CFL East Final Takeaways: Argonauts flip the script on Alouettes to return to Grey Cup

The CFL’s East final was a turnover fest for the second year in a row, but this time the Toronto Argonauts were on the positive side of the takeaways margin.

Holding on for a 30-28 win over the host Montreal Alouettes, Toronto booked its ticket to the Grey Cup on Saturday and will now travel to Vancouver for the Nov. 17 title tilt. Unfortunately for Montreal, it ends the chance to try to repeat as champions.

Neither team would have drawn up this path to victory, given the number of mistakes (eight total turnovers, six by Montreal).

Give Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie credit. In his fourth season as a CFL head coach, his team is off to its second Grey Cup appearance despite the many ups and downs thrown at the Argos this year.

While the Argonauts will be excited to be back in the Grey Cup for the second time in three years, they now face more questions than answers going into the big game after a horrific injury to starting quarterback Chad Kelly.

Here are takeaways from the CFL’s East final.

Kelly’s injury bring back tough memories

When Dinwiddie walked over to check in on Kelly after the injury in the third quarter, the broadcast audio caught an emotional exchange between the head coach and his starting quarterback.

It was recognized almost immediately that Kelly’s right leg injury, which he suffered after Alouettes defender Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund landed on him, was serious. Players were looking away, some trying to collect themselves from the immediate shock.

Despite struggling at times in the game, Kelly provided the spark when his team needed it right before halftime. Kelly found receiver Damonte Coxie for back-to-back big plays, including a spectacular 20-yard touchdown catch to put Toronto up 21-16.

There will be many questions about how the Argos will manage going forward without Kelly, but this is not a situation Dinwiddie is unfamiliar with.

Back in 2007 when he was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, starting quarterback Kevin Glenn suffered a broken arm in the East final. Dinwiddie was forced into action, starting his first career game after just 52 passing attempts in the CFL.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go well for Dinwiddie, who threw three interceptions as Winnipeg lost 23-19 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

If there is any consolation for Toronto and Dinwiddie, the team won’t be in a similar position. Nick Arbuckle, who came in for Kelly and threw for 73 yards in relief, won’t just be thrown into the fire like his coach was.

The team brought in Arbuckle after Kelly was suspended heading into training camp and decided to keep the veteran around. Safe to say, the Argonauts are fortunate to have a player with 25 starts in the league, although none in the playoffs.

Interestingly enough, when Arbuckle was in his first stint with the Argos in 2021, the team traded him to the Edmonton Elks. In return, Toronto received a conditional 2022 third-round draft pick and the rights to… Chad Kelly.

Mistakes that will haunt the Alouettes

It’s tough to expect any team to win after committing six turnovers and the Alouettes fell victim to too many self-inflicted errors.

It wasn’t quite to the level of what they did to Toronto in last year’s East final, but the mistakes were just as costly for the reigning champions.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo was guilty of half of his team’s giveaways, with a fumble and two interceptions, including a pick-six in the first quarter that gave the Argos the early advantage.

Much like the Ottawa Redblacks did last week in an East semifinal loss in Toronto, the Alouettes were guilty of settling for field goals when it looked like they were putting together impressive drives.

On top of that, the decision to go for a pair of two-point conversions rather than extra points also proved to be the difference as the Alouettes could have at least forced the game to overtime.

Grant turns on the jets for another game-breaking return

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Janarion Grant earn some hardware when he is in Vancouver, with the Argos returner a finalist for the CFL’s Special Teams award.

Grant showed why he deserves to be nominated with a 71-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter. The 30-year-old was able to grab the bouncing ball, get to the outside, and run it all the way back along the sideline.

The play got Toronto within striking distance of Montreal before halftime and could definitely be considered one of the many turning points.

In 10 career playoff games, Grant has four return touchdowns and will be a player to watch next Sunday.

Where does Montreal go from here?

The Alouettes were certainly looking like a team primed to returning to the Grey Cup as they were 10-1 through their first 11 games. Unfortunately, the team had a dip in their play, finishing the regular season 2-4-1 over its final seven games.

Injuries to Tyson Philpot and Mustafa Johnson were notable losses for the Alouettes. Philpot was lost in August and was having a breakout season with 58 catches for 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games.

Johnson was having an all-star calibre season with 35 tackles and six sacks through 15 games after recording seven sacks and 43 tackles in 18 games in 2023.

Much like the Argos, the Alouettes are hoping this game provides motivation after falling short of their goal.

Fajardo is hoping some players will want to return for the challenge for 2025.

“I think a game like this, it goes one of two ways, either it decimates your team, and guys start signing elsewhere, or propels you, and guys are hungry to come back and try and get what we deserve,” Fajardo told reporters after the game. “It’ll be an interesting off-season, I think, for everybody on this team and moving forward.”

Fajardo is under contract through the 2025 season and it will be interesting to see how much of the team does end up returning.

Head coach Jason Maas echoed his quarterback’s sentiments, hoping that there is more to come for his team.

“I feel like a game like this maybe puts you two steps forward, to be quite honest with you, next year,” Maas said. “because now the point of emphasis that we think is winning football is staring you right in the face the last time you’re on the field together, and maybe is what created the outcome not to be in your favour, or at least helped it. So it’s very hard, obviously, to accept it, but you have to accept it and move on. We’ll be a better football team and an organization because of the setback.”