Toronto Argonauts provide salvation to the winless in loss to Ottawa (& seven other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca

The Toronto Argonauts returned to the nation’s capital on Friday night, but bad defence and worse clock management cost them dearly in a 40–39 loss to the previously winless Ottawa Redblacks at TD Place.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Costly clock management

The Argonauts had the ball at the Ottawa four-yard line with 33 seconds left, needing only to let the clock run down and kick a chip-shot field goal to send the Redblacks to 0–17. Instead, Isaiah Smith scored a touchdown and defensive lineman Jalen Bell added a successful two-point conversion to take a six-point lead.

However, that did give Ottawa enough time to respond down 39-33, and Bryson Barnes became the hero the nation’s capital had been begging for. Now, the Argonauts will go down as the team the Redblacks and Ryan Dinwiddie snapped their losing streaks against.

If I were Mike Miller, I would have let the clock run down, regardless of how confident I felt that a touchdown was guaranteed. Not doing so has the CFL community burying Miller’s decision and questioning his decision-making, but Toronto’s head coach did not regret his choice.

“No, we’re playing hard,” Miller said post-game. “I liked where we were at, and no, I don’t regret that. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work out for us.”

Pig farmer slaughters the defence

The Redblacks finally turned to Bryson Barnes, and in his first CFL start, the Utah and Utah State product shredded the Argonauts’ defence, completing 27-of-37 passes for 339 yards while adding 62 rushing yards on seven attempts.

That included the game-winning drive, which was helped by a roughing-the-passer penalty and a 21-yard scramble from Barnes. It perfectly set up Ayden Eberhardt’s game-winning touchdown catch with six seconds left, giving Ottawa its first win of the year, and their first victory since last September.

While Barnes had an incredible CFL debut that left Redblacks fans feeling a sense of joy and relief, his performance should have Argonauts fans concerned with the playoffs now just two weeks away. Barnes exposed the flaws in the secondary that plagued the Argonauts earlier in the season — flaws that have resurfaced at the worst possible time. If any quarterback can replicate Barnes’ debut performance, it will be “Cancun on three” for the Argonauts.

The hand is healed, but the leg is hurt now

Returning from a hand injury that sidelined him against B.C., Chad Kelly was back under centre after the bye week, but his night ended quickly. After being sacked by Aaron Casey on the first drive and tracked down by Luiji Vilain on the second, Kelly came up favouring his right leg, took off his helmet, and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

I know that the Argonauts have second place in the East locked up and could have sat Kelly, but this injury is just the unfortunate nature of the sport. It might have been equally dangerous to Toronto’s playoff chances to have their quarterback sit idle for over a month.

With no clear context provided by Miller post-game, it remains unknown whether Kelly would have fought through the injury if this were a playoff game. With only one week left in the regular season, it’s probably safe to assume that Kelly will miss next week’s game to ensure he’s 100 percent — or as close as possible — for the East Semi-Final in two weeks.

Arbuckle thrust into action again

After Kelly’s injury, this was the second straight game where Nick Arbuckle was under centre for the majority of the Argonauts’ snaps.

Arbuckle had a solid game overall, throwing for 315 yards while completing 27-of-35 passes, with two touchdowns. He had some good moments and some bad ones, including one fumble in the third quarter and a borderline inexcusable interception with 2:43 left.

“I did not see the corner come off of the comeback and try to fold over top and kind of play over top of Kevin (Mital). Just didn’t have good vision for that and missed,” Arbuckle admitted. “He kind of saw it as the ball was coming out, and as soon as it came out, I was like, damn, probably should have gone out to the comeback.”

Wham, bam, thank you, Cam

The Argonauts’ ongoing struggles to establish a consistent running game got a new face, as Cam Porter found himself with an opportunity to enter the running back rotation with Sam Hicks out of the lineup.

Porter put together a solid performance for Toronto, carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards and a touchdown while adding a 15-yard reception. Although those numbers may not jump off the page, his ability to make an impact in a limited role was an encouraging sign for an offence that hasn’t committed on the ground all year.

Looking ahead to next week’s regular-season finale, the Argonauts will likely want to prioritize keeping their key players healthy, particularly with little left to gain from taking unnecessary risks. That could create another opportunity for Porter to see an increased workload. If he can build on this performance, he may have a chance to make an even stronger case for a larger role heading into the offseason.

Mital closing in on 1,000 yards 

The Argonauts’ receiving corps has been remarkable in 2026, with Damonte Coxie, Dave Ungerer III, and Tyler Kahmann each already surpassing 1,000 yards. Entering Friday night’s game, Kevin Mital had 871 receiving yards, but had not recorded a 100-yard performance since Week 3, when he also did so against Ottawa.

Against the Redblacks, Mital delivered his third 100-yard game of the year and his second in the nation’s capital, finishing with six receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. His performance underscored both his importance to Toronto’s offence and the depth of the Argonauts’ receiving group. With Mital now at 981 yards, he needs just 19 more to become the fourth Argonaut receiver to join the 1,000-yard receiving club for the 2026 season.

If Mital hits 1,000 receiving yards, the Argonauts would be the first team with four 1,000-yard receivers since 2016, when the Ottawa Redblacks did the same.

Hot diggity dog

After the Argonauts handed the Redblacks their first win of the season, they now head into their regular-season finale with nothing left to play for. Second place in the East Division is locked up, and they’ll host the East Semi-Final on October 31 against the West crossover team.

As for next Friday’s regular-season finale, the Argonauts welcome what will likely be a resting Alouettes squad to BMO Field at 7:00 p.m. EDT. If you need a reason to attend a game where there’s nothing to play for, here it is: it’s Dollar Hot Dog Night. Yes, on a Friday night at BMO Field, you can watch CFL football, embrace your inner Joey Chestnut, and send off the final regular-season game of 110-yard football in style.