{"id":603578,"date":"2026-06-21T05:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T05:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/603578\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T05:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T05:24:19","slug":"cause-for-concern-as-ottawa-redblacks-sunk-by-argos-13-other-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/603578\/","title":{"rendered":"Cause for concern as Ottawa Redblacks sunk by Argos (& 13 other thoughts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not just that the Ottawa Redblacks were defeated by the visiting Toronto Argonauts by a score of 44-24 at TD Place on Saturday afternoon, but it\u2019s how this latest loss came to be that\u2019s concerning.<\/p>\n

An offence that should\u2019ve been on track after a poor showing in the rain and a bye week looked stuck in the mud. The defence was opportunistic, but still way too passive. Special teams were a net negative.<\/p>\n

Here are all my thoughts on the game.<\/p>\n

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Mai-j-er pressure<\/p>\n

While Week 1\u2019s underwhelming outing can be overlooked due to the heavy rain, Jake Maier\u2019s second consecutive less-than-stellar performance ramps up the pressure on both himself and his head coach.<\/p>\n

When Ryan Dinwiddie declared Maier as his starting quarterback during the last week of camp, before incumbent starter Dru Brown even took a preseason snap, it opened up the decision to second-guess. Had Maier stormed out of the gate, it would have validated how things played out. But that hasn\u2019t been the case.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Gord Weber\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Maier wasn\u2019t the reason the Redblacks lost to the Argos, but had he completed more than 63 percent of his throws, the outcome is likely different. The 29-year-old finished with 281 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions, but the stats don\u2019t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

There were balls that were underthrown, overthrown and behind open receivers. There were others that sailed to parts of the fields that didn\u2019t have a receiver in the same area code. Forget about not being on the same page as his receivers; at times, it seemed like the quarterback was reading an entirely different book. Had some of those passes been on target, drives would have continued, and touchdowns may have resulted. Yet at the same time, a handful of those errant throws were lucky not to have resulted in turnovers.<\/p>\n

In a post-game interview with TSN1200<\/a>, Dinwiddie talked about slimming down the playbook in order to help the offence get into a rhythm. Hopefully, that does the trick for his quarterback because until Maier raises his game, the calls for his benching from fans will only grow louder.<\/p>\n

Was it being too cute?<\/p>\n

When the Redblacks marched the ball down to Toronto\u2019s 1-yard line, trailing by 12 with 3:35 left, it seemed like the logical thing to do was trot out the short yardage unit and QB sneak the ball into the end zone. It\u2019s a play that\u2019s become so commonplace in the CFL that it\u2019s basically the default call for every offence. Yet Ottawa didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Instead, Dinwiddie lined up his quarterback in shotgun on first and second down. The first call was a play-action pass to Kalil Pimpleton, who found himself wide open in the flat. The ball was underthrown and fell incomplete. The second play was a short crosser to Ayden Eberhardt. Again, had the ball been better placed, it would\u2019ve been an easy touchdown. Instead, it was behind Eberhardt, and although he got a hand on it, it was dropped.<\/p>\n

On third-and-goal, a Daniel Adeboboye handoff was ruled inches short. Why Adeboboye\u2019s first touch of the game came at its most important moment is also worth questioning.<\/p>\n

DENIED AT THE LINE<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s defence stuffed Daniel Adeboboye on a critical third down to keep the lead at 12.#CFL<\/a> #Argos<\/a> #PullTogether<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/itmssRsabr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 3DownNation (@3DownNation) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

None of the three calls was typical of things you\u2019d expect in that situation, and after the game Dinwiddie said his process was influenced by the fact that he didn\u2019t want to chew up clock, had his normal short yardage plays been unsuccessful<\/a>. To be fair to him, had either of the first two passes been completed, he would have looked like a genius for maximizing time left on the clock.<\/p>\n

Hindsight is 20\/20, of course, but it\u2019s hard not to wonder if this game has an entirely different outcome if the Redblacks don\u2019t overthink things and simply attempt three quarterback sneaks until one works.<\/p>\n

Offensive woes<\/p>\n

The offence didn\u2019t struggle just in the red zone (although they do go one-for-four in it). Overall, the Redblacks had a terrible time stringing together any semblance of an attack.<\/p>\n

Despite having 17 possessions, Ottawa only managed to orchestrate a single touchdown drive. 11 drives gained less than 12 yards. Self-inflicted wounds were a factor, too, as five drives ended in turnovers.<\/p>\n

Even when their defence gifted them a turnover, the offence failed to capitalize. Producing two field goals off of five turnovers is never going to be conducive to winning football.<\/p>\n

Schematically, the Redblacks need to try something different, as too many of their playmakers aren\u2019t getting the ball in space, and explosive plays have been lacking. They don\u2019t have much time to turn things around either, as they face a tough Montreal defence next week.<\/p>\n

Bell Cow\u2026until he wasn\u2019t<\/p>\n

After using the bye week to get fully healthy, star free agent acquisition Greg Bell made his Redblacks debut. Unfortunately, he wasn\u2019t able to do much. His 11 carries went for 29 yards, and his six catches for 31. He made a number of sharp cuts and looked shifty, but too often had defenders in his face before he even made it to the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Gord Weber\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

And while it\u2019s normal for the highest-paid back in the league<\/a> to see the majority of touches, it was puzzling that a week after having Canadian Daniel Adeboboye average 7.3 yards per rushing attempt, his lone carry came on third-and-goal with less than three minutes left in the game.<\/p>\n

Going forward, the split can\u2019t be 17 touches to one. I get that Adeboboye is an excellent special teams player, but he\u2019s also too talented offensively not to be used. Perhaps there\u2019s even a way for Ottawa to get both him and Bell on the field together to give the opposing defence some headaches.<\/p>\n

Only one ball to share<\/p>\n

The Redblacks have a bevy of skilled pass catchers in their receiving corps, and for the most part, Maier did a solid job of spreading the targets around. In Ottawa\u2019s season opener, seven different players had at least three targets. Against Toronto, each of Ottawa\u2019s starting receivers had at least four looks, although how that translated in terms of catches varied significantly.<\/p>\n

Eberhardt led the way, turning a team-high 13 targets into eight receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown. Frankly, he should\u2019ve had a second score early in the fourth quarter, but dropped a pass in the end zone.<\/p>\n

Welcome to Ottawa, Ayden! #CFLGameday<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/6GqxzFYFGC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GBKMOsBLWV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CFL (@CFL) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Eugene Lewis finished with four catches for 48 yards, but could\u2019ve had more. On Maier\u2019s second interception, a jump ball down the sideline late in the game, the veteran receiver seemingly lost track of the ball and never left his feet.<\/p>\n

WATCH YA HEAD TOP \ud83d\udca5<\/p>\n

Benjie Franklin picks it off! pic.twitter.com\/aiVh2XotHO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Justin Hardy snagged four passes for 30 yards, while Pimpleton finished with three catches for 43 yards. Canadian Keelan White was targeted four times, but thanks to a drop and communication issues with his quarterback, he finished without a reception.<\/p>\n

Room for improvement<\/p>\n

Any time the offensive line drops back to pass protect 42 times and only concedes two sacks, I\u2019ll tip my hat to them. Especially when one of the sacks comes as a result of the quarterback holding onto the ball too long, as was the case in the second quarter, and when the group has three new starters, including a rookie. It was the second week in a row that Dino Boyd, Drew Desjarlais, Sean McEwen, Gio Vaccaro, and Martez Ivey played together, and while they had moments where things broke down, overall it was a strong outing in terms of protection.<\/p>\n

What the group needs to improve upon quickly is opening lanes on the ground. Averaging 3.1 yards per carry and getting stuffed twice on third-and-one is unacceptable. There simply needs to be more push from the big men up front. As I alluded to last week, the offensive line is a positional group that needs time for the unit to build cohesion, but the Redblacks can\u2019t afford them taking a month to fully gel.<\/p>\n

Killed by Kelly<\/p>\n

After today\u2019s game, three of Chad Kelly\u2019s best four career outings are against Ottawa. Saturday\u2019s performance was the third time Kelly passed for 400+ yards against the Redblacks\u2019 defence. The 32-year-old shredded their secondary for three quarters and finished the game by completing 78 percent of his passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Gord Weber\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Toronto averaged 13.3 yards per completion, but what ultimately saved this from being an utterly disastrous outing from William Fields\u2019 unit was their ability to generate timely turnovers. Five takeaways don\u2019t happen by accident, and Ottawa does deserve credit for taking the ball away. Unfortunately for them, the offence did little with those gifts.<\/p>\n

There are a couple of individual performances that also deserve recognition. For the second week in a row, middle linebacker Nyles Morgan led the team in tackles, this time with 10. Three of those were for a loss, and frankly, Morgan was flying around. He blew up plays before they got started and chased ball carriers down from behind.<\/p>\n

Speaking of good linebacker play, A. J. Allen and C.J. Reavis each made six tackles. Reavis also had a knockdown. Canadian defensive end Aidan John was also noticeable throughout the game. He notched three tackles, a sack, and had a handful of pressures and other jarring hits on the quarterback.<\/p>\n

Canadian catches<\/p>\n

In a stat that might interest only me, all four of Ottawa\u2019s interceptions were recorded by Canadians. The first came from starting safety Alonzo Addae. Once he left after injuring his shoulder while making a hit in the third quarter, his replacement, Scott Hutter, went on to record two interceptions of his own.<\/p>\n

KELLY\u2019S 4TH INT OF THE GAME. \ud83d\ude33 pic.twitter.com\/AK3isP0I9G<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The other pick came courtesy of fourth-year pro Lucas Cormier. He actually fumbled the ball during his return, but was bailed out by teammate Shakur Brown\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n

Special at times<\/p>\n

The good from Jeff Reinebold\u2019s special teams unit was Brett Lauther nailing all five of his field goals,\u00a0 from 18, 49, 51, 39 and 28 yards out. The kick coverage units also limited the always dangerous Janarion Grant to just 8.3 yards per punt return and 24.5 per kickoff. Bennett Williams led the way with two special teams tackles.<\/p>\n

The bad was punter Noah Gettman only averaging a 39.2-yard flip per kick, and Pimpleton\u2019s afternoon returning. As a third-year guy, Pimpleton has to have better situational awareness in the second quarter. Conceding the rouge was always the play, not fielding the ball two yards deep in his end zone and pinning his offence on their own four-yard line. On one hand, you have to respect the self-belief, as he has the ability to find a crease and make a game-changing play. On the other hand, your veterans need to make the smartest decisions. His fourth-quarter fumble was also tough, as it basically sealed the Argo victory.<\/p>\n

Look good, play the same?<\/p>\n

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Photo: Gord Weber\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

As I detailed on Monday, the Redblacks\u2019 new road jerseys look incredible.<\/a> The promotional photos were one thing, but seeing them on the field was another. The team nailed it, plain and simple.<\/p>\n

The only thing about their release that could\u2019ve been done better (in my opinion) is that, despite being released on Monday morning, fans weren\u2019t able to customize or buy jerseys with player names until Thursday night. Ideally, those things would\u2019ve been done in conjunction to maximize sales and capitalize on the hype surrounding their release. That delay feels like a big missed opportunity.<\/p>\n

Attendance<\/p>\n

The official attendance of 13,943 was a franchise low and a serious cause for concern. To put that into context, the Ottawa Renegades\u2019 worst attended game was 16,303.<\/p>\n

Leading up to the game, there were weather reports predicting rain, but by Saturday morning, it was clear the weather would be nice, and it was.<\/p>\n

While it should be acknowledged that there was a ton going on in town on Saturday \u2014 there was the Italian festival, Dragon Boat races, the Canadian Track and Field championships, the Ottawa Jazz Festival and of course, plenty of World Cup games \u2014 it\u2019s clear many in R-Nation aren\u2019t prioritizing the team anymore. And to be fair, it\u2019s kind of understandable why so many are in a wait-and-see mode.<\/p>\n

The Redblacks have posted a 23-78-1 record since their 2018 Grey Cup loss, and since 2019, a number of rebuilds\/retools have taken place. R-Nation remains a passionate fan base, and those who continue to attend games deserve endless credit, but a large majority of fans won\u2019t return until there\u2019s a reason to believe, which is why being 0-2 really isn\u2019t doing the franchise any favours.<\/p>\n

Power Couple<\/p>\n

TSN doesn\u2019t treat viewers to it often, but when they do put Dustin Nielson and Duane Forde together in the booth, it\u2019s always great. The duo is easily TSN\u2019s best play-by-play and colour commentator pairing thanks to their ability to seamlessly blend excitement, knowledge and storytelling.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to hoping it becomes more of a regular thing.<\/p>\n

Up next<\/p>\n

At 0-2 and alone in the East division\u2019s basement, things don\u2019t get any easier for Dinwiddie\u2019s squad. The Redblacks travel to Montreal next Sunday to face an Alouettes team that will be looking to take out their frustrations after falling in overtime to the Elks.<\/p>\n

Looking a bit further ahead, they face Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Montreal and B.C., in that order. Since things won\u2019t be getting any easier, the Redblacks will need to raise their level of play to meet their competition and move into the win column.<\/p>\n

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Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).<\/p>\n

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