Time runs out on Alouettes' comeback and their East chances, while Argos advance

The Montreal Alouettes' chances at a vital win Monday came down to the final second. They fought hard in the early going against the Toronto Argonauts on Thanksgiving, but began to struggle once starting quarterback Rakeem Cato left the game in the second quarter with a suspected concussion. Inside the three-minute warning, Toronto was up by 16, and looked to have a clear lock on a win. No lead is safe in the CFL, though, and Montreal pulled off a touchdown, two-point conversion, onside kick and final drive inside the 15 with two third-down conversions, only to see their comeback attempt end when it was ruled time had expired before Tyrell Sutton got out of bounds. The Argos prevailed 25-17 in the end, but given the way this ended, both sides have some reason for optimism and some reason for concern coming out of this.

Before we get there, a few words about the clock controversy. It's quite possible the officials got this right; reports from the stadium indicated the game clock there had run out. However, TSN's broadcast appeared to show at least one second left, if not two (which Montreal coach and general manager Jim Popp was calling for) when Sutton went out of bounds (at the end of a bizarre play where the initial Alouettes' receiver was stopped short on 3rd and four, only to lateral to Sutton, who got the first down and got out of bounds, but apparently not quite fast enough). At many levels of football, this would involve extensive frame-by-frame replay analysis to see if there was time left. That didn't seem to happen here, and that's something that should be discussed and examined going forward. Did Sutton get out of bounds in time? We may never know, but it would be useful for the league to at least do a careful analysis of game-end clock procedures and how they're handled, and if there's a way to make that more transparent for viewers, fans, and the involved players and coaches.

Overall, this was a great game for the Argonauts, and it helped them improve to 9-5 and move into a tie with Hamilton for first in the East. (The Ticats control the season-series tiebreaker, though, so Toronto will have to finish ahead of them to get a first-round bye.) The Argos' defence played perhaps its best game of the year, thoroughly harassing Montreal quarterbacks Cato, Anthony Boone and Tanner Marsh and recording three sacks, two interceptions and a forced-and-recovered fumble. Their ground game also looked much more solid than usual, with Brandon Whitaker rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown against his old team (on 17 carries). Toronto quarterback Trevor Harris had some early struggles, including a pick, and he only recorded 182 passing yards, but he completed 16 of 21 passes and threw two touchdown strikes. Despite that, though, the Argos almost threw this one away with poor late-game defence and special teams play, and that will need to be addressed going forward.

Meanwhile, Montreal can take lots of hope from the near-comeback despite the end result. The Alouettes looked to be well out of this after Cato was hurt (he threw for 72 yards before his exit with a 75 per cent completion rate), with Boone initially struggling (he finished six for 12 for 51 yards with a pick) and Marsh posting two turnovers as soon as he came in. However, they stepped up after that, with Marsh finishing the day with nine completions on 14 attempts for 119 yards and a touchdown and almost leading a great game-tying drive. The loss drops Montreal to 5-9, meaning it's almost impossible for them to make the East playoffs (they'd have to win their remaining four games and have 8-6 Ottawa lose theirs, as the Redblacks control the tiebreaker between the clubs), and they'll certainly have some concerns about their QB position going forward if Cato is out for any length of time. However, B.C.'s loss to Winnipeg Saturday means those two bottom West teams also only have five wins each, so there's a more likely option there. If the Alouettes can finish with more wins than both the Lions and Bombers, they'll pull off the CFL's first East-to-West crossover and make the postseason. That may still be tough given the struggles they showed Sunday, but their late almost-comeback provides some hope. If they can play like that, the playoff dream may not be quite dead, even if time ran out on this game.

(Update: this post initially had the Alouettes eliminated from the East race. They're not quite dead there yet. Thanks, Dean!)