McLeod Bethel-Thompson's five-yard TD pass to Tyler Snead in the fourth quarter rallied the Montreal Alouettes past the Toronto Argonauts 21-19 on Friday night.
Bethel-Thompson found Snead at 5:28, then hit Austin Mack for the two-point convert to give Montreal the nine-point advantage. Bethel-Thompson had a roller-coaster contest _ looking good on some passes, woefully bad on others _ hitting 18-of-30 attempts for 228 yards with two TDs and three interceptions.
Snead capped a seven-play, 89-yard march that was aided by a 27-yard pass interference call and an illegal contact penalty against Toronto.
But Jarret Doege's six-yard touchdown pass to Jake Herslow at 9:54 pulled Toronto to within 18-16. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a heads-up attempt at the onside kickoff that Argo Jon Edouard appeared to touch before Montreal's Joshua Archibald knocked the ball out of bounds.
And that allowed Jose Maltos Diaz to connect from 33 yards out at 12:24 to put Montreal ahead 21-16. Toronto made it a two-point game with Hajrullahu's 28-yard field goal at 13:26, just three plays after Makai Polk's seven-yard catch on third-and-four.
Toronto's final possession began at Montreal's 45-yard line with 51 seconds left. But Montreal's Wesley Sutton ended the comeback bid by intercepting Doege with 15 seconds to play.
Montreal (7-7) erased a 9-7 half-time deficit to move four points ahead of third-place Toronto (5-9) in the East Division. The Alouettes also swept the three-game season series with the Argos for the first time since 2011.
Toronto suffered its first loss in four games before an announced BMO Field gathering of 13,848. After leading the Argos to their 31-30 comeback win last week over Edmonton, Doege was 25-of-37 passing for 207 yards with a TD and an interception in his first start with the club and second in the CFL.
Charleston Rambo scored Montreal's other touchdown. Maltos Diaz had two field goals and a convert.
Hajrullahu had four field goals and a convert for Toronto.
Maltos Diaz's 12-yard field goal at 13:11 of the third put Montreal up 10-9. It was stunning end to the nine-play, 65-yard march as Montreal kept short-yardage quarterback Shea Patterson in after his eight-yard run put the Als at Toronto's three-yard line.
Patterson bobbled the snap on the next play and couldn't hit an open Tyson Philpot. Montreal had to settle for the field goal after Stevie Scott III lost a yard on a rushing play.
Hajrullahu's 37-yard field goal to end the second quarter staked Toronto to a 9-7 half-time lead. It followed Derek Slywka's 37-yard interception return of an ill-advised Bethel-Thompson pass downfield on second-and-one.
Bethel-Thompson had a dreadful opening half, throwing a TD but also three interceptions. Montreal had 123 net offensive yards, with 64 coming on their lone scoring drive.
Toronto mustered just 96 net yards offensively but its unit didn't commit a turnover.
Bethel-Thompson put Montreal ahead 7-6 with an 18-yard TD pass to Rambo at 11:44 of the second. It capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive.
Hajrullahu opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal at 8:42. He added a 31-yard boot at 10:58 following a Wynton McManis interception. McManis got the ball after defensive lineman Anthony Lanier deflected Bethel-Thompson's pass.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
