutton. According to TSN’s Joey Alfieri, the team was planning to give the veteran some routine rest but the 30-year-old is also dealing with a calf injury.
Durant getting more comfortable with receivers
LaPolice talks Bombers’ 4th-quarter struggles
The Bombers also narrowly lost their Week 5 matchup, dropping a high-scoring 45-42 contest to the BC Lions. A field goal with less than a minute on the clock gave the Lions the edge in the rematch of last year’s Western Semi-Final. BC made up a 15-point deficit in the final quarter by outscoring the Bombers 18-0.
Winnipeg pivot Matt Nichols threw for 254 yards with three passing touchdowns, a rushing major and an interception. Darvin Adams racked up 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a one-handed highlight reel grab in the corner of the end zone.
Alouettes WR BJ Conningham making a catch against BC Lions July 6, 2017 Photo: Peter McCabe/CFL.ca
Nichols explained to BlueBombers.com that despite the loss, there are a lot of positives that his team can take away from Vancouver.
“I felt like the effort was there, which is great to see. Everyone played for four straight quarters. We did some great things and just came up a little short. That’s how football goes… we went five-for-five in the score zone which is something you always preach, to get sevens down there instead of threes. There are some good things to carry over, but we just have to finish off the game.”
Linebacker Maurice Leggett will miss his second straight week with an undisclosed lower-body injury. He was a surprising scratch from the Bombers’ lineup last week against BC.
Running back Andrew Harris continues to be a dual threat in the pass and run game heading into Week 6. The Winnipeg native leads his team in receptions caught through five weeks of play.
The Bombers have won six of their last eight meetings with the Alouettes.
AFI, Yare Media and the CFL
American Football International is collaborating with Yare Media and the Canadian Football League to present 2017 CFL games live. This is more than a livestream. This is a stream of the top flight TSN network television broadcast.
If you can’t watch it live, each game is available for 48 hours after the original broadcast.