{"id":172833,"date":"2026-08-18T18:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/172833\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T18:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:10:09","slug":"montreal-alouettes-qb-davis-alexander-focused-on-winning-not-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/172833\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Alouettes QB Davis Alexander focused on winning, not statistics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMontreal Alouettes<\/p>\n

Davis Alexander is on pace for one of the best seasons in CFL history but he insists he\u2019s focused on winning football games, not breaking records.<\/p>\n

\u201cWin, just win. That\u2019s it, that\u2019s all I got \u2014 just win,\u201d Alexander said with a smile<\/a> on Monday. \u201cHonestly, sure, maybe in the very, very, very back of my mind, whatever \u2014 however\u00a0you can break history,\u00a0I think that\u2019s the coolest thing in the world to break history \u2014\u00a0but it\u2019s wins for me. That\u2019s the only number that matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old is on pace for 6,280 passing yards this year, which would be the second-best single-season total in league history. The all-time record belongs to Doug Flutie, who threw for 6,619 yards with the B.C. Lions in 1991.<\/p>\n

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That year, Flutie threw for 38 touchdowns and 24 interceptions to lead the Lions to an 11-7 record. Alexander has done a far better job of protecting the football in 2026, as he\u2019s on pace for 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions.<\/p>\n

The native of Gig Harbor, Wash. also has Montreal off to an 8-1 start, putting them in position to clinch first place in the East Division as early as Week 14.<\/a><\/p>\n

Alexander isn\u2019t the only member of the Alouettes projected to make history, as Tyson Philpot is on pace for 2,308 receiving yards. This would shatter the single-season record of 2,036 yards set by Allen Pitts in 1994, whose quarterback at the time was Flutie.<\/p>\n

Tyler Snead, now in his fourth season with the Alouettes, is the league\u2019s second-leading receiver. He\u2019s on pace for 1,880 receiving yards, which would be the second-best single-season total in team history behind Hal Patterson, who had 1,914 yards in 1956.<\/p>\n

As per CFL statistician Steve Daniel, only three times in CFL history has the same team had the league\u2019s leading passer and two top receivers.<\/p>\n

Michael Reilly, Adarius Bowman, and Derel Walker were the most recent trio to do so with Edmonton in 2016. The same feat was accomplished by Don Jonas, Jim Thorpe, and Bob Larose in Winnipeg in 1971, and Sam Etcheverry, Red O\u2019Quinn, and Patterson in Montreal in 1957.<\/p>\n

Though he appreciates how well his team has been playing as of late, head coach Jason Maas doesn\u2019t want any legends of the past to be overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Anthony Calvillo) had some pretty good receivers here, and he was a damn good quarterback,\u201d said Maas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would start with, I would say, Ben Cahoon is one of them that was\u00a0always here for him. You got S.J. Green, you got Jamel Richardson, you got Kerry\u00a0Watkins. You got a bunch of receivers that have done it here at a high level with (Calvillo)\u00a0pulling the trigger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen\u00a0I thought about\u00a0Montreal, that\u2019s what I thought about. I thought a lot about\u00a0them winning games, being\u00a0perennial contenders every single year, and that\u2019s something we\u2019re building towards and wanting to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all the unit\u2019s dominance, Alexander believes Montreal\u2019s offence can be even better coming off a bye week.<\/p>\n

Specifically, he wants to limit two-and-outs. For context, the Alouettes have gone two-and-out on only 21 percent of their possessions this season. No other team is below 29 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like sometimes\u00a0there\u2019s been some crucial two-and-outs when we can help at least chew a lot of the clock away, or just keep our defence off the field,\u201d said Alexander.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty picky, but it does feel like there\u2019s one two-and-out a game where we\u2019re coming off the field like, \u2018We had a chance to put this thing away and we\u2019re not doing it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alouettes are scheduled to face the winless Ottawa Redblacks for the third and final time this week.<\/p>\n

Montreal won a 34-13 blowout over the team late last month, though the two clubs played a relatively tight 37-35 contest back in June.<\/p>\n

Ottawa has lost a modern CFL record 15 straight games<\/a>, and recently became the tenth team in league history to go 0-9<\/a>. The team appears destined for a complete off-field overhaul as president Adrian Sciarra stepped down on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite their opponent\u2019s struggles, the Alouettes aren\u2019t taking them lightly heading into Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about faceless opponents. We don\u2019t care about our opponents, we never talk about them,\u201d said Maas. \u201cWe\u2019re aware of them, we don\u2019t care about them, and all the focus has always been on us, and so\u00a0it bodes very well on a week like this and we\u2019re just looking forward to competing again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Montreal Alouettes (8-1) will host the Ottawa Redblacks (0-9) at Percival Molson Stadium on Thursday, August 20 with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT. Last week, the Redblacks extended their modern CFL record losing streak to 15 games, while the Alouettes were on bye.<\/p>\n

The weather forecast in Montreal calls for 23 degrees and a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa or TSN 690 (English) or 99.5 Montreal (French) in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Eligible sports bettors in Ontario<\/a> and Alberta<\/a> can find relevant information for wagering on the games by clicking on their respective jurisdiction. Please bet responsibly.<\/p>\n

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John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster.<\/p>\n

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