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Edmonton Elks vs Montreal Alouettes Preview
It’s week two of the CFL season and the Montreal Alouettes travel to the Edmonton Elks. Kick-off is at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, and both teams will be eyeing up a victory. The Elks need a win as they search for their first points of the new season.
Edmonton started the new campaign with a surprise defeat to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Elks lost 21-29 and will hope to bounce back. Montreal scored an impressive win in their opener over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch of last season’s Grey Cup game. The Alouettes stunned Winnipeg in a 27-12 victory and Jason Maas’ team will be desperate to make it two in two in Edmonton.
Edmonton Elks vs Montreal Alouettes Head-To-Head and Key Stats
The Elks made a surprising announcement when they confirmed the signing of quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson (MBT) in January. Tre Ford had just finished an excellent sophomore season for the Elks despite their 4-14 record. MBT’s signing seemed to show that Edmonton meant business. The veteran QB came over following a great season in the USFL with the New Orleans Breakers.
At 35 years old, the two-time Grey Cup winner still had gas in the tank and would not have come in to play second string. There was a heavy expectation on the experienced signal caller following coach Chris Jones’ decision to start him on Saturday.
Edmonton looked dangerous in the early exchanges. Their defence kept the Roughriders to just eight yards on their first drive. MBT entered the field and led the Elks to a 71-yard scoring drive. Boris Bede kicked home from 17 yards, putting the hosts up 3-0. Saskatchewan replied immediately. Trevor Harris led the drive from their 40-yard line before finding wide receiver Shawn Bane for a 27-yard touchdown. A series of unsuccessful drives from both teams followed, and the Elks entered the second quarter down 3-7.
A rare mistake from Bethel-Thompson followed as he fumbled a snap in the middle of the field in the second quarter. Michael Brodrique and Robert Nkemdiche sacked Harris on consecutive drives as Edmonton’s defence continued to impress. The second forced a punt from Saskatchewan to leave the Elks in good field position on their 40. MBT took charge of a five-down drive, finishing with a 22-yard completion to Hergy Mayala for their first touchdown. A tightly contested first half ended 11-7 to the hosts following a Darrius Bratton interception.
Much of the third quarter was quiet, marred by a series of penalties by Edmonton. They finally found a breakthrough towards the end with a three-minute drive after battling down to the Roughriders’ six-yard line. Mayala pulled down a short pass from MBT to secure his second touchdown of the game. Bede converted his kick to extend the Elks’ league to 18-7.
Chirs Jones’ team started the fourth quarter on the front foot to extend their lead further. Bede’s second field goal made it a two-score game at 21-7. Edmonton followed up with a disaster class. Harris completed an excellent three-down drive with a 40-yard completion to Bane for a touchdown. The Elks offence returned to the field for 22 seconds when Kevin Brown fumbled on a rushing play.
The Roughriders secured another touchdown in consecutive drives to level the game when A. J. Ouellette ran over the line from a yard. Bede missed a field goal upon Edmonton’s return to the field and their next drive ended when MBT was sacked on the 50-yard line. With just over a minute left on the clock, Saskatchewan made three successful drives in four when Bane made it a hat trick of touchdowns. The game ended 21-29 to the visitors after three touchdowns inside the final 10 minutes.
Reigning Grey Cup champions Montreal faced a tough opening test when they travelled to the Investors Group Field against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The two sides clashed in last year’s championship game when the Alouettes claimed a razor-tight 28-24 victory. Our online sportsbook has both teams as the hot favourites for the Grey Cup in 2024.
Both defences were strong, and the first four drives went scoreless. Winnipeg finally found an opening just beyond the midway point of the first quarter. Brian Cole intercepted Cody Farjado’s pass on the 50-yard line before returning 30 yards. The hosts could not pounce on their good field position, settling for a three-point field goal.
Montreal returned with an unsuccessful drive, but drama struck after the resulting punt. Myron Mitchell fumbled the return after a Tyrice Beverette tackle. Bryce Cosby recovered, and the Alouettes restarted on Winnipeg’s 14-yard line. Fajardo found Tyson Philpot with his first pass of the drive to secure the touchdown and Montreal was ahead 7-3.
The Alouettes opened the second quarter with a sack for a loss of eight yards, forcing a punt two plays later. They had a good field position, starting on Winnipeg’s 38-yard line. They battled up the field with a strong rush defence and Caleb Evans lined up as a running back to push over the line from a yard out. Winnipeg’s only scoring play of the quarter came through a mistake from James Letcher Jr. He attempted to handle a missed Winnipeg field goal, letting the ball slip through his fingers. He grabbed the live ball before being tackled in the end zone for a safety touch. The half finished 14-5 to Montreal.
The third quarter was quiet with the only points coming from the Alouettes. They scored a field goal and a single from a kick across the goal line. Montreal then opened the fourth quarter with a scoring drive. David Cote kicked home from 22 yards, putting his team ahead by 19 points. A touchdown in their next drive saw 27 points on the board for Montreal before Winnipeg scored a consolation with a minute to go. The Alouettes ran out deserved 27-12 winner.
These sides last met in the penultimate game of the regular season in 2023. The Elks had an excellent first quarter in that game, scoring two touchdowns and allowing just a field goal. However, Montreal responded with a storming second quarter. They scored 23 points in the final three minutes following a series of mistakes from Edmonton, including two picks from a fumble and a missed field goal. Edmonton failed to score in the second half while Montreal scored nine. The Alouettes finished 35-21 winners on course to their Grey Cup triumph. Football betting odds indicate they are fancied to match that triumph in 2024.
Edmonton Elks vs Montreal Alouettes Predictions
Prediction: Elks 12-35 Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are too strong for the Elks. They clashed with one of the Grey Cup favourites on the road in their season opener and dominated the game. Edmonton is nowhere near the Blue Bombers in quality and Montreal will make light work of them. Our football prediction is a 12-35 win for the Alouettes.
Jason Maas has his side playing excellently at both ends of the field. Travelling to a championship favourite and allowing one touchdown in the final minute is a testament to their defence. They allowed 209 yards in the air against a quarterback who averaged 265 per game last season.
Merci Marc😉#Alouettes pic.twitter.com/Nd5xYOC2kI
— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) June 7, 2024
The Blue Bombers had the best defence and offence in the league in 2023. Not only did Montreal keep them out of the end zone for 59 minutes, but they also waltzed into theirs on three occasions. Their roster is stacked and Edmonton will not have an answer for them anywhere on the field. The Elks have not won either of their opening two regular season games since 2019.
Edmonton’s strong start against Saskatchewan came undone in the second half. The Elks allowed 306 yards through the air with most of the Roughriders’ offensive plays coming from passes. Montreal will pick apart any defensive frailties that remain. Fajardo linked with wide receiver Philpot for 141 yards through ten receptions last weekend. The two will be licking their lips at the prospect of this defensive matchup.
The Elks’ best chance at a win is establishing a running game. Montreal allowed 90 yards on the ground in their last game. While their defence is strong, those numbers will be attractive to running back Kevin Long. He averaged 63 yards per game in his 18 games last season and will play a bigger role here than in week one. We expect Edmonton to play a run-focused offence on Friday.
Edmonton Elks vs Montreal Alouettes Betting Picks
A bet on Montreal to win offers little value at 4/9. Instead, we like the Alouettes to cover the spread at -5.5. They are coming off the back of a two-score game to the championship favourites against lesser competition. Looking back to last season, they covered this spread in all but two of their 11 wins in 2023.
MBT had a huge game despite the Elks’ loss on Saturday. He passed for an incredible 336 yards in his debut. However, Montreal was impeccable with their pass defence in the opener. If MBT is to get the nod over Ford again, his passing line could open big. Anyone looking at over/under betting should take the under on this prop for anything over 260.
Tyson Philpot enters this season on a high following his game-winning touchdown in the Grey Cup last year. He began with an incredible game last weekend with 10 receptions for 141 yards. Fajardo will target the championship MVC heavily in this game. We expect him to match his performance from last weekend and score 2+ touchdowns. When betting on the CFL, players like Philpot consistently deliver.
Edmonton are likely to focus on their rush offence in this game. Montreal’s defence was superb against the pass in their season opener but was slightly less admirable against the run. Running back Kevin Brown will see a lot more of the ball. A prop bet on him to hit the over on rushing attempts aligns with their game plan.
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Edmonton Elks Team News
Gavin Cobb did not practice for most of last week before missing the game on Saturday. His hip injury will keep him out once again. Vincent Forbes-Mombleau will also miss the game with a hip injury.
Kyran Moore was a late addition to the injury list before Saskatchewan. He was in limited practice on Thursday and will be in line for a return against Montreal. Loucheiz Purifoy has recovered from illness and will play on Saturday.
Montreal Alouettes Team News
Reggie White Jr. is out indefinitely with an injury to his ribs. The medical team excluded Tyler Snead with an ankle injury for the Winnipeg game but he made a surprise appearance. As long as he didn’t rush back too soon, he should return for the game against Edmonton.
