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When the Alouettes launched their season last June in Edmonton, they allowed 607 yards’ net offence and 32 points. Not surprisingly, Montreal lost — less than a week after firing head coach Mike Sherman.

And they lost their next game at Hamilton by a mere 31 points. Two defeats, 73 points against and what appeared to be another long season.

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But then, something changed. The team evolved and started to believe. Montreal won its next three, 10 of the final 16 and made the Canadian Football League playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“The moment it changed, and this is going to sound stupid, was in Hamilton,” veteran rush-end John Bowman said. “If you look at the film and not the stats, you saw a team that’s fighting, competing, forcing turnovers, giving ourselves a second chance.

“This year, we found ways to win games. Last year, we were in close games and found ways to lose.”

Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

If the Alouettes can somehow win three more games, this improbable season will end in a Grey Cup championship. But first, they must win Sunday afternoon’s (1 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio 690) East Division semifinal against the Edmonton Eskimos at Molson Stadium.