‘That was a homer call’: Ryan Dinwiddie takes issue with pivotal penalty in Redblacks loss to Toronto

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

Ottawa Redblacks head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie wasn’t pleased with a late-game penalty that cost his team a key first down against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.

Near the midway point of the fourth quarter and his team trailing 23-17, McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 12-yard pass to Keelan White to convert on second down. The Redblacks momentarily had a first down at Toronto’s 10-yard line, putting them within striking distance of taking the lead.

Instead, the play was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty on Nick Mardner. Dinwiddie challenged the flag, though the penalty was upheld upon review.

“It was tough. We get down there in the red zone at the end, and they called pass interference on Nick Mardner blocking downfield,” Dinwiddie told TSN 1200.

“(Mardner) tried to avoid (the defender). He was just running a go ball. I thought that was a homer call. We’re first-and-goal from the 10. I think we were releasing down to the 12 with an opportunity to score a touchdown. That took points off the board.”

The Redblacks were forced into second-and-20 and failed to convert, which led them to kick a 28-yard field goal.

Mardner finished the game with one catch for four yards. The former first-round CFL draft pick now has two grabs for 15 yards through six regular-season games this year.

Ottawa took only three penalties for 25 yards in the contest, making the fourth time in their last five games they’ve been penalized less than the opposition. The Argonauts were flagged six times for 53 yards.

The loss dropped the Redblacks to 0-12. The team extended its modern record losing streak to 18 games, and it’s now been over one year since the team won a game. Ottawa’s most recent win occurred on September 3, 2025, when they defeated the B.C. Lions by a score of 34-33.

Saturday’s game was relatively close, as the Argonauts secured the game-winning score with a walk-off field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu to win 26-23. Dinwiddie seemed encouraged by his team’s improvement, though he recognizes they still fell short of the win column.

“We’ve done some good things. There’s not enough of them,” he said. “We’ve gotten better each week. We haven’t found ways to win games.”

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-12) will visit the Calgary Stampeders (5-8) at McMahon Stadium on Saturday, September 19 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. Last week, the Redblacks suffered a narrow loss to the Toronto Argonauts, while the Stampeders got blown out by the Edmonton Elks.

The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa or 770 CHQR in Calgary.