Ottawa Redblacks keep it close with Argos, fail to break drought (& eight other thoughts)

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

While it never seemed like a sure thing, for long stretches of the game on Saturday afternoon, it felt like the Ottawa Redblacks’ first win of the 2026 campaign was nigh. There were timely turnovers, brief flashes of a rushing attack (although it ultimately turned out to be a mirage), and an offence that went score for score with Toronto for much of the second half.

And yet it all proved to be for naught, as a short field goal with no time on the clock gave the Argos a 26-23 win, extending the Redblacks’ losing streak to 18 games, and dropping their record to 0-12.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

Maier yanked

Talk about a short leash, eh? While it was somewhat surprising to see head coach Ryan Dinwiddie choose to start Jake Maier coming out of the team’s third (and final) bye week, perhaps it was because he always intended to keep the 29-year-old on a short leash.

But there are short leashes, and the leash Dinwiddie used at BMO Field. It’s pretty rare for a quarterback to get pulled a) without committing a turnover and b) in the middle of the second quarter. And yet, it was unequivocally the right decision.

Although Maier had completed 70 percent of his passes when he was pulled, he was only averaging 4.2 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, that’s been on brand; of the 417 passes he’s attempted this season, only 10 have been explosive plays (defined as gains of 30+ yards).

More than once against the Argos, it was second-and-long, and Maier was content to check the ball down well short of the sticks. He also missed three throws on second down that were behind or above open receivers, which killed drives. Of the four possessions he was under centre, three went two-and-out.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s insertion into the game immediately sparked the offence and resulted in a touchdown drive. In fact, all five of MBT’s first five possessions ended in points. Upon having him under centre, only Ottawa’s final possession of the game ended in a punt.

The 38-year-old looked sharp, and oddly enough, more mobile than the younger Maier. Whether it was escaping pressure or on play-action bootlegs, MBT used his legs well to navigate the pocket. He wound up completing 70 percent of his passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.

🇺🇸 QB #3 McLeod Bethel-Thompson throws to 🇨🇦 WR #81 Keelan White for a 28-yard touchdown, Ottawa’s second of the game! pic.twitter.com/X9dQECPOC3

— Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) September 12, 2026

While MBT wasn’t perfect, he did a better job stringing together drives than R-Nation has seen in a number of games. His willingness to push the ball down the field was also refreshing. It wasn’t always successful, but it was something the defence had to respect.

In another close loss, it’s worth wondering if MBT would’ve been able to turn either of the two early interceptions Ottawa’s defence gifted the offence into points. With Maier under centre, Ottawa turned the two picks into zero. Even a field goal would’ve resulted in a dramatically different fourth quarter.

In his post-game comments, Dinwiddie wouldn’t commit to starting MBT next week, mainly because he was frustrated that the veteran pivot seemingly checked out of a run play late in the fourth quarter in the red zone and because he took a sack on the Redblacks’ final drive that pushed Ottawa out of field goal range.

RALPH WRECKED IT 👊 pic.twitter.com/DgiDPxljZb

— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) September 12, 2026

While the two errors loom large in the loss, it would be baffling to go back to Maier. If the team is desperate to get into the win column, it certainly seems like the veteran pivot is the way to go. And if the team wants to fully embrace the youth movement, they should turn to Bryson Barnes.

Looking in the mirror

As much as Dinwiddie might be peeved at what he perceives as mental errors from MBT, before he gets too mad at the man under centre, he would be wise to reflect upon his own play-calling.

While the Redblacks didn’t finish with negative rushing yardage this week (thank God for small mercies), it was another puzzling run-to-pass ratio. In other games this season, abandoning the run might have been justified by the Redblacks falling behind and playing catch-up, but that was not the case in Toronto. Ottawa never trailed by more than a single score, and yet Dinwiddie still only handed the ball off to his running backs eight times compared to 33 pass attempts.

Although I’m sympathetic to the fact that the Redblacks’ offensive line hasn’t been overly productive, one of their backs was in fact extremely effective on Saturday afternoon. The only problem was, Dinwiddie handed him the ball exactly twice. Canadian Daniel Adeboboye finished with 28 yards on his two carries, including a 20-yard rumble on third-and-two. How does a coach trust a back with his first carry of the game in a clutch situation and watch that decision pay off handsomely, then ignore him until the fourth quarter, giving him just one more carry?

I get that American Greg Bell is the highest-paid running back in the CFL, but a winless team needs to roll with the hot hand. Bell finished with six carries for 20 yards, good for 3.3 yards per carry to Adeboboye’s 14. Sometimes stats lie, other times they don’t.

Overall, it was a subpar night for Dinwiddie’s offence. Coming into the game, the Redblacks were converting a league-low 44.3 percent of their second-down opportunities. Against the Argos, they converted 37 percent of them. Contrast that with Toronto converting 67 percent of their second-down opportunities, and it’s easy to see how the Argos had 31 first downs to Ottawa’s 17.

Getting nothing off a pair of turnovers also proved deadly in the one-score loss.

Eber-hurt?

In a season that’s seen the defence decimated, Ottawa’s offensive weapons have — so far — been spared from the injury bug. Or at least, they were, until Ayden Eberhardt was hurt in the fourth quarter. If the 28-year-old is out for any extended period of time, the Redblacks’ receiving corps will suddenly have a huge hole. Coming into the game, Eberhardt was leading the team in targets, yards and touchdowns. Before exiting the game, he made four catches for 36 yards.

As for the rest of the pass-catchers, veteran Justin Hardy made two catches for 51 yards. Kalil Pimpleton turned five targets into four catches for 41 yards, three of which moved the chains on second down. A week after posting a career-high 127 receiving yards, Keelan White turned his two catches into 38 yards, one of which was a touchdown. American Cade McDonald also had four catches for 25 yards, while Canadian Nick Mardner, who replaced Eberhardt upon his injury, made one grab for four yards.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

With five new starters, Jeff Reinebold’s defence had a fresh feel to it. Early on, it seemed like a strong combination. Canadian defensive back King Ambers notched a pair of red zone interceptions, although – as mentioned above – the offence failed to play complementary football. But, as the game went on, despite individual moments of brilliance, the defence failed to slow down the Argos.

AMBERS PICKS OFF KELLY *AGAIN* 😱 pic.twitter.com/sjRfZxylJZ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 12, 2026

Toronto hung 547 yards of offence on the Redblacks, averaging 9.2 yards per first-down play and 7.5 yards per second-down play. Despite the two turnovers and a pair of sacks, Ottawa failed to collapse the pocket with enough regularity to disrupt Toronto’s aerial attack. At one point, quarterback Chad Kelly completed 16 straight passes, and he finished with an 83 percent completion rate. Of his 443 passing yards, 194 came after the catch.

Given that kind of production, it feels like Ottawa should have been blown out, but the defence was stout in the red zone, as Toronto went zero-for-four in the most important area of the field.

Worst of all, though, was that with 2:23 left in the game and tied at 23-23, Ottawa’s defence had a chance to play the hero. Forcing a punt could’ve set up a late go-ahead score from MBT and company. Instead, the unit allowed the Argos to string together five first downs and march 74 yards down the field, chewing up every second on the clock to kick the game-winning field goal with no time left.

While it was another painful defeat, there were a handful of standout defensive efforts. As he’s done basically every time he’s been healthy, Nyles Morgan was a force from his middle linebacker position, finishing with eight tackles. At weak-side linebacker, Lucas Cormier continued to fly around the field, also finishing with eight tackles, including three for a loss. Benny Sapp III got the start at strong-side linebacker in place of the injured C.J. Reavis and made seven tackles, including a handful of truly thumping hits.

Canadian safety Alonzo Addae made six tackles and had a knockdown, while defensive back Travian Blaylock, seeing his first action after signing with the team last month, had five tackles and beautifully broke up a deep pass that seemed destined to be completed for a big gain.

If, buts, and maybes

It’s often said that a football game isn’t won or lost on a single play – – and that’s true — but frequently outcomes do boil down to a handful of plays. And there will be more than a handful that will once again haunt R-Nation as they try to sleep tonight.

From Ambers running his second interception out of the end zone only to be tackled inside his own five, to Pimpleton’s exhilarating 88-yard punt return that seemed destined to be a house call, to Mardner being flagged for blocking down field and wiping out what should have been a first down inside Toronto’s 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter, to MBT being sacked on Ottawa’s second last position when the team was already in position to kick a go-ahead field goal, to Nick Arbuckle only converting a third-and-inches on the Argo’s game-winning drive thanks to a late second-effort surge — if any one of those plays goes Ottawa’s way, they likely leave BMO Field with a win.

PIMPLETON WITH A HUGE 88-YARD RETURN! 💨

📱: Follow every moment LIVE with the official CFL App.
📺: TSN, RDS, and CFL+@WeAreFortyCreek Quadruple Header | #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/73VdSeU7lh

— CFL (@CFL) September 12, 2026

Disappointing turnout

With their first two home games drawing 16,160 and 18,842 fans respectively, it was disappointing to see a crowd of just 12,494 on hand for Saturday’s contest. It was a perfect afternoon weather-wise, and a game Argo fans should’ve felt confident about winning given each team’s record.

That said, as always, those who do show up at BMO Field gave their team a clear home-field advantage. It always sounds loud through the broadcast, so kudos to those faithful who showed up and made themselves heard.

The streak

Don’t count me amongst those who believe the Redblacks actually going 0-18 is possible. If anything, a game like Saturday afternoon’s reinforces just how thin the margin between winning and losing is.

Ottawa hasn’t played good football this season — duh, they’re 0-12 — but they’ve also been extremely unlucky. At some point over these next six games, I believe that luck has to flip. Especially if they can get a bit more out of the quarterback position. Especially if they lean on Adeboboye in the ground game. Especially if Pimpleton has a few more big returns in him.

Up next

With a trip to McMahon Stadium on deck, the next opportunity for Dinwiddie’s squad to nail down that elusive first win comes next Saturday night in Calgary. If the effort in Toronto was a step in the right direction, it’s time for the team to turn that small momentum into a leap.