CFL 2024 Season Week 20 Game Preview: Montreal Alouettes at BC Lions
Saturday night's matchup between the Montreal Alouettes and BC Lions will close out Week 20 of the CFL season with some fascinating headlines.
The Alouettes (12-3-1) will have their starting quarterback Cody Fajardo back after he missed last week's win over the Ottawa Redblacks for the birth of his child. While the last month has been a mixed bag of performances from Montreal's offense, it's been the defense carrying the load, allowing less than 20 points in three of its four last matchups.
BC's (8-9) quarterback situation has dominated the news cycle in the CFL this week after an ugly loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Head coach Rick Campbell decided to start Vernon Adams Jr. over Nathan Rourke at quarterback after the team went 3-5 with Rourke as the starter. The Lions are in desperate need of a win over the Alouettes and a boost after going four straight games without a touchdown pass from Rourke.
Preview
Game Information
Line: Lions -1.5, O/U 48
Date/Location: Saturday, October 19, 2024, at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia
Kickoff Time: 7:00 pm EST
Weather Forecast: N/A
TV/Streaming: TSN, RDS, CFL+
Injury Reports/Inactives
Defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson (knee) is the biggest name out for the Alouettes of the six guys on the report. Kicker David Cote is available to play after missing most of the season with a quad injury, but Jose Maltos is still listed as the starter. Other Montreal players out include fullback Brock Gowanlock (knee), defensive back Tysen-Otis Copeland (abdominals), linebacker Frederic Chagnon (knee), defensive back Cre'von Leblanc (hand) and offensive lineman Kristian Matte (calf).
The Lions don't have quite as many injuries to deal with. Defensive backs Ciante Evans (non-injury related) and Adrian Greene (knee) and offensive lineman Tyler Packer (hamstring) appeared on the list. Defensive back Ciante Evans (non-injury-related) will not play on Saturday. Wide receiver Jevon Cottoy is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Keys to Victory
Montreal's focus has to be to come out of the game as healthy as possible. The team is happy to have back wide receiver Austin Mack, but they need him 100% for the playoffs as he's the number one target without Tyson Philpot in the lineup. The Alouettes' defensive line needs to be feasting on what is one of the most inconsistent offensive lines in the CFL in BC.
The offensive line for the BC Lions has to put together a good game, which all starts with getting William Stanback some holes in the running game. Adams has to be let loose and create the big plays in the passing game he had at the beginning of the season. Red zone efficiency is a massive focus on offense and defense for BC.
Prediction
This game is more important for BC than for Montreal, as this is the Lions' final regular-season game before the playoffs. Adams' performance will determine the starting quarterback for the first-round game. If Montreal walks away from this match with minimal players banged up, it's a win for the team. Despite the importance of this game for BC, the Alouettes are still stacked and have proven to be able to win games no matter how many players are hurt.
Montreal Alouettes 28, BC Lions 24
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