Toronto Argonauts get another humbling loss vs. Tiger-Cats as frustration mounts

TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts stumbled into their bye week on a sour note, falling 51–38 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night at BMO Field.

Despite flashes of progress on offence, the Argos are struggling to dig out of the early hole they find themselves in with a frustrating 1–4 start to their season.

A late-game push — which included a highlight-reel return touchdown by Janarion Grant — wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit, as Toronto was once again plagued by inconsistency across all three phases.

“Every time we get going on offence, we give up a touchdown,” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said postgame. “The guys have to lick their wounds a little bit, spend time with family, and come back motivated with a lot of urgency.”

Their inability to contain Kenny Lawler was ultimately the undoing for the defence.

Despite the disappointing loss, Tarvarus McFadden stressed that the Argos can't get too down on themselves with a lot of the season left to play.

“We got to keep the main thing the main thing,” McFadden said. “We just got to all stay together. It’s not how you start — it’s how you finish.”

Sure, the team has been dealing with injuries to key players, especially on defence but there are players who have been underperforming and that's something the team will look into but don't expect sweeping changes to the roster.

The Argonauts’ offence, led by Nick Arbuckle, showed flashes, particularly on the opening drive and during the second half. But nce again, the team had too many two-and-outs in the first half.

“I felt like we left our defence out to dry,” said Arbuckle. “Every drive isn’t going to be a touchdown drive, but you at least want to flip field position, give your defence a chance to rest and adjust.”

It's those strings of two-and-outs and the inability to generate much with the running game that has made it tough to keep the offence on the field.

Dinwiddie also pointed to the team’s lack of discipline — especially pre-snap penalties and breakdowns in coverage — has cost them too often.

“We’ve done some good things, but we haven’t done it for a full 60,” said the coach. “We’ve got to find identity as a team and find ways to win.”

Looking ahead, the Argos plan to use the bye week to self-scout and recharge. Dinwiddie hinted at possible personnel changes but emphasized the need to first review game film and evaluate what has worked.

“At 1–4, the hole we’ve dug ourselves is going to require a lot of urgency the entire season to climb out of,” Arbuckle said. “We can’t be complacent. Every week has to feel like a playoff game now.”