TORONTO — There really is no place like home for Chad Kelly and the Toronto Argonauts.
Kelly's third-quarter TD pass and two-point convert rallied Toronto to a 40-27 win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday night. The Argos finished with a 9-0 home record — although one of those victories came in Halifax — the first time since 1997 they went undefeated on home turf.
"It's a special place to play," Kelly said of BMO Field. "There's nothing like it playing in the Six at night.
"It's just a special time for us to get together and really enjoy being at home. It feel like a great atmosphere every time these fans show up and we're just trying to put on a show."
Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said he began emphasizing the importance of taking care of business at home during training camp.
"I said, 'If we win every home game, we should be in the playoffs,'" he said. "That's always got to be one of your goals to continue to make the fans excited to watch us.
"I'm proud of our guys, they fought hard and showed up when we needed to."
Kelly staked Toronto to a 34-27 advantage, first with a 45-yard TD strike to DaVaris Daniels at 13:35. Kelly then ran in the two-point convert himself.
Toronto's Dewayne Hendrix recovered Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum's fumble on the final play of the third. That set up Boris Bede's 21-yard field goal at 1:59 of the fourth.
Bede's 13-yard field goal at 5:54 put Toronto ahead 40-27. After a sluggish opening half, the Argos' defence came alive in the second, registering eight of its nine sacks over the final two quarters.
"I think Corey (defensive coordinator Corey Mace) lit into those guys at halftime and let them know we had to be better," Dinwiddie said. "The one thing I mentioned to the guys was losing teams panic when things aren't going their way.
"Winners find a way to win at the end and I think our record speaks for itself. I hate to say it but we aren't really playing for something even though we are so maybe guys come in sleepwalking a little bit … all three phases, I thought, played pretty good in the second half."
The CFL contest had no playoff implications as Toronto had already clinched first in the East while Ottawa had been eliminated from post-season contention.
Toronto (14-2) also improved to 9-0 within the East Division before a BMO Field gathering of 13,888. The Argos will visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders next week before ending their regular season in Ottawa on Oct. 28.
"We're going in to win in Saskatchewan but we'll see," Dinwiddie said regarding who'll play for Toronto down the stretch. "We're going to rely on some of our backups who we believe are good football players who can go and play good football.
"I'm looking at potentially getting all three quarterbacks playing but Chad has got to continue to play. He's playing good football but I also want to make sure he's not rusty going into the playoffs."
Ottawa (4-13) suffered a third straight loss while falling to 0-9 in the East and 1-8 on the road. The Redblacks will go on bye week before hosting Toronto.
"At the end of the day we've got to put four quarters together," Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce said. "That's the key and we need it in all three phases and we haven't done that.
"Playing a half isn't good enough … and we can't turn the ball over like we did."
But Dyce said he's seeing progress with his team.
"I think we have the pieces here," he said. "What we must realize, and I've often talked about it, is it takes all of us for the whole 60 minutes.
"We're not quite there yet but there's the makings of a good team here. These guys are going to go home for the bye week, then we'll have a great week of practise and do our best to beat (Argos) when they come into Ottawa."
Toronto's next home game will be hosting either Hamilton or Montreal in the East Division final Nov. 11.
Crum finished 13-of-16 passing for 183 yards with a TD and interception before being replaced by Tyrell Pigrome in the fourth. Devonte Williams ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Kelly was 18-of-28 passing for 287 yards and the TD while rushing five times for 45 yards. Cameron Dukes came on in the fourth.
Dukes and Deonta McMahon scored Toronto's other touchdowns. Bede added two converts and six field goals.
Bralon Addison and Tobias Harris, on a 93-yard kickoff return, had Ottawa's other touchdowns. Michael Domagala booted three converts and two field goals.
Bede's 22-yard field goal at 2:36 of the third pulled Toronto to within a point before Domagala connected from 27 yards out at 8:16. But then Bede hit from 53 yards out at 11:21 to pull the Argos to within 27-26.
Bede's 42-yard field goal at 14:17 of the second cut Ottawa's halftime lead to 24-20. Bede's 31-yard boot at 3:50 pulled Toronto to within 21-17 before Domagala made a 15-yard field goal at 9:14 for a 24-17 advantage.
Harris's electrifying return put Ottawa ahead 21-14 at 2:04. It followed McMahon's four-yard scoring run at 1:33.
Dukes made it 7-7 with a one-yard TD run at 10:15 of the first. But Williams put Ottawa ahead 14-7 with a five-yard touchdown scamper at 13:43.
Ottawa opened the scoring with Crum's nine-yard TD pass to Addison at 3:09. Crum began the game with a 54-yard completion to Justin Hardy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2023.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
