EDMONTON — A defensive showdown in the second half was enough for the Montreal Alouettes to get the job done on the road as they held on for a 23-20 win over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night.
The low-scoring affair was highlighted by a couple of interceptions from the Als, and some clutch sacks from both team’s front sevens.
On offence, Cody Fajardo did most of his damage in the first half with some long bombs to his receiving core, while running back Walter Fletcher got loose for two touchdowns.
Here are three key stats from Montreal’s Week 2 win over Edmonton.
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3 – BIG PLAYS FROM THE ALS OFFENCE
The Edmonton Elks finished Friday’s game with more offensive plays, first downs, and trips to the red zone than the Alouettes but couldn’t come out on top. The difference was that Montreal came up with three game changing big plays, leading to all three of their touchdowns.
Kaion Julien-Grant‘s monster 53-yard reception led to the first score of the game for the Als. Walter Fletcher came up with a 46-yard catch-and-pass late in the first half and then a 39-yard dash in the fourth quarter.
2 – INTERCEPTIONS BY THE ALS
Montreal’s defence came up with some big plays of their own, especially in the second half when Fajardo and his offence were having trouble finding a way to extend their lead.
Nafees Lyon got the game’s first turnover when he picked off McLeod Bethel-Thompson midway through the third quarter. Kabion Ento made the second interception when Bethel-Thompson looked the way of Dillon Mitchell on what was up to that point an encouraging drive for the Elks offence. The Als converted on the drive following that snag from Ento, and they wouldn’t let go of the lead from there.
0 – MONTREAL TURNOVERS
Even when the scoring stopped through the third quarter and most of the fourth, Montreal didn’t give anything away, playing a clean game to take care of business on the road.
When Fajardo looked for the deep ball, he was responsible with the football and trusted his receivers to come down with the catch. When he used his legs he made it count, carrying four times for 27 yards and not allowing the Elks to force him into rushed decisions.
Fajardo finished the game with a 117.2 passer rating after going 20-30 through the air and supplying two touchdown tosses.
