It was looking like the Ottawa Redblacks might finish what would have been a terrific comeback win Saturday afternoon at TD Place.
With about two minutes left and Ottawa trailing Toronto 24-19, the Redblacks were second-and-seven at the Argos’ 10-yard line. But an intentional grounding penalty against quarterback Nick Arbuckle pushed the ball back to the 17. On a third-and-14 gamble — and there will be some debate why Ottawa didn’t kick a field goal and hope for a defensive stop — Arbuckle saw an opening to his left, ran through the hole and gained 12 of the 14 yards his team needed before he was tackled by Toronto’s Trevor Hoyte, a former Carleton Raven.
“I knew it was close,” Arbuckle said. “They dropped nine guys into coverage. When I first broke the pocket, I didn’t see anybody immediately open downfield. I saw a lane for me to get the first down. I feel like, if I was just a step faster on that run or maybe made a decision a split-second quicker to take off, I could have gotten it. We fought hard to get all the way down the field. It sucks to fall to two yards short. It’s a shame.”
Ottawa had another chance, starting a drive from Toronto’s 35-yard line. But, on third down, an Arbuckle pass glanced off Shaq Johnson’s fingertips at the 20. Game over.
“It’s tough to lose that way when we were so close to making the play offensively to win the game,” Arbuckle said. “But, at the same time, it’s just another thing for us to learn from. We still have a lot of games left. We have another one against Toronto after our bye week. It’s something as an offence we haven’t been through yet with me at quarterback: making a comeback at the end, trying to finish the drive and win the game.
“I’m sure we’re going to have those opportunities again.”
Post a Comment