WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back in the win column after holding off the Toronto Argonauts 40-31 at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night.

The Argos pushed late, but the Bombers — powered by three non-offensive touchdowns in the first half — built enough of a cushion to survive a three-pick performance from Chris Streveler and move to 4-3.

It wasn’t the follow-up Toronto was looking for after a strong Week 8 win over these same Bombers. With the loss, the Argos fall to 2-6 and sit at the bottom of the East Division.

CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ win over the Toronto Argonauts.

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2 – TREY VAVAL RETURN TOUCHDOWNS

When the offence stalls, special teams can provide the spark — and Trey Vaval delivered twice. The dynamic returner took both a punt and a kickoff to the house in the first half, torching an Argos unit that leads the league in return yards allowed. Both scores were timely, with the first coming immediately after Cameron Judge’s pick-six and the second capping a Bombers run of 17 unanswered points in less than two minutes.

With Vaval’s pair of touchdowns, the Bombers were able to mitigate the damage of Streveler’s late interceptions and stay on top as the Argos attempted a daunting rally.

 

4 – WILLIE JEFFERSON PASS KNOCKDOWNS

Simply put, Willie Jefferson was in Nick Arbuckle‘s kitchen all night. The six-time All-CFL defensive lineman notched a career-high four pass deflections and added a strip sack that led to a defensive touchdown. His bulldog mentality at the line of scrimmage had the Argos scratching their heads late, with knockdowns that stalled both of Arbuckle’s potential game-winning drives in the fourth quarter.

8 – TORONTO TOTAL RUSHING YARDS

After finally breaking out for 116 rushing yards in Week 8, the CFL’s bottom-ranked rush attack fell back to earth on Friday. While the Argos never really got a chance to establish the run, it was too early to abandon it completely after just five carries for eight yards. As Toronto quickly turned one-dimensional on offence, the Bombers’ pass rushers had an easier time pinning their ears back and attacking the pocket — a familiar challenge for Arbuckle, who entered Week 9 having been sacked a league-high 21 times.