The biggest game of 2024 is almost here as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts get set to battle for the 111th Grey Cup on Sunday.
Toronto defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final last weekend and the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the Eastern Semi-Final two weeks ago to punch their ticket to the championship matchup at BC Place. Winnipeg hosted the Western Final last Saturday and defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders to earn their ticket to the west coast.
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The pair had two meetings in the regular season with the Argos coming out victorious in both. Both were low-scoring, defensive affairs with the Argos coming out on top 16-14 in Week 8 and 14-11 in Week 19. What happens this weekend with everything on the line?
We’ll find out soon enough but until then, here are five storylines to keep an eye on in the 111th Grey Cup.
IT’S NICK ARBUCKLE’S TEAM
Nick Arbuckle heads into Grey Cup Week as the starter for the Toronto Argonauts (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)
The biggest story heading into the 111th Grey Cup is that of the quarterback in Toronto.
With Chad Kelly suffering a leg injury in the Eastern Final, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie has turned to Nick Arbuckle to take the reigns in Sunday’s championship game.
Arbuckle saw some action in 2024, stepping in for Cameron Dukes in three games earlier in the year while Kelly served his suspension. In most recent game in Week 21 against Edmonton, the 31-year-old completed 23 of his 32 pass attempts for 378, two touchdowns, and an interception.
This week Arbuckle goes into the Grey Cup as the starting quarterback. He told members of the media on Monday night that he hadn’t taken full first-team reps ahead of a contest since Week 2 of the 2023 season.
How will Arbuckle handle the pressure of being thrust into the starting role? Will he be able to handle the tough Winnipeg defence? And can he lead the Argos to their second Grey Cup championship in three years? All of those questions and more will be answered on Sunday night.
TORONTO’S TOUGH DEFENCE
Folarin Orimolade had six sacks in the regular season (Bailey McLean/CFL.ca)
Zach Collaros called the Argonauts front four “unbelievable” when asked by a reporter to give his early assessments of Toronto after Winnipeg’s win over the Riders in the Western Final.
He also had high praise for the defence on Monday, just after the teams arrived in Vancouver at Signature Aviation at the Vancouver International Airport. He noted that along with defensive linemen Jake Ceresna and Folarin Orimolade, middle linebacker Wynton McManis is also provides a tough task for the veteran pivot and the rest of the Winnipeg offence.
“I know we haven’t scored a ton of points against this defence so far this season, so we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Collaros admitted.
The Bombers scored just 14 points in the late-July meeting and was held to just 11 points in October. In those two contest, the Argos defence also got 12 total sacks.
When asked about protecting Collaros against Toronto’s defence that tallied a league-leading 48 sacks in the regular season at head coaches conference on Tuesday morning, O’Shea said in jest, “we’re probably going to play nine o-linemen” which was followed by chuckles from members of the media.
All jokes aside, the Bombers’ o-line will need to be at their best to keep the Argos pass rush at bay and keep Collaros clean like they did in the Western Final, not allowing a single sack on their quarterback.
WINNIPEG’S FIELD DEFENSIVE BACKS
The duo of field cornerback Tyrell Ford and halfback Evan Holm have been excellent in the Bombers secondary throughout the regular season.
Ford, the Bombers’ shutdown corner, finished the year second in interceptions (seven) just behind Rolan Milligan Jr. (eight). When he wasn’t hauling in picks, the Canadian was still playing the football, tallying 12 knockdowns on the year, one behind the Benjie Franklin (13) for the top spot.
Advanced analytics had Ford as one of the best defensive backs in the CFL as well. According to Pro Football Focus, Ford led the league in forced incompletions with 18 and finished the year with the highest coverage grade (92.1)
Holm quietly had a big season in Winnipeg, having arguably his best game against the Riders in the Western Final. He had four knockdowns in that one, including two crucial ones late in the game to stop Saskatchewan from any hope of a comeback.
Can this duo continue to be at their best when they look to shut down the Argos big play receivers that include Makai Polk and Damonte Coxie?
CAN JANARION GRANT DO IT AGAIN?
Janarion Grant has been dangerous for the Toronto Argonauts on returns, even when he’s not getting into the end zone. Grant needed to be accounted for every time the ball was in his hands because of his pure speed and ability to make people miss. The 30-year-old led the CFL in the regular season in punt return yards (989) and in punt return average (14.8). He also scored a league-leading four return touchdowns, two more than the next best returner (James Letcher Jr.).
He broke off for another return major last weekend against Montreal, scoring in the second quarter to really turn the tide in the visiting team’s direction. That score pulled them within two and then Toronto would score three more times in a row (a Damonte Coxie touchdown and two Lirim Hajrullahu field goals) to keep the momentum on their way to victory.
Grant now faces a special teams unit that has been excellent in coverage on returns. Winnipeg only gave up a league-low 749 punt return yards this season, holding returners to just 9.6 yards per punt return, and did not allow a single touchdown. The Bombers did not allow a kickoff return major either and held returners to 20.0 yards per return (tied for league-l0w).
This will be a matchup to keep an eye on in Sunday’s game as Grant looks to give Nick Arbuckle and co. good field position and the Bombers hope to keep him in check.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION?
Throughout the regular season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offence didn’t need to do anything extraordinary. They did exactly what they needed to do to get the job done and leaned on their defence and special teams to help turn around their 0-4, and eventually 2-6, record into an 11-7 one and move themselves to the top of the West Division.
Through 21 weeks, Winnipeg was sixth in the CFL in net offence, averaging 358.5 yards per game. They also finished the year scoring 23.2 points per game, second least among teams.
Last weekend against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it was quite a different story. The Bombers put up 482 yards of offence, including 301 from their quarterback through the air. Collaros and Kenny Lawler connected for over half of those yards (177) while Brady Oliveira had 119 on the ground. They also scored 38 points, 35 of those points coming from the offence.
With their sights set on Toronto, a team that they struggled to score against in the regular season, will Winnipeg have another offensive explosion in the biggest game of their year?