What did Ottawa Redblacks show us Saturday? Best bounce-back ability in franchise history

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The Ottawa Redblacks made a loud statement at the midway mark of their season that at various points looked to be swirling down the drain.

They let the rest of the CFL know they have bounce-back ability and still plenty of fight left in them.

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In rallying from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to a 46-42 victory against the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, the Redblacks completed what the league office confirmed is not just the biggest comeback in Redblacks history but also the third largest made by an Ottawa CFL team in regular-season play.

With nine points being the total margin of victory in the four games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Redblacks wrote the best story of Week 10 by scoring 45 in the final three quarters at BMO Field.

By constructing their first winning streak with back-to-back victories in 51 weeks, they authored what could be remembered as the turning point of their 11th campaign.

After quarterback Dru Brown threw as many touchdown passes (five) as incompletions in 31 attempts, the Ottawa attack appeared unstoppable.

In giving up four touchdowns, and just two after the first quarter, the defence was so bad either considering three starters were forced to the sidelines before the game was three snaps old.

Suddenly, it’s not difficult to imagine the Redblacks erasing an earlier four-game losing streak with a string of success at least that long.

“There’s so much time spent trying to win, and that’s why we all play,” Brown, who passed for 214 yards in the first half and 357 overall, told TSN1200’s A.J. Jakubec when asked about the atmosphere in the locker room after the victory. “And when you’re losing, it can take its toll at times, but you just have to stay together. And we stayed together. We had a rough stretch there, but it really is awesome to see everyone’s faces in (the room) after. We believe in one another. That hasn’t wavered. But to see it come to fruition is pretty awesome.”

What does the win do for the Redblacks’ pursuit of a playoff spot?

Ottawa (3-6) moved into third place, but because of the crossover format, still trails the West Division’s fourth-place B.C. Lions (4-5) by two points for the last spot in the East Division playoffs.

After a dramatic one-point loss to the Calgary Stampeders Saturday night, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) could also come into play, especially if the Redblacks can walk away from Princess Auto Stadium with a win next week.

The victory also keeps the Redblacks with a realistic shot of catching the Montreal Alouettes (5-4) and even the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-3), both of whom lost in Week 10.

Both the Redblacks and the Blue Bombers will be playing on just five days’ rest when they meet Thursday night in Winnipeg.

After that one, Ottawa is home to the Edmonton Elks (2-6), then has its second bye week of the season before an home-and-away series with the Lions that will have a lot at stake.

Following the back-to-backs with the Lions, the Redblacks will host the Blue Bombers, then the Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-1), and then come back to the East Division to round out their season with an away-and-home set with the Alouettes and the finale in Hamilton.

Suddenly, the second half of the season looks like it will be a lot more interesting than it did a couple of weeks ago.

What would be Dru Brown’s Field of Dreams in the CFL?

As far as personal performances go, it has to be BMO.

In three career games as the visiting quarterback against the Argos, Brown has remarkably completed 103-of-135 passes for 1,249 yards and 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

That works out to a per-game average of 34-of-45 for 416 yards and 4 TDs against just 1 pick.

Finally, it took a career-best five TD passes Saturday afternoon for Brown to pick up his first win in Toronto.

“Theoretically, it should be like that when everyone’s doing their job, including myself. It starts with me,” Brown said to TSN1200’s A.J. Jakubec about the touchdowns. “We were able to get great field position at times and kind of punch it in. I feel like I say the same thing every week, but if everyone does their job, that’s how it looks.”

Who were the Redblacks’ other key offensive players on Saturday?

After missing the first two days of practice with a back problem last week, Justin Hardy had his second career two-touchdown performance — and second in two weeks, among his second catches (on seven targets) for 106 yards.

Bralon Addison had seven catches (on nine targets) for a game-high 115 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion — all in the first half.

Eugene Lewis also scored two touchdowns with five catches (six targets) for 51 yards.

But not to be overlooked is the running of William Stanback, mostly with some big, drive-extending gains in the second half.

Because the limit on the snaps Stanback could play under the ratio rule was eliminated when American safety Bennett Williams was scratched just before the game with a hamstring problem, Stanback had the chance to find his groove and respond with his biggest game as a Redblack.

The 6-foot, 239-pounder had 17 carries for 84 yards, including three gains of 10 yards or more, and surely wore down the Argos defence on a hot summer day.

Who were the Redblacks’ top defensive players?

Linebackers Jovan Santos-Knox and Adarius Pickett once again led the team in total tackles, with seven and six, respectively, while DB Deandre Lamont had five.

Making a rare start in place of Bennett Williams after battling his own injury problems was former Carleton Raven Justin Howell, who had four defensive tackles.

But the Redblacks’ defensive player of the game was ex-Argo Robert Priester, who had a huge late-game pass knockdown and a win-sealing interception after he was scheduled to take a seat before Williams was scratched with a hamstring problem just before game time.

It was a day of redemption for the 31-year-old Floridian, who was called out by head coach Bob Dyce earlier in the season for taking bad penalties.

“Coach Dyce is a great man, and it’s his job to make sure this team is disciplined and I don’t fault him for doing that,” Priester told Jakubec. “It’s my job to rise to the occasion and not fall, and let him know that I’m still here with this team no matter the role. That I can just keep going and keep fighting, and if he needs me to play anywhere else, and if I lose playing time because of that, just keep showing up and putting my hand in the dirt. Let him know that no matter what, I’m still with this team. I still fight for this team. I run through a wall for this team. I’m just thankful for Coach Dyce to even bringing me in, and it’s his job, and he’s doing a great job with this program to make sure he keeps us accountable.”

What else was special about the Redblacks’ day in Toronto?

The performance of special teams coach Rick Campbell’s group.

The consistency problems of Lewis Ward, formerly known as “Mr. Automatic,” continued as he missed a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter before connecting with a 35-yarder in the third, dropping his success rate to 77.7 percent, which is the seventh best in the league.

Ward did send a kickoff 92 yards for a single point that made up for the Redblacks’ failed two-point conversion of a touchdown, and Richie Leone averaged 49.7 yards on three punts while Toronto’s John Haggerty had a 47.8 yard average on four.

But the big win for the Redblacks was with their coverage and return units.

They limited the extremely explosive Janarion Grant to a 23-yard average (six for 138) on kick returns and an 18-yard average on two punt returns.

Meanwhile, Kalil Pimpleton set up the Redblacks’ first touchdown with a 57-yard punt return for an average of 31 yards on two, and also averaged 31 yards on three kick returns (three for 93).

The most surprising, longest, and important return from either team came from ex-Argo Daniel Adeboboye, who galloped 72 yards after receiving the second-half kickoff to set up the Lewis touchdown that completed the Redblacks’ comeback from the first-quarter hole.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” Dyce told Jakubec after the game. “All three phases were there when they were needed. They did an outstanding job.

“Obviously, we wanted to win two in a row right now, so there’s positivity and a lot of belief,” he added later. “We have a short week, so we’ll enjoy this as we head back to Ottawa tonight, and then get back to work, because this is one step. We’ve got bigger things ahead of us.”