Toronto Argonauts pull out win over Stampeders despite turnover woes (& seven other thoughts)

Photo: Guang Quan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

At long last, the Toronto Argonauts returned to BMO Field on Thursday night. In front of 16,160 fans, they defeated the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 33-30.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Turnovers aplenty

Coming off the bye week, the biggest question was how Chad Kelly would look following the neck injury he suffered in B.C. The answer? Not good.

Kelly completed 30-of-43 for 349 yards and one touchdown, but threw four interceptions, the most damaging of which was a 67-yard pick-six by Adrian Greene that gave Calgary the lead in the third quarter. It was a messy, mistake-prone performance from the veteran pivot, who struggled to read the Stampeders’ coverage and was too willing to force throws into tight windows.

While he did show some resilience by driving Toronto downfield late to set up Brady Lidster’s game-winning field goal with 11 seconds left, the four-turnover night is a glaring red flag. Performances like this are simply unacceptable, especially from a player like Kelly, who’s expected to deliver winning plays.

Nights like this won’t win you games consistently, especially against one of the league’s best in Edmonton next Saturday.

Second place: Mr. Grant

One game-changing play in this contest was Janarion Grant’s 64-yard punt return for a touchdown — his second of the season and, more notably, his 12th of his CFL career. That moved Grant into second place all-time in punt return touchdowns, trailing only Henry ‘Gizmo’ Williams, who holds the record with 26.

It was another electric moment from one of the league’s most dangerous return men, who continues to climb the CFL’s all-time lists. With this score, Grant not only solidified his place among the greats but also gave the Argonauts a massive momentum swing at a critical point in the game.

When asked post-game whether he knew where he stood in CFL history, Grant had no idea.

“Not at all, it don’t be on my mind,” he said. “I be worried about making sure my team is in the best position possible and getting to the end zone, as always.”

Lucky that VA was off

This one was close, and beyond the missed kicks and Chad Kelly’s four interceptions, a key factor was an uncharacteristically pedestrian night from Vernon Adams.

Unlike in the Stampede Bowl, when he went 20-of-25 for 405 yards, six passing touchdowns, and a rushing score with no picks, Adams finished this game going 12-of-22 with 159 yards passing, his first two interceptions of the season, and just one rushing touchdown. That off-day from Adams, in my opinion, was what kept this from being an encore of the Stampede Bowl and allowed Toronto to eke out a win.

D-line shines bright

Usually, the Argonauts’ defensive line isn’t viewed as a strength; pressure hasn’t come easy for them this season. Tonight, however, was the exact opposite.

The unit was on fire, and a big reason Vernon Adams Jr. didn’t play as well as he has in 2026. The defence finished with four sacks on the night, all from members of the line, including Shawn Lemon, who now has three sacks in just two games with Toronto.

It took a while for this unit to get going, but the defensive line has shown that when given opportunities to hit the quarterback, they can do exactly that. If they want to maintain their standing in the East Division, they’ll need to keep up this kind of solid play.

Hicks for sixes

After fumbling on the team’s first possession, Sam Hicks could’ve been sent to the doghouse for the remainder of the game. However, he ended up playing a major part in this Argonaut victory.

Hicks finished the game with five rushing attempts for 54 yards. The most important was his longest of the night,  a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He also caught three passes for eight yards, one of which was a five-yard touchdown, the first of the night for the Argonauts.

Once a running back of any calibre fumbles as Hicks did, it usually spells disaster. However, Hicks used his mistake as motivation; he learned from it and got better.

“Man, I decided to keep my head high; it’s football, mistakes happen,” Hicks told me post-game.

“I decided to keep going and wait for my opportunity to come, but it was gonna come. It’s a long game, and my opportunity was gonna come, and I took advantage of it every time.”

The streak is broken

The hot story of the CFL season has been Vernon Adams Jr. starting the year without throwing an interception. Like all good streaks, this one eventually ended, at 21 touchdowns to one pick. The “one” in that 21:1 ratio? Tarvarus McFadden.

When asked if he knew he was the first player to intercept Adams Jr. this season, McFadden didn’t lie.

“Yeah, I definitely knew,” he said.

The pick was a corner-of-the-end-zone play from McFadden, who defended Tevin Jones as he attempted to give Calgary the lead late in the first quarter. McFadden didn’t even have his eyes on Jones at all; he read Adams Jr.’s eyes and knew exactly where he wanted to go with the ball, setting up the perfect INT.

It was a textbook example of film study and anticipation, as McFadden broke on the route before the ball was even in the air, cutting off what looked like a sure touchdown attempt.

“When the ball goes in the air, we’ve just gotta attack it, man,” McFadden said post-game.

“Make sure that we come down with ’em. We look for a lot of plays over the year, over the seasons, so we’ve just been emphasizing on coming down when the plays happen.”

Benjie Franklin added a second interception on Adams on the final play of the game.

Back on the road again

The Argonauts hit the road again next week, making their lone trip to Alberta’s capital to face the red-hot Edmonton Elks on Saturday, August 15 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. The last time these two teams met, tensions ran high, but that’s in the past. This time, it’s a game that very well could show us if the Argonauts are contenders or pretenders for the 2026 season.