Toronto Argonauts play it safe, get tricked into defeat in East Semi-Final (& seven other thoughts)

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

The Toronto Argonauts took on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East Semi-Final on Saturday but lost 25-22 in front of 21,786 fans at BMO Field.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Million-dollar man injured

Coming off his new five-year contract extension with the Argonauts, all eyes were on the CFL’s new million-dollar man to see how he would perform in the playoffs.

Chad Kelly came out firing, completing his first seven passes, including a 20-yard touchdown strike to Tyler Kahmann, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie. He finished the first half 12-of-19 for 127 yards and surpassed 1,000 career postseason passing yards in the process.

Kelly ultimately left the game after suffering a shoulder injury in the third quarter on a play during which he was stripped of the ball by Michael Fletcher. Although the full extent of the injury was not disclosed, it was confirmed to be a shoulder injury.

The veteran passer tested his arm out on the sidelines, but he was ultimately unable to return, bringing both his game and season to an end.

Kelly finished the game completing 18-of-30 passes for 193 yards, with his lone touchdown pass going to Kahmann. Had Kelly been able to remain in the game, perhaps the outcome could have been different. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

Arbuckle-d in relief 

Nick Arbuckle was forced to come in as a relief quarterback, and the Arbuckle we saw under head coach Mike Miller was vastly different from the one we saw under Ryan Dinwiddie.

Arbuckle completed just two-of-five pass attempts for a lacklustre 25 yards, struggling to make much of an impact in a game where the Argonauts desperately needed someone to step up. However, given the way the Argonauts’ offence struggled after Kahmann’s touchdown, it’s fair to question whether Arbuckle could have made much of a difference regardless of the circumstances.

Arbuckle has experienced the highest of highs and some difficult lows during his long career, and this was certainly a frustrating chapter. His performance didn’t resemble that of a former Grey Cup MVP. Instead, it looked more like a backup quarterback trying to do just enough to give his team a chance to win.

While it’d be unfair to put Toronto’s entire offensive collapse on his shoulders, he didn’t provide the spark his team needed, and it played a role in the loss.

Wrong time to be conservative

Mike Miller has played it safe in certain situations throughout the season, but on Saturday, he picked the absolute worst time to avoid taking a risk.

With a five-point lead and less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Miller opted to punt the ball away on third-and-one rather than take a chance near midfield. Now, instead of preparing for a chance to go to the Grey Cup, they’ll be spending November on the couch, watching another team compete for the championship.

Postgame, Miller indicated that he didn’t regret the decision.

“We were going to go for it, then (the officials) moved (the spot) back,” he said. “That was almost a full yard-and-a-half, two yards, so at that point, no, we were not going to do that.”

Defensive performance wasted

Toronto’s defence gave up an early touchdown on a 32-yard strike to Ontaria Wilson. After that, the unit locked in and prevented the Blue Bombers from moving the ball for most of the afternoon.

It helped that Dru Brown missed a couple of deep passes to his receivers, and threw interceptions to DaShaun Amos and Dathan Hickey. The big spark came from Soane Toia’s strip sack, which was recovered by the ageless wonder, Shawn Lemon. Lemon later recovered another fumble, but it ultimately went for nothing.

The defensive performance was wasted in defeat, and the unit’s lasting moment will be allowing Nic Demski’s 23-yard touchdown catch with 44 seconds remaining. The score gave the Blue Bombers the lead and ultimately the win.

Too many field goals

Lirim Hajrullahu’s leg was busy after Kahmann’s early touchdown, as he accounted for Toronto’s final 15 points of the day with five field goals.

While Hajrullahu’s performance was impressive, the lack of production from the rest of the team in a playoff game was massively disappointing. It gave the Winnipeg Blue Bombers an opportunity to fight their way back into the contest and ultimately steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

This loss serves as a painful reminder that the Argonauts need to finish their drives and capitalize on the opportunities in front of them. Converting just nine-of-22 second-down attempts wasn’t good enough, while scoring only nine points off four total turnovers will sting for a while.

Those missed opportunities proved costly, and the offensive unit, in particular, will have plenty to reflect on as the Argonauts come to terms with their season coming to an end.

No runs

One of the biggest storylines I’ve continued to harp on throughout the season has been the Argonauts’ inability to establish a consistent running game.

While Toronto opened the game with a rushing attempt, the offence reached halftime with Kevin Mital leading the team in rushing with a total of six yards. Yes, you read that correctly: a receiver was the Argonauts’ leading rusher at the end of the first half.

That statistic alone speaks volumes about just how ineffective Toronto’s ground game was over the opening 30 minutes.

Things appeared to change to start the second half, as Cam Porter ripped off three consecutive carries for 28 yards, giving the Argonauts’ offence some much-needed momentum.

However, just as Toronto was threatening to find the end zone, the team moved away from the running game once again. Porter finished the contest with 34 rushing yards on nine attempts, while Smith managed a paltry seven yards on just four carries, averaging fewer than two yards per attempt.

So, why did the Argonauts abandon the run when they appeared to be building some momentum on the ground? After the game, Miller was asked about that very decision and provided the following explanation.

“There were some things that we felt, game plan-wise, we wanted to take advantage of, and possibly I haven’t had a chance to digest it,” he said. “Retrospect, maybe I’ve utilized them a little more there.”

Tricked into the season ending

As this game was played on Halloween, the Argonauts were hoping to find some treats in the form of a playoff victory, and avoid the ultimate trick of having their season come to an abrupt end.

Unfortunately, it was the tricks of a lacklustre offence that ultimately brought their campaign to a close. While the season was filled with hurdles and adversity that teams don’t typically encounter over the course of a CFL season, I believe that, when the Argonauts look back on this year, there will be a sense of pride in what they accomplished under the circumstances.

With that said, that pride will undoubtedly be accompanied by the disappointment of failing to find playoff success when it mattered most.

Now, to speak a little about myself, I want to thank everyone who continues to read my game recaps, interact with me on social media, and follow along throughout the season. Writing these recaps has been a ton of fun, and I genuinely appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my thoughts and share in the highs and lows of another Argonauts season.

The first two seasons of writing these recaps have both ended without any playoff success for the Boatmen. Hopefully, with eight playoff teams next season, the third time will be the charm, and we’ll have a happier ending to celebrate in 2027.

Thank you all for following along this season. Enjoy the offseason, and I’ll see you all in 2027.