You don’t have to be perfect to win playoff games, but critical mistakes need to be limited to give yourself a chance. Unfortunately for the Alouettes, they were unable to protect the football during Saturday’s 30-28 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in the East Final.
There isn’t a tone of analysis that needs to go into this. You don’t have to be a football expert to figure out what the difference was in such a close game. The Alouettes fumbled the ball away four times in this game. To put that in perspective, the Als lost 10 fumbles in 18 games all season.
The Argos also scored a first-quarter touchdown off an interception which gave them a 7-0 lead at the time. Before halftime, Toronto also managed to get into the end zone on a punt return.
Despite all of that, the Als only found themselves down by five points going into the break. How many teams could still be in the mix if with those kinds of things happening to them in the opening 30 minutes of the game?
“We’re a good football team,” head coach Jason Maas explained. “There were positives in this game, but the negatives were the turnovers and the big plays given up. The turnovers were in the areas where we should be scoring. The differential on that scoreboard should’ve looked a lot different in my opinion, but it didn’t. I give Toronto credit because they did a great job forcing turnovers and we didn’t do a good enough job of protecting the football tonight. That’s one of the things we pride ourselves on.”
In last year’s East Final, it was James Letcher Jr. that helped cement the game when he scored a kickoff return touchdown. This year, the Argos got the special teams points via Janarion Grant. It’s difficult to overcome that and the turnovers.
This loss hurts. There’s no denying it, but the organization has come a long way in just a few years. General manager Danny Maciocia and his staff have done an amazing job of building a competitive roster. Maas has been able to build a winning culture in the locker room rather quickly. Several players signed contract extensions during the season. Since May, players like Tyler Snead, Cole Spieker, Nick Callender, Austin Mack, P.O. Lestage, Louis-Philippe Bourassa and others all decided to forego free agency to stay with the Alouettes.
The biggest positive we experienced in 2024 came in the stands at Molson Stadium and in the streets of Montreal and all of Quebec. The energy and excitement felt around the province was something special. People have fallen in love with this football team again. More people want to talk about the Alouettes day-to-day, you see more Als merchandise in the streets, and the stadium is packed. The regular season finished with three consecutive sell-outs and the East Final sold out by the middle of the week.
“This team has always given 100 percent on the field,” explained linebacker Alex Gagne. “We’ll never take wins for granted, we’ll never take championships for granted, but one thing is certain, we’ll never take these for granted either. We want them to be proud of us every day. Unfortunately, we didn’t deliver this year, but one thing I want everyone to realize is that we will never take the fans and their passion for this team for granted. I want to thank the fans for being there for us.”
So, 2024 is officially over for the Als. What’s next? Free agency kicks off in February, so expect more players to re-sign before then. Management will begin preparing for the CFL Draft which will take place in late April or early May. Training camp is set to begin in Saint-Jerome in the middle of May. It seems like an eternity away, but the offseason will fly by before you know it.
Thank you to everyone who followed along this year. Whether you read an article, listened to a podcast or watched our live post-game show, we really appreciate the love and support you gave us this season.
Thank you very much! Have a great winter!
