OTTAWA — The Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa REDBLACKS will hit the reset button Saturday as the pair of East Division rivals get set for their second consecutive contest from the nation’s capital.
Both Ottawa and Toronto had a bye in Week 15 and last saw action when they squared off at TD Place in a matchup that saw the Boatmen earn a 24-19 win in Week 14.
As the playoff push starts to narrow in the East, the Argos have an opportunity to tighten their grip on the division lead. Toronto stands atop the division and hold a four point advantage over the second place Montreal Alouettes.
The Argonauts have an opportunity to earn a playoff berth this weekend, but according to the latest edition of the CFL.ca Playoff Scenarios it will be dependent on multiple factors.
Toronto’s offence has been led primarily by their ability to efficiently move the football through the air. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is second in the league with 3,427 passing yards in 12 games. He sits just 151 yards behind the top ranked Zach Collaros, but has played two fewer games.
In the previous meeting with Ottawa, Bethel-Thompson completed nearly 70 per cent of his passing attempts and threw for 365 yards and a touchdown in the win.
No Argonaut receivers rank in the top 10 statistically, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been productive. Perhaps no Argos wideout has been more productive than Kurleigh Gittens Jr. this season. The third year receiver leads the team with 759 yards, and has a seen a team high 80-targets through the first 15 weeks of the season.
In Week 14 Gittens caught eight of his 12 targets for a career-high 161 receiving yards, adding a touchdown to cap off the impressive performance. Week 14 also notes the second time this season that the Canadian pass-catcher has recorded at least 150 receiving yards in a single game.
Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette continues to establish himself as a multi-factor weapon in the Toronto offence. He caught four passes for 26 yards, adding another 29 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Ottawa.
Ouellette’s role continues to evolve within the Boatmen offence and the running back continues to see an upward trend in target share. Over his last two games, Ouellette has averaged 11 rushing attempts and has seen an average of five targets in the receiving game.
No defensive player in the league has more interceptions than Toronto’s Jamal Peters who boasts six. However, Peters is just one of the playmakers on the Argo defence that REDBLACKS quarterback Nick Arbuckle will need to be aware of. Defensive back Maurice Carnell had an interception the last time the two teams took the field, and has two on the year.
Peters admitted that he feels like his confidence is high, but acknowledged that he knows there is still work to be done in the regular season.
“I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and stay consistent,” Peters told Argonauts.com. “There’s more work to be done. We have games left and we can still get better. My confidence is real high, the game has slowed down for me a lot. After the two big games I had, I’m in the zone. Once I’m in the zone I feel like there’s nothing you can do.”
As a unit, the Argos defence have forced 30 turnovers, the fourth most this season. Defensive lineman Shawn Ray leads the Argos with two forced fumbles, while linebacker Wynton McManis has a team leading 80 defensive tackles. McManis is also one of five Argos defenders to score a touchdown this season.
Ja’Gared Davis rejoins the Argonauts defensive line after an injury that has kept him sidelined since Week 11. Davis has 19 defensive tackles and two sacks on the season.
Arbuckle has experienced an offensive resurgence since joining the REDBLACKS earlier this season. In six games he’s completed 92 passes for 1,140 yards and a touchdown. He’s also thrown just three interceptions during his time in the nation’s capital.
The Ottawa quarterback will carry some familiarity into Saturday’s contest, having thrown for 290 yards back in Week 14 against the Argos. His top three receivers, Jaelon Acklin, Nate Behar and Darvin Adams all recorded at least 60 yards in the loss.
With a 62 yard performance in Week 14 Acklin became the first receiver to break the 1,000 yard mark this season. Through 12 games the Ottawa receiver has caught 61 one of his 95 targets for a league leading 1,025 yards.
Acklin told team media that he is happy to have achieved the milestone, but values wins more than individual achievements.
“It feels good, but I would like to have a lot more wins,” Acklin told OttawaREDBLACKS.com. “It’s something that you put on your checklist before the game, so it’s nice to do that, but as long as I’m helping the team win and doing my part, I feel okay about it. I’d rather have more wins, though. I just have to control what I can control.”
Ahead of Saturday’s contest the REDBLACKS will be reliant on their defensive unit to stifle a Toronto offence that averages the second most passing attempts per game.
Ottawa’s front seven, headlined by Lorenzo Mauldin will be asked to create disruption and limit timing in the pocket for Bethel-Thompson. Mauldin’s 12 sacks lead the league, and he brought down the Toronto pivot twice in Week 14.
The division leading Argos are looking to improve to 8-5 on the season, while the REDBLACKS need a win to keep up with Hamilton and Montreal in the playoff race.
