VANCOUVER — All season long, the Toronto Argonauts preached the importance of playing complementary football and capitalizing on game-changing moments.
That mindset was put to the test by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, allowing them to secure an unlikely 41-24 victory in the 111th Grey Cup at BC Place.
It was considered an unlikely victory not just because Toronto was facing a Winnipeg team playing in its fifth straight Grey Cup but because of who was starting at quarterback.
Losing quarterback Chad Kelly in the East final meant the Argonauts had to turn to Nick Arbuckle. A situation no one would have predicted months ago.
Arbuckle’s career was on life support after being left unsigned in free agency, but he got a chance to join Toronto in training camp when Kelly was suspended. He was then back holding a clipboard on the sideline when Kelly returned.
Now he was back under centre again, this time with the stakes at an all-time high.
The 31-year-old delivered when it counted, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, earning him the game’s Most Valuable Player award.
No one could have predicted that he would lead the Argos’ offence in the Grey Cup, but at the end of the game, he was up on stage, being named the outstanding player in his first-ever championship start in the CFL.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey, who played with Arbuckle in Calgary, was one of the many teammates thrilled to see him recognized, given everything he’s been through.
“He worked so hard for this. We all worked hard for this,” Carey said. “The adversity he had to deal with just to be on that stage, just to make it to this game. We talked the whole season about when he was a backup and put in the work together to make sure he was comfortable at this moment.”
Even though he threw two interceptions in the game, there was never a concern about it coming back to bite the Argos. Arbuckle was never worried about those mistakes because he knew his teammates would step up.
“We won games this season with defensive touchdowns when our offence couldn’t move the ball very well. We won one with eight field goals and a walk-off rouge. We’ve shown it all season long,” Arbuckle said after the game. “We talked about that going into this game. We knew that there was nothing we were going to see today that we hadn’t seen, and we just had to believe in each other, and we were going to find a game to win.”
While Arbuckle’s performance was important for the Argos to beat the Blue Bombers, it wasn’t the crucial element in their victory.
Once again, the Argonauts showed why focusing on winning the game in all three phases is crucial to success in the CFL. It was a similar formula that helped them win against Winnipeg in 2022, but unlike that title, this game didn’t require last-minute dramatics.
Their special teams forced a fumble, which led to their first touchdown and provided them with their first lead of the night.
It was one of five takeaways the Argonauts forced from the Blue Bombers, which was something that we’ve come to expect from this team, especially in the playoffs.
“Turnovers change games against momentum, and it all came through at the right time,” defensive co-ordinator Kevin Eiben said.
Going up against Zach Collaros, a future hall-of-fame quarterback, the Argonauts’ defence forced four interceptions. However, it is one thing to force turnovers, it is another to capitalize on them.
With every mistake Winnipeg made, Toronto found a way to make it costly. Of the 41 points the Argonauts scored in this game, 27 came off turnovers.
It was a tough season for the defence, especially early on. Eiben and Will Fields were named co-defensive co-ordinators after Corey Mace left to become the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Then, they had to deal with injuries and turnover from key core players who left in free agency.
There was a lot of faith in the team being able to pull through because of the culture that was established by the leaders who were still there.
“We lost around seven starters at the beginning of the year, so we had to rebuild, and it took time to develop,” Eiben explained. “We got some guys that believe and loved each other. The culture was there and that starts with Ryan (Dinwiddie).”
Benjie Franklin was one of those players who had to step up for his team, and it took some time for him to get there. Once the playoffs rolled around, Franklin took his game to another level with a pair of pick-sixes heading into the Grey Cup.
That continued with an acrobatic interception in the second quarter.
As good as the defence was in this game, the offence needed to find ways to produce. It was certainly an offence by committee approach with nine players recording a reception for the Argos.
Dejon Brissett led the way with 45 yards and a touchdown and the performance earned him the game’s Most Outstanding Canadian award.
The Mississauga, Ont. native had a tough season, missing a good chunk of it with a knee injury. There were always high hopes for him after getting drafted second overall in the 2020 CFL Draft.
On the biggest stage, he delivered, and his head coach wasn’t surprised, given what he’d seen from him through their time together.
“I told him in warmups, he was my first draft pick, how proud I am of his growth,” Dinwiddie said. “He proved me right.
“Injuries, unfortunately, he had that early in the year kind of slowed his season, as far as production, down. But he’s great for our locker room. He works hard, takes hard coaching.”
Without those contributions, this would have been a tough victory for Toronto, who needed more to go right than wrong in this game.
Now, for the 19th time in franchise history, they sit atop the CFL as Grey Cup champions.