Toronto Argonauts: Dominated at Home By the Calgary Stampeders

The Toronto Argonauts could not weather the storm against the CFL’s best team as their playoff chances start to diminish.

The Calgary Stampeders showed why they are the best team in the CFL against the Toronto Argonauts. The Argos struggled out of the gate and by the time things started to turn around the lead was too large to overcome.

The Stampeders struck early on the first drive and did not look back going up 19-0 in the first quarter. The Stampeders would come away with the 48-20 victory giving them their 12th straight victory. The Argos have now lost four straight games and only have three games left on their schedule including two on the road.

They have not been officially eliminated from the playoffs, but they will need a lot to go their way if they want any chance of making it.

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This was arguably the worst performance at home this season for the Argos before a crowd of 14,225. Quarterback Drew Willy was sacked six times and the team collected 10 penalties for 95 yards.

“There’s only one way to approach these things [which is to] go back to work and try to improve,” said Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich. “I think we all felt like we had a good plan coming in. We didn’t execute it in all three phases and we got out-coached and that’s why you see the score that you see”.

Late in the second quarter a brawl ensued when defensive back Devin Smith and Calgary receiver Kamar Jorden got into a scrap. Teammate Josh Mitchell came to Smith’s aid before Marquay McDaniel started to kick Mitchell in the back. Smith and McDaniel were both ejected from the game while Mitchell said that he suffered a concussion on the play.

The Argos did not record a first down until the second quarter and did not take advantage of a fumble by Messam, which could have kept the score close instead the Argos had to settle for a field goal. The Argos would not score a touchdown until the third quarter when Kenny Shaw and Willy connected for a TD after a blocked punt by Justin Hickman. The Argos had no answer for rushing leader Jerome Messam, who had 17 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Willy finished 26 for 31 for 215 yards and two touchdowns and led the team in rushing with 19 yards on three carries. Shaw led the team with six receptions for 70 yards while rookies Brian Jones (five receptions, 39 yards) and Llevi Noel (one reception for no yards) were quiet in their debuts.

The tough loss did not go unnoticed by former Argos receiver Kevin Elliott who tweeted a couple of times during the game including this one.

Next: Toronto Argonauts Shakeup Roster With Cuts

After a week which was dominated by the Argos releasing four players on offence, the Argos will need to put it all behind them. They host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday before going on the road to play Calgary and Edmonton to close out the season. They will need some help from other teams if they want any chance of making the playoffs, which is not a situation the Argos wants to be in, but find themselves in.