The Ottawa Redblacks are still searching for their first win, and now sit in some very lonely company.
asserted
Redblacks → search → company
Ottawa suffered its 10th straight loss to open the season Thursday night, dropping an ugly 46-16 decision to the league-leading Montreal Alouettes before 22,482 at Molson Stadium.
asserted
Ottawa → suffer → Stadium
“Our margin for error is small,” Redblacks quarterback Jake Maier said.
asserted
Maier → say → error
“And I think that when a play doesn’t go our way, you can feel it a little bit more as a football team that’s trying to find their footing.”
asserted
that → think → footing
There were several that didn’t go the Redblacks’ way on Thursday.
asserted
that → be → Thursday
Most sportsbooks listed the Alouettes as 13.5-point favourites, but even that gap wasn’t wide enough.
asserted
gap → list → favourites
Maier struggled with two interceptions, completing 14 of 23 passes for 126 yards.
asserted
Maier → struggle → yards
Backup pivot McLeod Bethel-Thompson entered in the fourth quarter and wasn’t much better, completing four of nine passes for 55 yards and a pick.
asserted
Thompson → enter → yards
In their first season under head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie, the Redblacks became just the ninth team to lose its first 10 games of a season.
asserted
Redblacks → become → season
They’ve dropped 16 straight contests dating back to Sept. 5, 2025 — the longest skid since the Hamilton Wildcats also lost 16 straight in 1948-49, almost a decade before the CFL was formed.
asserted
CFL → drop → 1948
What’s left to play and coach for, Dinwiddie said, is keeping their jobs.
asserted
Dinwiddie → leave → jobs
“I just told all the guys, we’ve got to look in the mirror and everybody’s got to do their job better.
asserted
everybody → tell → job
That should be our focus individually,” said Dinwiddie, who left the Toronto Argonauts last off-season after winning two Grey Cup titles across five seasons as head coach.
asserted
who → say → coach
Ottawa, playing with a league-high 17 players on the six-game injured list, also extended its losing streak against the Alouettes to 14 games (since Oct. 10, 2022).
asserted
Ottawa → play → Oct.
Davis Alexander threw for 260 passing yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-23 completions for Montreal (9-1), improving his record to 20-1 as a CFL starter.
asserted
Alexander → throw → starter
Get daily National news
Travis Theis rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries while making three receptions for 33 yards.
asserted
Theis → get → yards
Tyson Philpot caught two touchdowns and had 75 receiving yards and defensive back Kabion Ento forced a pair of turnovers, returning one interception for a TD.
asserted
Ento → catch → TD
The Redblacks gained a large portion of their yardage thanks to Montreal’s lack of discipline, as the Alouettes totaled 12 penalties for 90 yards.
asserted
Alouettes → gain → yards
They also opened the scoring and appeared in rhythm early.
asserted
They → open → rhythm
Short-yardage QB Bryson Barnes — following a pass interference penalty — rushed for a one-yard touchdown on the team’s fourth attempt from the goal line.
asserted
Barnes → follow → line
Maier then carried the Redblacks downfield on Ottawa’s next possession, but Montreal defensive back Nate Beauchemin intercepted an end-zone pass, and the Alouettes quickly made the Redblacks pay with a touchdown at the other end.
asserted
Redblacks → carry → end
“That’s complementary football.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
Any time that happens, that’s momentum,” Alouettes coach Jason Maas said.
asserted
Maas → happen → ?
“You want to capitalize on every turnover, and particularly those.
asserted
You → want → turnover
“It was into the end zone, we got the ball back and go down and score.
asserted
ball → get → zone
Things then went from bad to worse for Ottawa.
asserted
Things → go → Ottawa
Redblacks holder Noah Gettman dropped the ball on a kick attempt before Ento stripped him, returning the fumble 49 yards to set up a one-yard TD run by Terry Wilson.
asserted
Ento → drop → Wilson
Ento was at it again three minutes later, easily picking off Maier’s pass intended for Kalil Pimpleton and running for a 29-yard TD to take a 21-7 lead with 8:49 remaining in the half.
“We started the game really well.
asserted
We → pick → game
I thought they made a really good play in the corner of the end zone there to kind of get the momentum back in their favour,” Maier said.
asserted
Maier → think → favour
“And then just another unfortunate play here where Ento stepped in front of (Pimpleton) and took it the other way.
asserted
Ento → step → it
“Nobody’s fault besides mine and not recognizing that that’s the coverage that they were playing, and I just felt like that’s where the game really flipped.”
asserted
game → recognize → that
Maier has started all 10 games for the Redblacks this season.
asserted
Maier → start → Redblacks
Dinwiddie wasn’t ready to say whether he would make a change ahead of next week’s meeting with the B.C. Lions.
asserted
he → say → Lions
“We’ve got a 10-day week,” Dinwiddie said.
asserted
Dinwiddie → get → week
“I didn’t think (Bethel-Thompson) looked that sharp in there, right?
asserted
Thompson → think → ?
With the season all but lost, Ottawa defensive back Alonzo Addae said the message moving forward is to continue to fight.
asserted
message → lose → ?
“We’re professional football players and we’re getting paid to play a game, so we can’t just lay down and quit,” he said.
asserted
he → ’re → game
We’ve got games left, nobody in the league is going to feel sorry for us.”
asserted
nobody → get → us
The Redblacks have eight more opportunities to earn a win.
asserted
Redblacks → have → win
Redblacks: Host the B.C. Lions on Aug. 30.
asserted
Redblacks → host → Aug.
…and 1 more, not listed.
