Hajrullahu’s 34-yard field goal, great defense give Argos 16-14 OT win over Bombers

TORONTO — He gets credit for earning the Toronto Argonauts’ third home win, but Lirim Hajrullahu certainly had a lot of help, too.

Hajrullahu’s 34-yard field goal in overtime gave Toronto a wild 16-14 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday night. But it was the Argos defense that cemented the win, scoring the team’s only touchdown while forcing four turnovers and recording five sacks.

“The defense played great,” Hajrullahu said. “We also had a lot of great plays on special teams, a lot of guys were injured and still fighting injuries.

“That defense, that’s what we needed tonight. That’s what it took.”

Hajrullahu scored his decisive kick after Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo missed the ball from 41 yards out in the first overtime.

Toronto (4-3) earned its second win in five games and just its third in nine against Winnipeg. But the Argos’ offense struggled to find consistency, allowing just 12 first downs and 205 net yards (including 96 yards rushing, 124 yards passing).

Cameron Dukes started at quarterback, but after completing three of four passes for 34 yards, he was replaced in the second quarter by veteran Nick Arbuckle. Arbuckle completed 12 of 22 passes for just 87 yards.

“Terrible,” Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said of his offense’s play. “We keep making the same mistakes on simple things … we’re just not clicking on offense.

“I have to look at what we are doing well, what we are not doing. Maybe it is too much, should I simplify it? That was the worst performance I have seen in attack.”

But Dinwiddie couldn’t say enough about Toronto’s defense.

“The defense, credit to them, saved our offense,” he said. “They made the plays and won the football game.”

Winnipeg (2-6) suffered its second straight loss, falling to 0-4. And the Bombers’ situation isn’t getting any easier as they host the rested BC Lions (5-2) on Thursday night.

After making four straight Grey Cup appearances (and winning twice), Winnipeg finds itself in a very unfamiliar situation.

“It’s up to us to win games and we’re all we need in this room to do that,” veteran linebacker Adam Bighill said. “We’ve had opportunities to do that and we’ve found ways to let them slip away.

“That is unacceptable and clearly not what we are used to doing. That cannot happen, we have to do this the right way.”

Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros found Ontario Wilson on a 55-yard TD strike at 11:02 of the fourth to make it 13-13, after Bighill stopped Dukes on third-and-1 at the Toronto 30-yard line.

But Toronto’s defense forced a crucial turnover. Instead of attempting the go-ahead field goal, Winnipeg went for it on third-and-one, but Chris Streveler was stopped at the Bombers’ 21-yard line with 54 seconds left.

After a scoreless third, Collaros looked for Nic Demski, but Toronto defenseman DaShaun Amos got his hand on the ball, which then bounced off Demski, allowing Tavarus McFadden to catch it. He ran 41 yards for the TD at the 2:26 mark of his ’24 debut to break a 6-6 tie, to the delight of the BMO Field gathering of 14,994.

“(Amos) made a great pass breakup and the ball just bounced off everybody’s hands,” McFadden said with a laugh. “It just fell into mine and I thank God for that.”

The ’24 season has certainly been a rollercoaster for McFadden. The third-year Argo was released by the club during training, starting the season with Ottawa before being released and returning to Toronto.

“I have a saying that I live by and that is it’s God’s time, not yours,” McFadden said. “You can only control what you can control and when your number is called, you just have to be ready at all times.”

Collaros completed 25 of 32 passes for 317 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Hajrullahu had two field goals and a conversion in regulation time for Toronto.

Castillo also scored two field goals and one converted in regulation time for Winnipeg.

Hajrullahu’s 37-yard field goal at 12:14 of the second made it a 6-6 game at halftime. Castillo had a shot to put Winnipeg ahead, but missed from 42 yards with 14 seconds left.

The score went Toronto’s way, as Winnipeg controlled the first half, amassing 218 net offensive yards compared to just 69 for the Argos. Collaros was a solid 15-of-20 passing for 169 yards, but the Bombers’ offense was plagued by two dropped fumbles and Castillo’s miss.

Castillo’s 40-yard boot at 8:06 gave Winnipeg a 6-3 lead. His 15-yard field goal at 9:57 of the first opened the scoring before Hajrullahu scored from 48 yards out at 4:41.

NEXT ONE

Argonauts: Visit the Calgary Stampeders (3-4) on Sunday, August 4.

Blue Bombers: host the BC Lions (5-2) on Thursday evening.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press