Alexander, Philpot shine as Alouettes hold on for 37-35 win over Redblacks

MONTREAL — Davis Alexander and Tyson Philpot led the offence as the Montreal Alouettes held on to beat the struggling Ottawa Redblacks 37-35 on Sunday night.

Alexander completed 22-of-30 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns for Montreal (3-1), improving his record as a CFL starter to 15-1 in the regular season.

His favourite target was Philpot, who hauled in 12 receptions for 198 yards — including 125 in the first half — before 17,138 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

Short-yardage quarterback Dustin Crum rushed for a pair of touchdowns and kicker José Maltos Diaz was 1-for-2 on field goals, ending a streak of 25 consecutive successful attempts.

Jake Maier was 27-of-38 passing for 336 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for Ottawa (0-3), which is still searching for its first win under head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie.

Keelan White caught two touchdowns and kicker Brett Lauther was 3-for-3 on field goals as Ottawa found rhythm in the second half after posting just 76 yards of net offence in the first two quarters.

The Redblacks trailed 21-6 at halftime before Maier redeemed himself early in the third quarter, picking apart a disjointed Alouettes’ defence that surrendered 89 points in its first three games combined.

Maier completed a series of passes before finding Justin Hardy on a 29-yard touchdown 4:37 into the second half. That cut the lead to 21-12 after a failed two-point conversion.

He then helped make it 21-18 at 4:15 when he connected with White on a four-yard dime for another major, capping a nine-play, 89-yard drive.

Alexander responded in the fourth quarter with another scramble leading to a touchdown. Under pressure, he moved outside the pocket before connecting with Tyler Snead on a nine-yard toss with 10:57 remaining as Montreal jumped ahead 28-18.

The Redblacks, however, stormed back again as White reached around Alouettes defensive back Faion Hicks for his second touchdown, making it 28-25 at 7:26. Kalil Pimpleton’s 43-yard return helped set up the score.

The Alouettes needed four plays from scrimmage to score again and take a 34-25 lead. Travis Theis ran in a five-yard touchdown following a 31-yard rush from Stevie Scott III with 4:31 left.

After Lauther’s field goal made it a one-score game, Maltos restored the nine-point cushion with a 25-yard kick with 56.4 left on the clock after Alexander — limping from an earlier tackle — went deep up the middle to Snead on a 46-yard heave.

The Redblacks immediately answered again in stunning fashion as Pimpleton returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to make it 37-35 with 42 seconds remaining.

The Alouettes, however, retrieved Ottawa’s onside kick to run out the clock.

The Alouettes opened the scoring at 6:33 in the first quarter when Alexander moved out of the pocket and heaved a 53-yard pass into the end zone for a wide-open Alexander Hollins.

Montreal made it 14-3 at 12:15 in the second quarter after Alexander scrambled again before finding Philpot on a 32-yard throw, pushing the Alouettes to Ottawa’s five-yard line. Crum ultimately scored on a one-yard sneak.

Alexander and Philpot connected again with two minutes left in the first half as Montreal’s wideout made a catch under coverage to set up another score for Crum, giving the Alouettes a 21-6 lead.

Maier led the Redblacks to the Montreal 36 before Alouettes defensive back Wesley Sutton picked off his end-zone throw.

UP NEXT

Redblacks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.

Alouettes: Have a bye week, then host the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, July 11.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2026.