A 13-point halftime lead was not enough for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as quarterback Davis Alexander came off the bench to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 20-16 comeback victory.
Alexander replaced Caleb Evans and tossed a pair of touchdown passes with 178 yards in the second half.
Running back Frankie Hickson took advantage of his starting opportunity with the injury to AJ Ouellette and had 117 yards rushing and a touchdown.
In his fourth start at quarterback Shea Patterson was 21 for 33 with 222 passing yards.
Saskatchewan jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the opening quarter led by Hickson’s touchdown.
The Roughriders led 16-3 going into the third quarter, but thanks to Alexander connecting with Reggie White Jr with a pair of touchdowns, Saskatchewan trailed heading into the fourth quarter.
Kicker Brett Lauther was 3 for 5 for Saskatchewan, with his two missed attempts hitting the uprights on both missed attempts, including a 53-yard attempt in the 4th quarter, that could’ve given the green and white the lead.
Jose Maltos kicked a late field goal for Montreal, that increased their lead to four points.
Saskatchewan was able to reach inside of Alouette territory in the final minute, but stalled on third down, after receiver Mitch Picton was flagged for illegal participation after he stepped out of bounds before he made a catch.
Defensively, the Roughriders had three sacks, with three fumble recoveries.
With the loss, the green and white are tied with BC for the top spot in the Western Division. The Lions currently own the tiebreaker between the two teams.
Montreal has the best record in the CFL at 6-1.
Next action for the Roughriders is a home contest against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, August 3.