TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts put on a show in front of the faithful at BMO Field on Saturday night, emerging with a 31-17 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch of the 111th Grey Cup.
The win was a much-needed course correction for the defending champs, who moved to 2-5 and shook off the sting from their dramatic Week 7 loss.
While the now .500 Bombers get another shot at the Argos in Week 9, they will have to do so on a short week – and with major questions looming, including the health of Zach Collaros, who left in the second quarter for a second straight game.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Toronto Argonauts’ win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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0 – NICK ARBUCKLE INTERCEPTIONS
The reigning Grey Cup MVP has shouldered a heavy workload through eight weeks as the Argos await the return of Chad Kelly. Nick Arbuckle leads the CFL with 150 completions and has attempted at least 25 passes in every outing. That burden only grew Saturday when running back Deonta McMahon was shaken up early, but Arbuckle delivered his first interception-free performance of the season. After two late turnovers cost Toronto a win in Week 7, the veteran pivot made sure to avoid any mistakes.
The clean sheet was all the more impressive given the conditions – a rainy night at BMO Field that featured four fumbles and several drops. While Winnipeg’s defence doesn’t thrive on takeaways, Arbuckle’s steady hand kept drives alive and ensured the Argos came away with points when it mattered.
3 – ARGONAUTS FIRST HALF TAKEAWAYS
Where Arbuckle was clean, Collaros faltered. Though he only played the first half, Collaros threw two picks to make it three straight multi-interception games.
Toronto’s defence got rolling in the first quarter when Brandon Calver flipped the field by recovering a Trey Vaval fumble on a punt return. Cameron Judge struck next, reading Collaros perfectly for an interception that set the Argos up in immediate scoring position. On Winnipeg’s following drive, Benjie Franklin came up with a heads-up grab after a Wynton McManis deflection bounced off his helmet in the red zone. Though none of the takeaways resulted in touchdowns, the Argos cashed in field goals off all three and held the Bombers to just one scoring drive – a field goal – in the half.
Turnovers continue to plague Mike O’Shea’s group, which has now given the ball away 17 times over its last three games.
6 – LIRIM HAJRULLAHU FIELD GOALS
Toronto came into Week 8 allowing the second-most points per game in the CFL and knew every score would matter against a Bombers offence capable of piling them up. So when Lirim Hajrullahu missed the extra point on the Argos’ opening drive, it didn’t inspire confidence.
But the 2024 East Division All-CFLer rebounded in a big way, going 6-for-6 on field goal attempts. Despite entering the game with a 73 per cent red-zone touchdown rate, the Argos stalled out three times inside the 20, and Hajrullahu delivered each time. His six makes were a season high and his most in a game since Week 17 of 2024.