Davis Alexander’s perfect record is no more.
The Montreal Alouettes quarterback entered Sunday’s Grey Cup game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a 13-0 mark as a starter.
The Roughriders handed him his first loss, a 25-17 defeat in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium.
“Our guys battled out there, our guys battled for me,” Davis said in a quiet locker room as his teammates gave each other hugs and pats on the back.
“They kept me in it, they gave us a chances. Ultimately, I have to be better for this organization in the biggest moment of my life and the biggest game of my life.”
Alexander, playing with a hamstring injury, completed 22 of 34 pass attempts for 284 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns.
It was the first time he’s ever thrown three picks in a game. He only threw three in seven games this season.
“I did a couple things that I didn’t do during the year, you know, turn the ball over three times,” said Alexander, who joined the Alouettes in 2022.
“When you get outplayed in the quarterback position, you put your team at a deficit right away.”
Alexander was 7-0 this season, and holds a CFL regular-season record of 11-0 that goes back to last year. He didn’t play in the regular-season finale.
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With 58 seconds remaining in the game against the favoured Riders, Alexander started limping after he took off and ran out of bounds. He continued to play.
He said he’ll get another MRI on his left leg, but didn’t think the season-long injury that kept him out of 11 games would require surgery.
Alouettes receiver Tyson Philpot, who led his team’s pass catchers with five receptions for 87 yards, said Alexander shouldn’t be too hard on himself.
“He played with something that zero per cent of the population could play with, so that just shows you the heart that he has, the dog that’s within him,” the Delta, B.C., product said.
“There was no question that he was going to give his all for 60 minutes. Just sucks that we came up short for him. Couldn’t make enough plays.”
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas also praised the determined quarterback, who tweaked the hamstring in the East Division final win over Hamilton and was having up to five or more treatments every day leading up to the game.
“He battled, I’ll tell you that much,” Maas said of Alexander. “He gave everything he had until the very end and that’s what I’m very proud of for him.”
Montreal got down to Saskatchewan’s three-yard line with just under three minutes remaining, but backup quarterback Shea Patterson fumbled and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Marcus Sayles of the Roughriders.
“It’s not just that turnover. That’s not the defining moment of the game,” Philpot said.
“Everyone could have been assignment correct. They had too much penetration, that’s what caused the fumble. I wouldn’t say it’s just that play, but we turned the ball over too many times to win.”
Philpot lamented the title game didn’t end like the 2023 Grey Cup, when he grabbed the game-winning touchdown pass from Cody Fajardo in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining for a 28-24 upset over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“It’s gut-wrenching. We’re on the opposite side of what happened last time,” Philpot said. “Close game, we had a chance to tie it up at the minimum and didn’t capitalize. It sucks right now, but it’s never as bad as it looks.”
Alouettes linebacker Darnell Sankey said the defence also came up short in the loss to Saskatchewan.
“We didn’t play assignment-sound football. Too many missed tackles,” he said. “We just didn’t bring it as a defence today.
“I’m the (middle) linebacker, it starts with me. Since I’m the leader of the defence, I’ll take the blame.”
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris was the game’s most valuable player after going 23-of-27 passing for 302 yards with no TDs or interceptions.
Riders receiver Sam Emilus, who hails from Montreal, was named the top Canadian with 10 catches for 108 yards.
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