Alouettes playing 'smart,' while Tiger-Cats hungry for wins

The Montreal Alouettes will look to extend their winning streak to three games on Saturday when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the second contest of a back-to-back.

Davis Alexander is expected to receive his second straight start after completing 19 of 27 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown in Montreal's 33-16 victory in Hamilton on Aug. 2. The 25-year-old admitted to being plagued by bumps and bruises after receiving his first significant playing time while competing in his third season with the Alouettes.

"I was hurting. It was hard getting up," Alexander said Friday, per the Montreal Gazette. "Maybe after two or three years of not really playing in a (regular-season) game, it felt nice to get hit a little bit again. But I'll try to not get hit too much more."

Alexander's time under center may not go on too much longer with 2023 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo working his way back from a hamstring injury.

"We're going to be smart and strategic with him," Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia said on TSN690. "And when Cody tells us he's feeling better and, medically, he gets the green light and our coaches like what they see on the field, then he'll just go back to occupying the quarterback position for us.

"We just want to be smart, especially when it comes to Cody."

Montreal can play that game considering its record is 7-1. Hamilton, however, has little room for error after seeing its modest two-game winning streak come to a halt last week.

"We're 2-6," Tiger-Cats coach Scott Milanovich told the Hamilton Spectator. "As I've said before, you are what your record is."

While that's true, the Tiger-Cats rebounded from a 3-6 start to the 2023 season by winning five of their next seven games en route to securing a playoff spot.

Bo Levi Mitchell leads the CFL in passing yardage (2,497), touchdown passes (18) and interceptions (nine) this season. He was picked off twice in last week's encounter against the Alouettes.

--Field Level Media