Davis Alexander era off to a good start for Alouettes

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Now that Davis Alexander has reached a certain status level as the Alouettes’ starting quarterback, he might want to eschew having to play exhibition games next season.

Alexander in general, and the Als’ offence in particular, struggled mightily in the first half against Ottawa on May 24 in the teams’ first exhibition game. Montreal failed to score a touchdown over the opening 30 minutes and even had trouble generating first downs that afternoon. Based on two weeks’ of training camp workouts to that point, there was a modicum of reason to wonder — especially since Alexander and the starters didn’t play the following week on the road against the Redblacks.

Wonder no more.

While one game does not a season make, the early reviews on Alexander are positive. Despite starting only four games last season — all wins — the 26-year-old fourth-year veteran showed the moment wasn’t too big for him on Friday night.

Alexander and his teammates delivered a beat-down on the Toronto Argonauts, handling the visitors with ease during this complete 28-10 victory at Molson Stadium in their regular-season opener before 21,480 Molson Stadium spectators.

The Argos might be the defending Grey Cup champions, but on this night they looked like chumps.

“His mental toughness,” said receiver Tyson Philpot, who scored Montreal’s first offensive touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Alexander late in the first quarter. “He raises the level of competition. He demands excellence from all of us. As a receiving corps we know we have to show up for him.

“I think that’s the start of the D.A. era right now.”

Simply based on statistics, there was nothing spectacular about Alexander. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 205 yards along with the touchdown to Philpot, who suffered a freak season-ending foot injury last August against Hamilton. Alexander also was intercepted once in the third quarter, while underthrowing Philpot on a long attempt that was as good as a punt.

In the process, Alexander showed a quarterback need not throw for 300 yards to be effective. He was accurate with his passes and was able to find receivers while moving the pocket. Austin Mack was Montreal’s leading receiver, catching five passes for 51 yards. Philpot had four receptions for 48 yards.

Alexander utilized seven different receivers.

“I’m not going to say the pre-season doesn’t mean anything to me,” Alexander said. “You know I go out there and compete every single time. Maybe it was knocking a littler bit of rust off? Or just a different type of competitive juice. We’ve got playmakers everywhere. We had guys making crucial second-down conversions, and our run game was spectacular.

“I refer to it as cowboy football,” he added. “If things break down it’s on me as a quarterback to make something happen.”

This might have been the Alouettes’ most-balanced offensive attack since Jason Maas became head coach in 2023.

Canadian tailback Sean Thomas-Erlington gained 86 yards on 17 carries. Alexander had four carries for 50 yards, while American rookie Travis Theis chipped in with three carries for 22 yards. The Als had 163 yards rushing. Montreal generated 22 first downs along with 354 yards’ net offence while running 55 plays and controlling the ball for 34 minutes.

“He (Alexander) showed me a little bit of everything,” Maas said. “He did some really good things throwing the ball down the field, did a lot of great things with his legs. Some toughness and leading us on offence. I thought he did a tremendous job of making really good decisions and didn’t put the ball in harm’s way.

“We still have to look at the film and get better; I know that.”

The teams were meeting for the first time since last November’s East Division final, when the Alouettes committed six turnovers and lost 30-28 at home, denying themselves the opportunity of defending their CFL title.

If Montreal was seeking revenge on Friday night, it succeeded.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that a big part of that came from that sour taste we had in our mouth from that game,” said linebacker Tyrice Beverette, last season’s division finalist as outstanding defensive player. “We know we left something on the field. We know we were the better team that (day), but didn’t come out to play. We wanted to show the world tonight who was the better team.”

Toronto quarterback Nick Arbuckle might have been the Grey Cup’s most valuable player last season, but Montreal’s’ defence made his life miserable. While Arbuckle passed for 273 yards and a touchdown, he also was intercepted twice — a trademark that has dogged him throughout his inconsistent career.

Arbuckle also fumbled just before halftime when under duress from defensive-tackle Shawn Oakman. Rush-end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund recovered the ball, returning it 17 yards for a touchdown.

Short-yardage quarterback Caleb Evans scored the Alouettes’ other touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter after James Letcher Jr. returned the opening second-half kickoff 67 yards. Jose Maltos added two field goals and a single.

Montreal’s next three games are on the road beginning next Friday at Ottawa.