Toronto Argonauts offence finally finds itself in the fourth quarter

The offence finally found itself in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late for the Toronto Argonauts

The 2019 Toronto Argonauts season went from bad to worse Saturday, as Toronto lost 18-17 to the B.C. Lions.

The game was an emotional roller coaster for fans, who saw the Argos mount an impressive late comeback only to fall apart after a mind-boggling special teams mistake gave the Lions the ball with good field position late.

It was the second straight week the Lions saw a 4thquarter lead evaporate before their eyes, but they were able to get themselves into good field position after Argos kicker Drew Brown kicked the ball out bounds with 40 seconds to go, and the game tied at 17.

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The Lions were able to get into field goal range from there, and although the kick went wide left, the Argos were unable to bring the ball out of the endzone.

Whether you blame Chris Rainey for stepping out of bounds, or Drew Brown for the kickoff, the loss puts the team in a difficult position.

The Argonauts play their next three games on the road, and with two of those games coming against league leaders like Winnipeg and Calgary, it could get a lot worse for the boatmen.

That’s why, for their own sanity, Argonauts fans should look to that fourth quarter for hope, as it showed a very different team than was seen for the rest of the game.

In the final quarter, the Argonauts finally found their mojo on offence, something that has been lacking all season.

James Wilder Jr. finally had the game he was looking for, earning over 100 total yards, mostly through the air.

And Bethel-Thompson finally rounded into shape, hitting four different receivers on that final tying drive, where the Argonauts drove 52 yards in just over a minute to tie the game.

The Argonauts have a talented, respected receiving core, and are at their best when all of that core is being utilized.

That happened on that final drive, and the results showed.

So why can’t the offence play like that for 60 minutes?

It’s a baffling conundrum, one that should make any fan frustrated with this team that is not so far off from a Grey Cup Championship.

It’s a frustration that is shared with Argonauts receiver Derel Walker.

Walker seemed at a loss for words post-game, as yet another game passed without the star-receiver being used correctly.

As Dave Naylor of TSN reported, Walker is widely regarded as one of the best receivers in the game – and yet, he has only been thrown to 13 times all year.

“No one likes losing. But we got a lot of good film to watch. We made strides tonight…we’re still learning,”  said Walker. “We need to continue to work.”

Bethel-Thompson agreed with his receiver and vowed to get Walker more involved going forward.

"“He’s a great receiver, why not give him the ball? I’m the one with the ball in my hand, I’m the one who has to do that.” He conceded after hearing of Walker’s comments.“Anytime you have a player like that, you should get him the ball. Hopefully, we can do that in the next couple weeks.”"

A good goal to have, but with the league’s best team up next, the Argonauts have put themselves in a tough position.

Still, the answer to Toronto’s issues is not overly elusive.

The defence has improved week-to-week, and for their success to continue, the offence needs to keep them off the field as much as they can.

In the third quarter alone, the Argonauts defence played 11:31 of the 15 minutes.

That is too much time for a professional football team to be playing.

“It’s the ultimate team sport,” Bethel-Thompson said.

It is – and despite not being on the field together, both sides are constantly interlinked.

If the offence continues to falter, the defence will be forced to play more than they should.

And the losing will continue.