The Toronto Argonauts (4-3) hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-6) on Saturday night from BMO Field in their first meeting of the season. Both teams were coming off losses last week. This game had the potential to be an entertaining game. The fans at BMO Field witnessed a good defensive battle keeping this a low-scoring game that ended in overtime.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, both offenses struggled. On Winnipeg’s first series of the game, running back Brady Oliveira lost the ball after Fraser Sopik stripped the ball from his arm and it was recovered by Royce Metchie on their 34-yard line. Toronto could not take advantage of the turnover and punted the ball back to Winnipeg with 9:36 left of the first quarter.
Winnipeg linebacker Redha Kramdi had a good first quarter sacking Cameron Dukes twice. Winnipeg’s offense went on a seven-play drive for 62 yards resulting in kicker Sergio Castillo making a 15-yard field goal putting the Blue Bombers up 3-0 with 5:03 left of the first quarter.
On Toronto’s third series of the game, Cameron Dukes threw two passes for 37 yards before the offense went backward before settling for a Lirim Hajrullahu 48-yard field goal, and the game was tied 3-3 with 2:19 left of the first quarter.
Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball for the final 2:14 of the first quarter. They reached the Argo’s 50-yard line before punter Jamieson Sheahan punted the ball 52 yards as the ball rolled out of bounds on the Argo’s four-yard line to end the first quarter tied 3-3.
Winnipeg had 118 yards on offense (82 yards passing, 36 yards rushing). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 8 of 10 passes for 82 yards. Toronto had 28 yards on offense (37 yards passing, 4 yards rushing, 13 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 3 of 4 passes for 37 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Nick Arbuckle was the new quarterback for Toronto. The Argo’s offense did not go anywhere and punted the ball back to Winnipeg. On the fifth play for Winnipeg, quarterback Zach Collaros completed a pass to Drew Wolitarsky but Robert Priester hit him hard forcing the fumble and DaShaun Amos recovered it for a 14-yard return to their 37-yard line.
Wolitarsky was injured in the play and had to be helped off the field. He did not return for the rest of the game. Winnipeg suffered another scare on their next drive when Derek Parish hit Zach Collaros and Collaros was forced to leave the game. Chris Streveler filled in for one play. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 40-yard field goal putting the Blue Bombers up 6-3 with 6:54 left of the second quarter. The drive went for five plays for 43 yards.
On Toronto’s third series of the second quarter, quarterback Nick Arbuckle and Daniel Adeboboye led them to a seven-play drive for 40 yards before kicker Lirim Hajrullaha made a 37-yard field goal tying the game 6-6 with 2:46 left of the second quarter.
Toronto’s defense was pressuring the Blue Bombers’ offense in the second quarter. Kicker Sergio Castillo had a chance to put Winnipeg ahead but he missed a 43-yard field goal wide left and Janarion Grant returned it for 31 yards. The game was tied 6-6 at the end of the second quarter.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 218 yards on offense (169 yards passing, 60 yards rushing, 11 yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 169 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had six carries for 44 yards and two catches for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made five catches for 62 yards, while Kevens Clercius made two catches for 36 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made two sacks and two tackles for loss. However, Winnipeg’s offense turned the ball over two times.
Toronto had 69 yards on offense (53 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 3 of 5 passes (60%) for 16 yards. Running back Daniel Adeboboye had five carries for 22 yards, while Ka’Deem Carey had three carries for 9 yards and one catch for no yards.
Wide receiver Makai Polk made one catch for 22 yards, and DaVaris Daniels made one catch for 15 yards. Toronto’s defense made two sacks and one tackle for loss. Neither team was penalized in the first half.
Third Quarter:
Toronto’s defense was the highlight of the third quarter. They sacked Zach Collaros three times, two of them by Jake Ceresna. There were a lot of two-and-out plays and neither offense got close to the red zone. Toronto’s offense was the better of the two with 48 yards while Winnipeg’s offense had 23 yards. The game remained tied 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros attempted to complete a pass to Nic Demski but DaShaun Amos deflected it and it was intercepted by Tarvarus McFadden for a pick-six 41-yard touchdown. Winnipeg challenged the play for defensive pass interference and lost. The Argonauts led the Blue Bombers 13-6 with 12:27 left.
When Winnipeg’s offense went back out, quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 30-yard pass to Nic Demski but Royce Metchie hit the ball out of his arm and it was recovered by DaShaun Amos on their 34-yard line with 9:39 left in the game. Toronto’s offense could not move the ball and punted it back to Winnipeg.
On the third Winnipeg drive, quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Ontaria Wilson, who beat Benjie Franklin to make the touchdown catch. The game was tied 13-13 with 3:39 left in the game.
With under a minute left, Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball to the Argo’s 22-yard line. Instead of going for the field goal, Winnipeg went for it on third down and did not get it. Toronto’s offense had a chance to get into field goal range but they only made it to their 45-yard line and punted the ball back to Winnipeg. The game went to overtime tied 13-13.
Overtime:
In overtime, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo missed a 41-yard field goal but did get a single point. Winnipeg took a 14-13 lead. Toronto running back Ka’Deem Carey ran the ball for seven yards on second down to the Blue Bombers’ 28-yard line. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked the game-winning 34-yard field goal and the Argonauts defeated the Blue Bombers 16-14.
Final Stats:
Toronto had 205 yards on offense (124 yards passing, 96 yards rushing, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 12 of 22 passes (55%) for 87 yards, and one carry for five yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 10 carries for 62 yards, and six catches for 35 yards, while Daniel Adeboboye had six carries for 24 yards.
Wide receiver Makai Polk made three catches for 49 yards, and DaVaris Daniels made one catch for 15 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made three field goals with a long of 48 yards. Toronto’s defense made 45 tackles, five sacks (2 by Jake Ceresna), one tackle for loss, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, one interception, one touchdown, and 11 tackles on special teams.
Winnipeg had 400 yards on offense (317 yards passing, 115 yards rushing, 32 yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 25 of 32 passes (78%) for 317 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira had 13 carries for 96 yards and six catches for 51 yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made 7 catches for 129 yards, and one touchdown, while Nic Demski made two catches for 49 yards. Kicker Sergio Castillo made 2 of 4 field goals with a long of 40 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 38 tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and five tackles on special teams.
Final Thoughts:
This was a sloppy and ugly performance for both offenses. The offensive lines struggled to protect their quarterbacks and the offenses could not get to the red zone for three quarters. Winnipeg’s offense was the only one to score a touchdown.
Toronto’s defense had a good night putting pressure on Zach Collaros forcing him to make bad throws. The secondary did a great job forcing turnovers. You could say had Toronto’s offense been sharp, they could’ve blown out the Blue Bombers.
Nick Arbuckle was not bad after taking over for Cameron Dukes. I still believe that putting Bryan Scott in at quarterback will change the way the offense runs until Chad Kelly returns. If Arbuckle is going to continue to be the starting quarterback, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie needs to change up the playbook that will benefit Arbuckle.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros did not look right after being forced out of the game for several plays because of a hit by Derek Parish. He is taking way too many hits and it’s only a matter of time before he is out of action unless he gets better protection from his offensive line. Winnipeg needs to commit to the running game so Collaros does not get hit as much.
Next Thursday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the B.C. Lions at 8:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Toronto Argonauts visit the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
