Lions win big over Alouettes at home, but Travis Lulay gets hurt along the way

The B.C. Lions came up with a 36-14 win at home over the Montreal Alouettes Sunday afternoon, but their fans won't be in all that great of spirits thanks to an injury starting quarterback Travis Lulay sustained late in the game. The win improves the Lions' record to 7-4 and keeps them in the hunt for the chance to host a playoff game, as they're only two games back of Calgary and one back of Saskatchewan now. It also marked a dominant showing from the B.C. defence, which could be crucial going forward. If Lulay's injury is serious, though, this may be remembered as a Pyrrhic victory for the Lions.

Lulay didn't have a great game even before he left, throwing for just 197 yards and tossing three interceptions, but he did post a 67.9 per cent completion rate and threw a touchdown pass. He also was effective on the ground, rushing twice for 20 yards and a touchdown. It was that fourth-quarter touchdown play, which saw him scramble in from 14 yards out, that resulted in his injury, though. Lulay ran with plenty of power and managed to bowl over a defender by lowering his shoulder, but seemed to hurt himself in the process. He limped to the bench afterwards and didn't return to the game. That could be just precautionary, but it didn't look good.

If Lulay's out for a while, the Lions are far from irrevocably doomed, though. Backup Thomas DeMarco led a nice touchdown drive after Lulay's injury to ice the game, finishing with 47 yards and a 66.7 per cent completion mark. B.C. also now has another experienced piece in the mix after acquiring veteran quarterback Buck Pierce from Winnipeg. Either DeMarco or Pierce could be an intriguing starting option. Whoever's under centre, the Lions are also still going to have an impressive defence; they racked up four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble Sunday, and they held Montreal quarterbacks Josh Neiswander and Tanner Marsh to a combined 226 passing yards along the way. B.C.'s ground game is also quite solid, as Andrew Harris rushed 13 times for 68 yards (an average of 5.2 yards per carry) and a touchdown Sunday. Whoever's under centre will have an impressive offensive line, defence, rushing game and receiving corps to work with, so the Lions aren't likely to completely fall apart even if Lulay can't go.

Still, Lulay would be a substantial loss for the B.C. offence, even if they do have potentially solid replacements. DeMarco is still relatively raw and inexperienced, and while Pierce has spent plenty of time in the CFL, he's still readjusting to the Lions' playbook. Pierce also carries injury concerns of his own and has somewhat limited upside. Lulay hasn't been having his greatest season overall, but he's still been very solid: the 2,590 passing yards he had before this game were fourth in the league, and he had 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions with a 64.1 per cent completion mark. That kind of quarterback production isn't easy to replace, and that's why B.C. fans will be hoping to see #14 back under centre before long.