Alouettes storm – Montreal’s comeback looked impossible in the first half, but the Alouettes kept playing through 10 penalties in 30 minutes, a 14-point third-quarter deficit, and a turning-point pick-six by Robert Kennedy III. Jose Maltos Diaz sealed a 30-27 overtime win over
HAMILTON — The Alouettes found themselves doing almost everything they could to hand the CFL season opener to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Ten penalties in the span of 30 minutes. A 14-point deficit in the third quarter that felt like it was squeezing the life out of Montreal.
Then, just like last year’s East final on this same field, the Als didn’t fold.
They walked off Hamilton Stadium with a Jose Maltos Diaz field goal in overtime — a chip shot from 17 yards — capping a 30-27 opening-night stunner in the matchup that started as a warning and ended as a statement.
“They compete and they compete on every play. They’re very connected and they believe. That’s what I love about them,” Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said outside the jubilant dressing room afterward.
“Obviously, any time you play a football game, anything can happen. But if you play hard, you play together and if you play for one another, good things usually happen. I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t matter if we’re up or down, they just keep playing and keep competing.”
Davis Alexander looked like the reason Montreal expects to be a Grey Cup contender again. He improved to 12-0 for his career as a starter in regular-season play after throwing for 336 yards and two touchdowns.
Alexander’s season history has been scarier than his numbers. Hobbled by a hamstring injury last season, he missed 11 games and was clearly not healthy in a rough Grey Cup loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On Thursday, he looked closer to the quarterback Montreal is used to seeing.
The Alouettes also pushed through injuries to three starters on offence — receiver Cole Spieker, centre Justin Lawrence and running back Travis Theis — and still found enough offence to stay dangerous. Receiver Tyler Snead gave them a huge spark with nine catches for 163 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s a winner,” Snead said. “He goes out there and finds a way to get the job done always. We believe in him and he believes in us.”
But the turning point didn’t come from the sideline script or even from the passing game. It came from Robert Kennedy III.
With the Tiger-Cats leading 24-10 in the third quarter and threatening to put the game out of reach. Kennedy read Bo Levi Mitchell perfectly. He stepped in front of a pass and then took it the other way for a 54-yard pick-six. changing the air in the building and flipping the momentum back toward Montreal.
Overtime brought a second gut-punch for Hamilton. When Hamilton had the ball first, Kennedy punched the ball out of Tiger-Cats receiver Keric Wheatfall’s hands, and teammate Kabion Ento recovered. Three plays later, Maltos Diaz took the final step.
“Defence is unbelievable,” Alexander said, draped in a Quebec flag given to him by an Alouettes fan after the game.
“We get to face them every single week in practice. They’re a resilient group, too. They never gave in, never flinched.”
For Kennedy, it was more than just a big play. It was personal history in Hamilton. He started his CFL career in Hamilton in 2024, and he still doesn’t like turning his journey into a highlight reel.
After he was cut by the Los Angeles Chargers, he was signed to the Ticats practice squad. He lasted just over two weeks before he was released.
“I actually don’t even tell people I was here when I speak about my journey,” Kennedy said. “I was not myself at all. I was a completely different person at the time. dealing with depression and a bunch of stuff after I got cut from the NFL. They didn’t even see the best of me, but today they clearly did. I actually appreciated them for everything they did because if that didn’t happen. a big fire probably wouldn’t have been lit under me.”.
Kennedy, like the rest of Montreal, thrived under pressure on Thursday. After Montreal’s mistake-filled first half, it was Hamilton that eventually made the decisive errors — the pick-six and a face mask on a punt late in the fourth quarter that prevented them from pinning Montreal deep.
Montreal’s penalty count told its own story, too. The Als took just one penalty in the second half.
Maltos Diaz’s 29-yard field goal on the final play of regulation sent the game to overtime, where Montreal turned the night into a finishing kick.
The Tiger-Cats now have lost six consecutive season openers. And while Hamilton remains expected to battle Montreal for first in the East again this year, Thursday’s result left a clear message: if they want to flip the script, they’ll have to be sharper when the game turns.
“We’re the most resilient team in the league, I would say,” Kennedy III said. “We can be getting blown out or we can be blowing somebody out, we’ll never stop, never let off the pedal at all. It’s very natural to us.”
CFL Montreal Alouettes Hamilton Tiger-Cats overtime Davis Alexander Robert Kennedy III Jose Maltos Diaz Tyler Snead Bo Levi Mitchell 2026 CFL season opener
OT in week 1 already?? Montreal really said “let’s make it stressful”
10 penalties in 30 minutes and they still won… I don’t get it, like how do you keep shooting yourself in the foot and it works?? Also pick-six sounds like luck but congrats
So was the 17-yard field goal like automatic? because chip shot usually means nobody was defending, not gonna lie. If Hamilton had just stopped the penalties this wouldn’t even be a thing, right?
I only skimmed but the part about 14-point deficit is wild. Montreal was down a whole bunch and still came back, makes me think they have some secret playbook magic lol. Robert Kennedy III pick-six?? That name sounds familiar like from basketball or something, idk. Anyway I guess Diaz is clutch and Alexander being “12-0” is a good sign even if the first half was chaos.