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Team has lost five consecutive games and is in danger of missing the playoffs.
Author of the article:
Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
Herb Zurkowsky
Published Sep 06, 2025 • Last updated 13 minutes ago • 4 minute read
FBO CFL Tiger-Cats Alouettes 20250906.jpg
Montreal Alouettes' James Letcher Jr., centre, is brought down by Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Brian Cole II (41) and Maalik Hall (74) during second half CFL football action against the Montreal Alouettes in Montreal on Saturday, Sept., 6, 2025. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
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The Alouettes’ season has officially become a train-wreck.
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A year that began with so much promise following three consecutive victories — with Davis Alexander as the starting quarterback — now seems like nothing more than a distant memory. And while time remains to salvage something, unless things drastically change in a hurry, the 2025 season might be remembered as one of the worst in this team’s history.
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There are few positives, if any, to be said following Montreal’s 26-9 defeat Saturday afternoon to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before 20,612 cold and wet Molson Stadium spectators. And, with the Als’ next two games on the road — and the strong possibility of two more losses — it could become more difficult for this organization to convince fans to attend.
“Atrocious. It’s frustrating,” said receiver Tyson Philpot, who returned from his hamstring injury, but was unable to provide any impetus to Montreal’s impotent offence. “First, you have to look at yourself in the mirror. The offence knows we didn’t hold up our part and the defence did what they could.
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“It’s tough. We draw up plays in practice. Everything feels good. Then we get out here and it’s just lackadaisical. We try to find ourselves every game and look upon somebody to make a play, try to get something going and it’s too late. The game’s already down three scores.”
The Als’ loss was their fifth consecutive — the first time since 2018 that has occurred. While Montreal (5-7) remains second in the inept East Division, the team faces the stark reality of missing the playoffs with Toronto and Ottawa (both 4-8) breathing down its neck.
The Als have a 2-5 record at home.
Montreal now has lost seven of eight games without Alexander, who continues to recover from his hamstring injury and is unlikely to play next Saturday, when the club travels to Saskatchewan. And following his second consecutive start, it has become difficult to argue that quarterback James Morgan is the answer.
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Morgan undoubtedly has a strong arm and might be one of the most intelligent players on the team, but he lacks mobility and hasn’t improved since being forced to play. If anything, he continues to regress.
He completed 17 of 27 passes for 138 yards against Hamilton, but was intercepted once and fumbled twice. Morgan passed for 22 yards in the first half — followed by four more in the third quarter, when the Als were held to six offensive plays and failed to generate a first down.
Morgan was briefly replaced in the final quarter by Cameron Dukes — the fifth different player the Als have utilized at the position this season, not counting short-yardage scenarios. Als head coach Jason Maas refused to confirm Morgan as the starter against the Roughriders. At this point, it seems unlikely Montreal will win another game until Alexander returns. And even that might not suffice.
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“I don’t feel great obviously,” Morgan said. “That wasn’t the outcome we wanted by any means. Sometimes I guess it just happens like that. I thought we had a fantastic week of practice. Obviously it didn’t show. The message in the locker room after was look at yourself in the mirror first. I certainly know I’ll be doing that and evaluating what I could have done differently to prepare.
“It’s unfortunate when you feel you’re rolling. Obviously it didn’t show on the field. We have to own it and move forward.”
While Maas, who played quarterback in the CFL, never would throw any player under the bus, he admitted Morgan’s performance left something to be desired.
“Right now we just weren’t good enough today, by a far margin on offence,” he said. “Offensively we did not play good enough. I’ll never put it on one guy. Everybody will always look at the quarterback. And they’ll always put 100 per cent blame on him, but it’s not always his fault. Are there things that he should clean up? Things he should execute better? No question. But we collectively could be better.”
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Jose Maltos-Diaz produced all of the Als’ points, kicking three field goals, including a pair of 48 yarders. During this five-game skid, the Als have been held to three touchdowns on 63 possessions. Tailback Travis Theis gained 70 yards on nine carries and Montreal’s longest play was a 21-yard catch by Austin Mack. The Als were held to 14 first downs and 220 yards’ net offence.
Hamilton was playing its second game in five days, but ended a three-game losing streak with the win while improving to 7-5 to solidify its hold on first place in the division. The visitors hadn’t won in Montreal since Aug. 27, 2021.
Defensively, the Als held quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to 191 yards passing while intercepting him once. Mitchell also scored on a 14-yard run. Instead, for the second consecutive game, Montreal was unable to stop the run.
Ticats tailback Greg Bell gained 156 yards on 20 carries and scored a touchdown. Hamilton was averaging a paltry 72.3 yards rushing before facing Montreal. Bell became the first Hamilton player this season to rush for 100 yards.
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