Alexander sets CFL record with 9-0 start to career as Alouettes down Stampeders 38-20

“I mean, shoot, he’s won every game he’s started for us – it’s hard not to believe when he’s out there.”

Alexander completed 26 of 36 pass attempts in his return from missing eight games with a hamstring injury.

Montreal has gone 3-7 without him this season, a record that looked far worse before back-to-back wins against Saskatchewan and Toronto with backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

In the previous eight games, the Alouettes totalled 11 offensive touchdowns without their franchise quarterback. On Friday alone, Montreal’s offence punched into the end zone four times.

Short-yardage QB Shea Patterson ran for three touchdowns while Charleston Rambo hauled down a TD catch for Montreal (8-7), which increased its winning streak to three in front of an announced 22,070 at Molson Stadium.

“He elevates people’s play,” Maas said. “I’m very proud of the fact that the last 10 weeks that he’s worked, he’s worked extremely hard. A lot of lonely time to get back and put it all on the line again tonight.”

The 26-year-old Alexander matched Danny McManus’s 8-0 mark against Toronto on July 17, when he re-aggravated his hamstring on a game-winning TD run.

McManus accomplished the feat from 1991 to 1993, winning his first six starts with Winnipeg and his next two for B.C.

Alexander’s run began last year, when he won four starts while replacing Cody Fajardo after beginning the season as a third-string QB.

The Alouettes then handed Alexander the keys to the offence over the off-season, signing him to an extension and trading ‘23 Grey Cup MVP Fajardo to Edmonton.

And Alexander kept winning — when healthy.

“It’s pretty cool, pretty awesome,” Alexander said of the record. “I’m proud of myself, but I’m proud of my team. I am nothing without them.

“Proud of everything we’ve gone through, it’s been a tough year for a lot of us mentally and physically, but we’re battling through and we’re hot right now.”

Alexander said he played cautiously and that his hamstring was “definitely sore” after the game, but called the pain manageable and looked forward to Montreal’s upcoming bye week.

His return comes at a great time for the Alouettes, who hope to finish strong in a roller-coaster season that has featured four different starting QBs.

Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot — facing off against twin brother Tyson Philpot of the Alouettes — caught one TD and quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. rushed for another as Calgary (8-6) lost its third straight.

Adams went 19 of 29 passing for 238 yards — exceeding 3,000 in a season for the third time — with one touchdown throw and one interception. He also rushed for 37 yards on three carries after starting despite the back injury suffered in last week’s loss to B.C.

“They played hard and the effort was good and there were a lot of things to build on, but you still got beat by 18,” Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson said. “That’s a tough one. You got to understand we got to get better.

“But I do think our team will continue to fight, I knew they would, just wasn’t the result we were looking for.”

Jalen Philpot caught the game’s first touchdown with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter as Calgary took a 7-4 lead.

Alexander, finding a rhythm, put the Alouettes up 11-7 at 12:52 in the second quarter after unleashing a pinpoint 42-yard TD throw to Rambo, electrifying the crowd.

“I missed a couple throws at the beginning of the game, throws that I don’t usually miss, and boys were getting open,” Alexander said. “I just tell them, and they never doubted, but just keep the faith.”

Patterson added to the lead with a four-yard rush up the middle, making it 18-7 with 7:25 left in the half.

Adams got one back with 42 seconds left in the half, rushing for a 21-yard TD to complete a seven-play, 86-yard march.

Patterson punched through on a one-yard gain for his second QB sneak touchdown at 8:45 in the third quarter, giving Montreal a 25-14 lead. Earlier in the drive, Alexander fumbled a snap but recovered to find Tyson Philpot on a 28-yard pass.

After Calgary took possession, Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette picked off Adams and returned the ball to the Calgary 30.

A Stampeders pass interference penalty then pushed Montreal to the goal line, and Patterson rushed in for another score and a 32-14 Alouettes lead.

“Too many easy throws,” Dickenson said. “They were picking on our softness and picking on us. They have a good group, no doubt about it. Good quarterback, good receivers, but as a DB group, we got to get in the area code, we’ve got to show up.”

UP NEXT

Alouettes: Host the Ottawa Redblacks on Oct. 13 after a bye week.

Stampeders: Visit the B.C. Lions on Oct. 4.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Alexander sets CFL record with 9-0 start to career as Alouettes down Stampeders 38-20

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