Amos, Argos' defence hope to match Alouettes' physical play Saturday

TORONTO — DaShaun Amos and the Toronto Argonauts defence plan to fight fire with fire Saturday night.

Toronto (7-7) hosts the Montreal Alouettes (11-2-1) at BMO Field. The Argos are currently just four points ahead of Hamilton in the battle for third in the East Division while the Alouettes can clinch home-field advantage for the Nov. 9 conference final with a victory.

Even if Toronto wins, Montreal would still earn top spot if the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday night.

Montreal stands third in offensive scoring (25.7 points per game) despite being ranked eighth in net yards (346.1) and last in rushing (82.4). But quarterback Cody Fajardo has a CFL-leading 73.5 completion percentage and is 7-2-1 this year as the starter.

Montreal also doesn't beat itself, having committed the fewest turnovers (19) and interceptions (eight). The Alouettes are also tops in passing efficiency (106.4) and 30-plus yard completions (29) and third in touchdown passes (23).

"A very physical offence," Amos said Friday. "They kind of want to play more bully ball, they want to control the narrative.

"We've been really harping on physicality this week, effort, toughness because we know they're going to play a physical game."

Amos, 30, has been around the football all season with a CFL-high seven defensive take-aways (five interceptions, two fumble recoveries). The veteran defensive back also has defensive TD for the second straight season.

Amos is quick to deflect credit for his stellar campaign.

"First and foremost, it's my lord and saviour Jesus Christ," he said. "Other than that, the guys around me make me better every day, they hold me to a certain standard.

"The staff does a great job of putting us in position to make plays and coach to our strength. So just go out there, play football the best way I know and make the plays that come to me."

Toronto lost a 33-31 home decision to Hamilton last week. The Tiger-Cats earned a sweep of the three-game series — their first since 2019 — on Marc Liegghio's game-ending 48-yard field goal.

Hamilton's Bo Levi Mitchell finished 31-of-40 passing for 362 yards and a touchdown. Afterwards, Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie was critical of his defence, saying it "was too soft," despite stopping the Ticats five straight times from the one-yard line and forcing a field goal in the contest.

Dinwiddie feels the defence has responded well to his criticism.

"I trust those guys on that side of the ball, they've played well for us," Dinwiddie said. "We've had our moments where we haven't played good football but it wasn't a good performance.

"I thought our offence and special teams did enough for us to win that game."

Montreal gets its first look of the season at Toronto starting quarterback Chad Kelly. He missed the previous two meetings while serving a CFL-mandated suspension before being reinstated, with conditions, in August.

Toronto is 2-3 with Kelly under centre.

Kelly last faced Montreal in the '23 East Division final. The Alouettes forced nine turnovers — including four Kelly interceptions, returning two for TDs — in a 38-17 upset victory at BMO Field.

"You can't live in the past, I think you have to learn from it," Dinwiddie said. "We can't be careless with the football and try not to do too much.

"That's what got us in trouble in the East final . . . take care of the football, make the routine plays and get the ball into our playmakers' hands."

Canadian Ryan Hunter shifts from left guard to tackle on Toronto's offensive line with Isiah Cage (oblique/hip) out. Fellow Canuck Dylan Giffen moves into Hunter's spot.

Canadian receiver Dejon Brissett (knee) and returner/receiver Janarion Grant (chest) both return for Toronto. Meanwhile for Montreal, Canadian safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy (head) comes off the injured list.

Montreal earned a 24-12 win last week over Ottawa. Not only did the Alouettes remain unbeaten on the road (6-0-1), they became the first team to defeat the Redblacks at TD Place this season.

Toronto is 5-2 at BMO Field, but just 1-5 within the East Division. The Alouettes are 5-1 within the conference.

However, Toronto's lone conference win was a 37-18 decision in Montreal on July 11. The Alouettes won the series opener 30-20 at BMO Field on June 28.

Montreal is allowing a CFL-low 19.6 offensive points per game. Linebacker Tyrice Beverette has a league-high 114 defensive plays (including a league-best 92 total tackles) with teammate Darnell Sankey second overall with 100 (including a league-leading 89 defensive tackles).

An interesting matchup will be Toronto's second-ranked ground game (118.4 yards per game) versus Montreal's No. 8 run defence (112.1 yards). But the Alouettes boast the league's second-ranked pass defence (254.8 yards per game) and have allowed just seven completions of 30-plus yards and 14 TDs, both CFL lows.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press