B.C. Lions’ offence leaves meat on the bone, defence cleans up leftovers against Argos (& 10 other thoughts)

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

The B.C. Lions’ offence spent most of Saturday afternoon playing with their food, but the defence ensured there would be no need for doggy bags on the flight home from Toronto, securing a 24-17 victory against the Argonauts.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Bowl full of pits

In the mid-2000s, the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother first posited that the strength of any relationship was determined by “the olive theory.” When one half of a couple doesn’t like olives, the other person must like them for the partnership to work. Insert tomatoes, pickles, or whatever other divisive accoutrement you prefer into this analogy, and it still works — the basic principle is one of symbiosis, balance, and mutual support.

CFL teams just call this complementary football. The B.C. Lions’ defence has eaten bushels of olives this season for the team’s other phases, and they spat out two pits in this game that determined the result.

Twice in the final three minutes, the Argonauts found themselves in the red zone with a chance to tie a game that shouldn’t have been close. Both times, Mike Benevides’ unit found ways to turn them away and preserve the narrow one-score lead they had been handed.

The first stop came at the end of a seven-play, 53-yard drive by Toronto. After allowing a long touchdown on the previous series, it seemed as if momentum had shifted definitively in favour of the home team. You could feel the game slipping away right up until veteran defensive back T.J. Lee read the Argonauts’ route concept perfectly and stepped in front of Makai Polk at the 11-yard line for a huge interception.

Naturally, the Lions’ offence did nothing with that opportunity to salt the game away and handed back the antipasto after a poorly placed throw to Jevon Cottoy resulted in a two-and-out. Punting out of the end zone, Toronto scoring felt inevitable to almost everyone, except Darnell Sankey. The outstanding middle linebacker rallied to a checkdown pass to running back Samuel Hicks on first-and-goal, stopping him dead at the one-yard line. On second down, he leapt over the top to repel Nick Arbuckle at the goal line, bringing up a game-deciding third-down attempt. He wasn’t credited with the tackle on the final play, but knocked fullback Sebastian Parsalidis back into Arbuckle’s lap and allowed Adam Konar to wrap him up.

It was as impressive a goal-line stand as I have ever seen, though perhaps it should have come as no surprise. Sankey has stuffed more QB sneaks this season than most defences do in a decade, while the defensive unit he leads has been nothing but clutch since July. While the offence had stolen back the spotlight heading into this game, this was a reminder of which group has picked up the other’s slack most frequently amidst this recent turnaround.

Banned from Ribfest

The Lions controlled much of this game, outgaining the Argos offensively, committing no turnovers, and dominating the time-of-possession battle by nearly 11 minutes. They produced an incredible eight scoring drives compared to just three from Toronto, but there was only one problem — every single one of those was a field goal.

Try as they might, the B.C. offence simply could not find their way into the end zone. That included four failed trips to the red zone, where they had been almost automatic over the past four games. The amount of meat left on the bone was enough to make a pitmaster cry. It seemed like nobody was willing to risk getting BBQ sauce on their uniform, as the failure to gnaw down and finish affected all aspects of the unit.

Nathan Rourke had a middling performance, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and missing a few key throws. Though he rushed for 50 yards and produced some Houdini-esque escapes, the indecision that seemed to plague him earlier in the year returned. He easily could have neared the century mark on the ground, but pulled the trigger on a number of questionable passes instead.

Rourke also fumbled on one of his carries, though he was bailed out by Keon Hatcher. Other players did the same on a fumble by returner Lawrence Woods III, and star running back Zander Horvath recovered his own mistake, which came on short yardage and forced one of the field goals. Justin McInnis, Hatcher, and James Butler all had big drops as well, while the protection in front of Rourke was suspect at best. There was also some questionable clock management that nearly took points off the board — more on that in a minute.

Given the positive trendline that the offence had been on, this outing was disheartening. However, it should be noted that trips to BMO Field have rarely been fruitful for the Lions. The long travel and the unique demands of a natural grass field swing the odds in Toronto’s favour, so the fact that B.C. was still the better of the two units despite their myriad mistakes should mean something. Hopefully, they can clean it up next week.

Alive and kicking

With his eight-field-goal performance, veteran kicker Sean Whyte officially set a new franchise record for the most three-point kicks made in a single game. Had the 40-year-old completed the feat a week earlier, he would have tied the CFL record as well, but Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard hit nine through the uprights in their overtime win over Hamilton in Week 17.

Blanchard was 11 years old when Whyte kicked in his first CFL game back in 2009. The fact that the two are peers and etched beside each other in the record books is a testament to the former Surrey Rams’ incredible longevity. Most of his kicks on Saturday were on the shorter end, but he did connect from 48 yards out, and even a single mishit could have had major ramifications. Whyte never wavered.

Evening it up

Argonauts apologists are certain to respond to this article with a number of excuses regarding the result, highlighting the fact that franchise quarterback Chad Kelly wasn’t in the lineup for Toronto.

All week, the narrative out of the Double Blue camp was that the former CFL M.O.P. was going to play despite an injury to his throwing hand, but that changed suddenly when depth charts dropped on Friday. Whether because of a legitimate setback or an act of gamesmanship, Kelly was ruled out and backup Nick Arbuckle was anointed as the starter.

Might Kelly’s presence have changed the outcome of this game? Potentially, though it is also possible that he would have thrown a bevy of interceptions against a defence at the top of its game and the result would have been determined earlier. The reality is that Arbuckle is a legitimate passer who threw for over 4,000 yards last year and played well on Saturday, offering the B.C. defence a different type of challenge. It was his quick rhythm attack that killed them on Toronto’s scoring drives, which is not something Kelly offers to the same extent.

The absence of Kelly no more invalidates this win than the absence of Rourke invalidated the Argos’ victory earlier this season. You win with who you have on the field, and Toronto deserves tremendous credit for the way they’ve turned their team into a serious contender. Their defeats don’t need to be graded on a curve.

Different pages

For as much as the B.C. offence looked out of sorts at times, no two players appeared more disconnected than Rourke and Hatcher. The reigning CFL receiving yardage leader still caught four passes for 69 yards, but had seven other targets fall harmlessly to the turf.

Hatcher’s struggles started on the first series, when he was hit by a snap while motioning across the formation. The resulting fumble was recovered by Toronto, but the turnover was erased by a Jonathan Kongbo offside penalty — the first of many big breaks for B.C.

On at least two occasions, Rourke missed his favourite target by a mile on plays where the route he ran didn’t align with what was expected. Either player could have been at fault on those plays, but there was nobody to blame but Hatcher for a blatant drop at the sticks. On another potential conversion, he slipped while trying to haul in the pass, which prompted him to change cleats at halftime. It didn’t seem to help much, and he saw a deep shot sail just out of reach in the fourth quarter as well.

Hatcher has had a few of these uncharacteristic games this season, but he always bounces back. There may be no better opponent to do that against than Ottawa next week.

Drop your draws

The Lions were mere milliseconds away from an egregious unforced error at the end of the first half, which would have changed the complexion of the game.

After Toronto scored a touchdown to pull ahead with 1:26 remaining in the second quarter, B.C. mounted a nine-play, 65-yard drive in response. The CFL’s most dangerous tempo offence kept a relentless pace as they marched down the field until Jermaine Jackson, who had been hobbling for much of the series, remained down injured after a 26-yard catch-and-run. That gave Buck Pierce a chance to mull over his next decision, with eight seconds remaining and the ball at the Toronto 11-yard line.

Rather than take a quick shot at the end zone and preserve the clock, the Lions appeared to dial up a quarterback draw. It is possible that Rourke called his own number, but there was no attempt to look for a pass. The running lane just wasn’t there, and he had to break three tackles before his seven-yard run was stopped short of the end zone. Making matters worse, B.C. were slow to get the snap off and burned three seconds unnecessarily, which meant that there were zeros on the clock at the end of the play.

It initially seemed as though that mistake would cost the Lions points and the halftime lead. However, after review, officials determined that Rourke was down before the final second had fully expired. Sean Whyte was able to kick a chip-shot field goal to put the team up 12-10, but that does not excuse all that came before it. QB draws can be lethal when used correctly, but this was not the moment to think outside the box, nor was the gamble well executed. B.C. got incredibly lucky.

Seamless rotation

Defensive end Levi Bell was forced to miss this game due to a head injury, which is a bigger absence than most fans realize. Though he has just two sacks to his name, Bell has quietly had an excellent season. He entered this week with the second-highest grade among Lions defenders according to ProFootballFocus, trailing only Mathieu Betts. He has generated 36 pressures on 284 pass-rush snaps and produced a pass-rush win rate of 15.1 percent, good for 11th in the CFL.

Compare those numbers to Toronto’s Shawn Lemon, who everyone has gone gaga over because he has produced nine sacks — including one against B.C. — since joining the Boatmen midseason. On 285 pass-rush snaps prior to this game, the veteran had generated 28 pressures and a win rate of 12.6 percent. Those are strong numbers, but Bell has been far more effective despite comparable usage.

It was 34-year-old Lorenzo Mauldin IV who got the nod in Bell’s place, and there did not appear to be a significant drop-off. Admittedly, pass protection has been a sore point for Toronto all season, but the former Most Outstanding Defensive Player got in Arbuckle’s face in a number of key moments. He was credited with one batted pass, but his impact was much larger. I’ll be the first to admit that I thought Mauldin was toast before he retired this offseason, but he has really turned into a wonderful reclamation project.

Defensive tackle Jonah Tavai also had one of his strongest games amidst a quiet season. The big gap-plugger notched a sack and was pivotal on the goal-line stand, firing in low to stop the offensive line’s leg drive.

Tripped on a blade of grass

Deontai Williams has made some huge defensive plays this season, but his interception early in the third quarter will go down as the best. He had already recorded one sack coming through as a blitzer and was applying pressure again when Arbuckle got the pass off. Using his outstretched arms, he was able to tip the ball in the air, then tracked it on the deflection and made the catch despite the Toronto QB’s late attempt to bat it away.

Williams was able to stay on his feet because Mauldin, who was also closing in on a sack, landed underneath him. The hard-hitting DB realized this and recovered to break upfield, but tripped over his own feet during what looked like a clear run to the end zone. It was still a remarkable play, and should be remembered when all-star ballots are cast in the coming weeks.

Cruel and unusual

I understand that CFL officials have been instructed to let certain situations play out in order to be corrected upon automatic review, but what they did to Ralph Holley late in the first quarter was just plain cruel.

Toronto’s 285-pound defensive tackle had stars in his eyes when he scooped up a loose ball deep in his own end and raced over 90 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, everyone watching knew that score was going to be erased before the training staff had even broken out the oxygen tank, as Zander Horvath had clearly dropped a rushed checkdown from Nathan Rourke prior to the “recovery.” It could not have been more obvious that a fumble had not taken place, even if the home crowd booed as if a close call had gone against them.

If a big man touchdown is the best play in football — and I believe it is — then creating false hope of one is a mortal sin. There is also a player safety element here, as making linemen run a full-field gasser for no reason and then line up for another play invites certain risks. Anecdotally, it seems like there have been more of these obvious phantom majors this year, and it needs to be a point of emphasis for officials to clean up.

Admiral Ackbar’s warning

With Saskatchewan’s loss on Friday night, the Lions have to be feeling pretty good about their chances of a home playoff game right now. They own second in the West Division, and it could be there for the clinching in the near future, so long as they hold up their end of the bargain.

The challenge next week will be maintaining focus against the winless Redblacks. When these two teams met in Ottawa, B.C. slumbered early before pouring on the points late. Their mistakes in this game should be an appropriate wake-up call, but it is so easy to look past the Redblacks that they might as well be transparent. Falling into that trap has to be avoided at all costs, especially given the likelihood of facing a rookie quarterback with no prior CFL film.

The only thing more embarrassing than becoming Ottawa’s first notch in the win column would be losing out on a home playoff date because of it. Nothing can be taken for granted.

Kickoff at BC Place is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 9.