3 stats that defined Toronto's win over Edmonton in Week 3
06/22/2024 09:22 PM
TORONTO — It’s safe to say both offences did some damage in the Toronto Argonauts’ 39-36 victory over the Edmonton Elks at BMO Field on Saturday. A back-and-forth affair which featured five lead changes and went down to the wire also certainly delivered on entertainment.
Despite having himself a day in his return to the city he brought two Grey Cups to, Edmonton’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson fell just short of delivering his team their first win of the season, with a game-deciding kick from Lirim Hajrullahu sealing the result for the Argos at home as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Cameron Dukes was highly efficient with the ball in his hands and the Argos quarterback was helped out on offence by a couple of strong performances on the ground from runners Ka’Deem Carey and Deonta McMahon.
Here are CFL.ca's three key stats from the Argonauts’ win over the Elks.
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186 – TORONTO ARGONAUT RUSHING YARDS
After going down just over two minutes into the first quarter, the Argos began to set the tone on the ground.
Deonta McMahon went wide to get around the entire Elks defence and score the home team’s first touchdown. From then on the Argos leaned on their running game, especially through Ka’Deem Carey, who finished the night with 121 all-purpose yards, and a rushing touchdown.
Carey also handled the rock when it mattered most. With Toronto’s final possession, he got his team a big 15-yard gain to bring Hajrullahu into the game in field goal range.
86 – CAMERON DUKES’ COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
Even though Bethel-Thompson was electric for the Elks with 342 passing yards and four touchdown tosses, Dukes’ efficiency through the air meant that the Argos were always in the game.
Dukes went 18-21, connecting on his first nine throws of the game before having one go incomplete. He was decisive with the football and avoided making any turnovers, while also using his legs in clutch moments, running for a seven-yard score as well and then a two-point conversion late in the game.
1 – FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT
Sometimes it’s about quality rather than quantity.
The Elks and Argos combined to go 6/6 in the red zone, so not much kicking needed to be done other than on extra-point attempts. With both offences humming, kickers Hajrullahu and Boris Bede weren’t left to do a whole lot in the ball game.
But when the opportunity came his way, Hajrullahu was ready for the moment. He made no mistake with his 37-yard try to win the game for the Argos and bring his team their second win of the year.
