It was a game that head coach Ryan Dinwiddie will likely use as a reference for the Argos in the future. Not just because they won when it mattered most, but also how they won.
鈥淚 love throwing the football, but I like running it more, for sure,鈥 Dinwiddie said after his Argonauts beat the visiting B.C. Lions 52-34 Saturday afternoon. “It鈥檚 just that we hadn鈥檛 gotten it going yet.”
They got a little of everything going against the Lions, with 529 yards of net offence, including 113 for a running game that has struggled all season.
The win, the Argos’ first in four games, improved their record to 3-8 heading into the Labour Day weekend and a game with the East-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Passing excellence
Argos quarterback聽Nick Arbuckle continued to shine in the absence of injured top quarterback Chad Kelly. The 31-year-old threw for a career-best 430 yards and has now thrown for 300-plus yards in seven of 11 games.
He joined the Ticats鈥 Bo Levi Mitchell as the only quarterbacks in the CFL this season with more than 3,000 passing yards.
鈥淎n incredible all-around effort by everybody,鈥 Arbuckle said about an offence that thrived despite the absence of top receiver Damonte Coxie.
Arbuckle connected with Jake Herslow five times for 149 yards and Dejon Brissett聽four times for 118 yards, career-high yardage for both receivers.
鈥淚 felt really good. It鈥檚 just rewarding for all the work that we put in to have a night like this,鈥 said Brissett, who has 214 yards receiving in his last two games. 鈥淩ight now we鈥檝e just got to keep climbing. This was a good start to a good run that we鈥檙e hoping to go on.鈥
Turning point
Arbuckle hooked up with Brissett for a 43-yard pass聽early in the second quarter, then completed the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The Argos, who had trailed 14-3, tied the game 14-14 with a two-point convert.聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 played well the whole year,鈥 Dinwiddie said of Brissett, praising his physicality. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been nice to see his growth since we brought him in the building.鈥
Argos defensive back聽Benjie Franklin intercepted a Nathan Rourke pass on the next drive and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown to give 色色啦 its first lead.聽
That brought a season-high crowd of 18,354 to its feet. With the CNE going on, it was the first time this season the Argos had sold tickets in the upper deck.
Gaining on the ground
Running back Deonta McMahon limped off the field in the final minute of the first quarter and, though he had just seven yards on three carries, his exit risked putting a dent in the struggling Argos running game.
Instead,聽Spencer Brown ran for 85 yards on 19 carries and the Argos finished with 113 yards on 26 touches. They had entered the game with a league-worst 48.2 rushing yards per game.
The Lions, by comparison, entered Saturday average 108.4 yards per game on the ground. The ran for 130 yards against the Argos.
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