MONTREAL - Davis Alexander remains undefeated in the CFL after rallying for an epic comeback Thursday night, but the Montreal Alouettes might have to carry on without him once again.
Alexander ran for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining to lift the Montreal Alouettes 鈥 who trailed 25-7 late in the third quarter 鈥 to a 26-25 win over the Toronto Argonauts.
The instant he crossed the plane for his game-winning score, however, the Alouettes quarterback grabbed the same left hamstring that forced him out of action the previous two outings.
鈥淚 would assume that I'm not going to play,鈥 Alexander said of Montreal鈥檚 matchup next Thursday against the Calgary Stampeders. "It's tough, but I mean I trust our team to death.鈥
Alexander initially showed rust with a costly interception in his return from the injury, but bounced back for 303 passing yards on 26-for-39 passing, one touchdown throw and his go-ahead run for Montreal (4-2), which regained first place in the East Division.
Nick Arbuckle threw two touchdown passes and one interception, going for 242 yards in his sixth consecutive start for defending champion Toronto (1-5) while 2023 outstanding player Chad Kelly remained out due to injury.聽
The 26-year-old Alexander 鈥 a third-stringer last year before rising the depth chart to become the franchise quarterback 鈥 improved to 8-0 as a starter, matching Danny McManus鈥檚 CFL record of eight straight victories to begin a career.
Meanwhile, the Alouettes lost the two games he missed this season. Playing without him is less than ideal, head coach Jason Maas said.
"Not good. I don't think anybody wants to lose their starting quarterback, ever,鈥 he said, adding backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson would likely get the nod if Alexander misses more time. 鈥淒avis gives us everything. He gave us everything right to the very end tonight.鈥
The game shifted at the very end of the third quarter when, on third-and-four, Cole Spieker hauled down Alexander鈥檚 10-yard pass for a score to cut Toronto鈥檚 advantage to 25-14.
"I didn't even want to give coach Maas the option to kick the field goal,鈥 Alexander said. 鈥淚 told our guys to end the huddle.鈥
Added Maas: 鈥淚 know he wanted to go for it more than anything. I can see it in his face.鈥
In the fourth quarter, Spieker caught another pass and ran for a 38-yard gain to set up Thomas-Erlington's three-yard rush into the end zone, making it 25-20.
Then came a number of momentum swings.
On Montreal鈥檚 next possession, Alexander fooled the Argos defence with some play action and found Spieker for a 47-yard reception. Spieker, however, fumbled just before crossing into the end zone.
Arbuckle then fumbled at the Toronto 21 after a sack from Lwal Uguak, leading to Alexander's winning rush and giving the Alouettes their first lead of the night. Kabion Ento sealed the win with an interception.
鈥淭he fumble, you can't have that down there,鈥 Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. 鈥淎t the very least, we punt, and then they've got to go down and score with not a lot of time left.
鈥淲e gift them the ball on the 20 鈥 that can't happen. We've got to have more ball security in the pocket and awareness of the game situation.鈥
Jose Maltos kicked two field goals and Joseph Zema added a single for Montreal before 19,354 at Molson Stadium.
Damonte Coxie, Deonta McMahon and David Ungerer III scored touchdowns for Toronto. Lirim Hajrullahu kicked a 45-yard field goal and John Haggerty added a single.
Toronto now finds itself in an unfamiliar deep hole. The Argos haven鈥檛 gone 1-5 since 2019.
"There's no time to waste,鈥 star linebacker Wynton McManis said. 鈥淭here's got to be some type of urgency. There's no reason we should have lost that game. There's no reason why we shouldn't be celebrating coming out victorious."
The Alouettes also claimed the season series after winning 28-10 over the Argos on June 6. The East Division rivals meet for one more regular-season matchup Sept. 19 at BMO Field.
The first half featured a slow opening 20 minutes for both offences, but Toronto finally broke into the end zone twice in a short span in the second quarter.
Arbuckle hit Coxie on a five-yard TD strike with 5:16 remaining in the first half. On the ensuing drive, Toronto defensive back Tarvarus McFadden picked off Alexander and returned the ball 38 yards to the Montreal 15, setting up McMahon鈥檚 two-yard run as the Argos took a commanding 18-4 lead.
The Alouettes 鈥 who didn鈥檛 run the ball until 2:40 remained in the second quarter 鈥 totalled only 142 yards in net offence in the opening half.
In the second half, Alexander and company turned the tide.
"We flipped the script -- 18-point script in about 16 minutes and 30 seconds," Alexander said.
UP NEXT
Alouettes: Visit the Stampeders next Thursday.
Argos: Host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.