Alexander, Alouettes roll past winless Redblacks

OTTAWA — Just not good enough. That was the common refrain from the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday following a 34-13 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. Ottawa is now 0-7 on the season for its worst start ever since rejoining the CFL in 2014. “It’s what it is, it’s reality,” said Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “We’ve got to find a way to get a win. Just set the focus on 1-0. Still not out of it yet, but we’ve got to get on a streak. I said let’s just worry about winning one game. Let’s go 1-0 and take it from there.” Much will be made of Ottawa’s inability to capitalize on its opportunities against the East Division-leading Alouettes. The Redblacks were 1-for-5 in the red zone, while Montreal (7-1) went 4-for-4. “The story of it for me was really poor execution inside the five-yard line,” said Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier, who threw for 311 yards. Maier felt the team managed well in other areas of the field, but was at a loss to explain why the Redblacks were so inefficient from in close. “Once we got inside the five really poor execution, by all of us,” he said. “To an embarrassing level to be truthful to you.” While there’s no denying Montreal is a better team at this stage of the season, Friday’s game amplified just how large the gap is. The Alouettes are efficient and execution is near perfect. It’s clear everyone is on the same page and buying into the system. Much was made about this being a short week for the Alouettes having played Sunday and only getting one practice, but it didn't seem to matter. “I’m extremely proud of this team and probably never have been more because I know how hard it is to go on the road on a short week to play and to come out and do what we did tonight,” said Alouettes head coach Jason Maas. “Just a great, great job.” Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander had an impressive outing going 22-for-30 for 420 yards and three touchdowns, while Tyson Philpot had nine receptions for 184 yards and Tyler Snead had eight for 174 and one touchdown. “Davis Alexander is just such an efficient guy,” said Philpot. “He finds a way to get the ball whenever we’re open and it’s the easy part for us. We play Alouettes football, Alouettes toughness and Alouettes ability.” As good as Montreal’s offence was, Maas gave credit to his defence for its ability to stop Ottawa when it counted most. “When you let them get down field you’ve got to stand on your head at some point and make plays,” Maas said. “That’s what this team has been great at; it’s picking moments to be great and they found another four opportunities to do that tonight.” Ottawa’s road to victory doesn’t get any easier as the squad heads to Saskatchewan next week, but CJ Reavis says players need to do whatever it takes to turn things around. “You know, whatever we’ve been doing isn’t good enough,” said Reavis. “So, I think guys got to dig in and do more. It’s got to be more. Whatever we did last year wasn’t enough. Whatever we did to this point hasn’t been enough, so we’ve got to do more.” While the Redblacks might not be officially out of the playoff picture, they’ve made things extremely difficult for themselves. “We’ve got to get some wins man, it’s as simple as that,” added Reavis. “We’ve gotta get some wins because this is not good enough.” UP NEXT Alouettes: Host the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, Aug. 8. Redblacks: Visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday, Aug. 7. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2026. Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press