It was bound to happen at some point. The Montreal Alouettes’ record streak of 10 wins in a season and 13 wins including the 2023 playoff run came to an end Thursday with a 37-18 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.
But more than this setback, it is the after-effects that could be the most costly for the Alouettes (5-1), who still sit at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Jason Maas’s squad lost Cody Fajardo early in the game. The injury occurred on the very last play of the first quarter. Rolling to his right, Fajardo tried to reach Reggie White Jr. The pass lacked both vigor and precision, but more importantly, the Alouettes quarterback immediately returned to the locker room, holding the back of his right thigh.
The Alouettes announced a few minutes later that he would not return to the game. It remains to be seen whether his name will have to be added to the injured list.
Caleb Evans took over. He had an up-and-down performance. On his second offensive drive, he gave the Argos (3-2) their first touchdown of the game when, caught deep in his own territory, he threw a trick pass to Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis, who returned the ball 16 yards.
On the next drive, however, he orchestrated a 71-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo.
The two teams traded touchdowns, those of Damonte Coxie and Tyson Philpot. The Alouettes (5-1) remained two points behind the visitors, however, because Sheldon Fervius, who replaced Kaion Julien-Grant as the starter after the Alouettes’ No. 11 was scratched from the lineup, fumbled the pass, Evans said.
On the next play, Janarion Grant made his third long punt return of the game, this time returning the ball 103 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-15.
The Alouettes’ special units, particularly in kick coverage, had a rare difficult match.
After Deonta McMahon put the game out of reach for the Als with a major on a five-yard run, Evans threw his second interception of the game. Only the illegal blocking penalty assessed to Toronto prevented the Argos from regaining the ball deep in Al territory.
What is absent?
The shoulder injury suffered last Saturday by marauder Marc-Antoine Dequoy ultimately forced him to miss the match against the Argos.
Dequoy participated in the pre-game warm-up, but he preferred to give up his place. Tysen-Otis Copeland, who is part of the Alouettes’ practice squad, replaced him in the secondary.
Linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku and center Justin Lawrence also missed some sequences due to injuries suffered in this game. KD Davis also remained on the ground for long minutes after a sequence on special teams.
In short, the first break of the season for the reigning champions could not have come at a better time, as they had 12 players on the injured list for six games before the match.