Toronto Argonauts (2-5) are back in the win column, earning their first home victory of the season with a 31-17 win in a Grey Cup rematch against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-3) on Saturday night at BMO Field.
The Damonte Coxie-Nick Arbuckle connection looked unstoppable — the Toronto quarterback threw for 316 yards, while Coxie racked up a season-high 145 yards receiving on six receptions.
Despite seeing his star wide receiver perform like this week in and week out (second overall in yardage league wide) Arbuckle continues to be in awe of what Coxie does on the field.
“ His balance through contact is out of this world, It’s like he’s like an alien out there,” said Arbuckle. “I’ve seen big guys and strong guys who can’t stay up through contact and he’s able to do it somehow, some way.”
The Argos have had the Blue Bombers’ number over the past two seasons, now winning the last four in a row including three in 2024. This was their first meeting since Toronto’s 41-24 win in the 111th Grey Cup last November in Vancouver.
It hasn’t been the start to the year that the Argos were expecting, to say the least, but head coach Ryan Dinwiddie remains optimistic about the team’s future.
“I think we grew as a club, and in this locker room those losses can go either way,” said Dinwiddie during his post-game presser. “We chose to make it a positive break.
“Everybody thought we were dead to the wolves last week, the way we lost that game. But we found a way to learn from it and build some confidence in it.”
This night couldn’t have gone much worse for the Blue Bombers. The Argos defence held star wide receiver Nic Demski to just one reception and 46 yards — still enough to extend his streak to 77 straight games with a catch.
To make matters worse, quarterback Zach Collaros would leave the game to start the third quarter due to a neck injury sustained in their week seven matchup against the Calgary Stampeders. Chris Streveler would replace him, throwing for 148 yards and a touchdown pass in the second half.
The Argos got off to a quick start in the opening frame. After stopping the Blue Bombers on their first drive, the Boatmen brought out some trickery as Nick Arbuckle tossed it back to wide receiver Janarion Grant, who lobbed it to Damonte Coxie for a gain of 41.
That play led to a 33-yard touchdown for Coxie.
Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu would go on to miss his first convert attempt of the year. He was a perfect 10/10 prior to the miss.
The Kosovo native had an otherwise impressive game, hitting all six of his field goal attempts. Hajrullahu surpassed 1200 career points on the night.
Argos and Blue Bombers went on to fumble at the end of the first quarter, leading to points for both teams. The rainy conditions clearly affected both teams to start the game, but not for Coxie.
“ We just come out there and gotta understand that we can’t control the weather, but we control our effort,” said the star wide receiver.
However, it was all Toronto in the second.
The Blue Bombers were outscored 16-0, following a touchdown from DaVarius Daniels, as well as three field goals from Hajrullahu.
Collaros had two interceptions in the first half, including a wild interception where the ball bobbled off a hand, shoulder, and helmet before ultimately landing in the hands of defensive back Benjie Franklin.
Argos led 25-10 at the half.
Although the Blue Bombers outscored the defending Grey Cup champions in the second half, they couldn’t quite close the gap.
Winnipeg has now lost three games in a row, following back-to-back losses to the Stampeders in weeks five and seven.
Even with the win, Dinwiddie says there’s still a lot the team needs to improve. Despite the Argos breaking out for their longest run of the season – a 30-yard rush up the middle for running back Khalan Laborn – the head coach says that it’s still not where he expects the unit to be.
“The rushing game’s gotta get better,” he said. “I know we had over 100 (yards), but we gotta be more dominant, no question about that.”
Up next: The Argos will look to keep the momentum going in a rematch against the Blue Bombers on Friday, this time at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
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