MMQB: Everything to gain
11/18/2024 11:16 AM
There's something powerful about playing with nothing to lose.
That was Nick Arbuckle in Sunday's 111th Grey Cup. Opportunity knocked, Arbuckle answered, and now the Toronto Argonauts' quarterback is a Grey Cup champion and Most Valuable Player after a 41-24 win over Winnipeg.
"If anybody knew everything that we went through as a family and I went through in my life to get to this moment," Arbuckle reflected following the biggest start of his career. "I wouldn’t believe it and I don’t think anybody else would either."
Sometimes mindset and perspective really can be the driving forces behind success.
111th GREY CUP
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Arbuckle was named the team’s Grey Cup starter in the most unthinkable of ways after Chad Kelly, last year's Most Outstanding Player, went down with a lower body injury in the Eastern Final. For many, this type of spotlight and pressure would be daunting and potentially too much to overcome.
But then, many haven't walked Arbuckle's path.
We're talking about a guy who was weeks away from retiring earlier this year before getting a late training camp call from the Argos. The same guy who bounced around and couldn't seem to catch a break after leaving Calgary following a successful 2019 cameo as a starting quarterback.
"It's another big piece of adversity," Arbuckle said earlier in the week. "Adversity is something that's kind of shaped my career, shaped my life since I was a young kid.
"I've always kind of been overlooked and have worked through many situations all through my CFL career that have helped prepare me mentally and emotionally to take on any challenge and just be ready for whatever opportunity and whatever moment comes. You never know when it's going to come."
Arbuckle balled out Sunday. He finished 26-of-37 with 252 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He used the first 15 minutes or so to build confidence by completing his first eight passes. And then as halftime approached, Arbuckle started to spread the field and took some deeper shots.
Crucially, he made big plays when the Argos needed them most. Whether it was a 36-yard pass to Damonte Coxie in the second quarter, a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mital, or a fourth quarter shovel pass to Deonta McMahon to keep a drive alive on second-and-10.
And Arbuckle out-duelled future Hall of Famer Zach Collaros on the other side. Not very many people had that on the bingo card.
"If I saw a backup quarterback, or at least a quarterback who had been a backup throughout the season all of a sudden starting in a Grey Cup, I probably would have felt the same thing," Arbuckle admitted.
"There's a reason why the Eagles with Nick Foles against the dynasty of the Patriots and Tom Brady weren’t given a chance…and they go out there and win."
WHAT NOW?
Five straight trips to a championship game is something almost every team would sign up for if given the option. But that doesn't diminish the crushing feeling of three straight Grey Cup losses for the Blue Bombers.
"They all have their space to be terrible," head coach Mike O'Shea said of another Grey Cup defeat in his post-game news conference. "It’ll keep building and building to a point where it’s awful."
And for the first time in this era of Winnipeg dominance, the future seems somewhat uncertain. Do O'Shea and general manager Kyle Walters run it back with this core group again? After a third straight championship loss, and even with the Bombers hosting the 2025 Grey Cup, the answer seems slightly less certain than in prior years.
Collaros is under contract for one more season. So too is 2024 Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian Brady Oliveira. And many core members who aren't signed for next year will almost certainly want to be back, thanks to the culture and atmosphere O'Shea and the Bombers have built over the last half decade.
But this loss does feel different. Winnipeg didn't lose in dramatic, last-minute fashion like the prior two Grey Cups. They also didn't dominate during the regular season like in prior years, despite finishing first in the West Division for a fourth straight season. it's why the prospect of getting the band back together doesn't feel quite as sure a thing.
"We’re taking a deep breath and just kind of, you know, letting this digest a little bit," Collaros responded when asked about next year's group.
And understandably so. While the questions about Winnipeg's future are fair, having any semblance of an answer to any of them would be unrealistic. It's excruciatingly early after such a difficult loss.
"It's still pretty raw," admitted O'Shea. "Anytime you don’t win your last game, there’s a tendency to view it as failure, and I don’t know about that. It was a hell of a ride this year, quite a different season, and we just didn’t play our best football at the end."
That ride and that different year will come into consideration when deciding what comes next. And so will a run of five straight appearances in the Grey Cup, which is a feat that can't be completely overlooked either.
But for now, sitting and coming to terms with this one is about all the Bombers can do.
"Osh spoke (after the game) a little bit, just kind of about the journey," Collaros said. "But, you know, nothing is going to make you feel better tonight. Willie (Jefferson) spoke too. There’s a lot of tears. A lot of guys that care about each other. A lot.
"It's just tough."
