A play or two made all the difference

The finishes couldn’t have been any Wilder for the Toronto Argonauts.

If not for one play — a 22-yard reception by James Wilder Jr., on third-and-five — the Argonauts would have lost to the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL’s East Division final.

If not for a Kamar Jorden fumble or an interception thrown by Bo Levi Mitchell, the Calgary Stampeders would still be celebrating a Grey Cup victory over Toronto.

For the Argonauts, the difference between a championship and a winless playoffs amounted to two, perhaps three, plays.

The Roughriders have also had ample time to reflect on the minuscule margins by which high-stakes football games can be decided.

Were Chris Jones and friends one play away from the franchise’s fifth championship? One has to wonder.

It could be a sobering thought, considering the Roughriders’ history of close calls in Grey Cups and other games of magnitude.

A few months ago, the notion of another near-miss would have been preposterous, what with the Roughriders of 2017 losing their opening two games and four of the first six.

By season’s end, though, Saskatchewan was a team nobody really wanted to face.

An 8-4 run gave the Roughriders a 10-8-0 slate, their first winning record since 2014.

After placing fourth in the West Division and earning a crossover playoff berth, the Green and White defeated the host Ottawa Redblacks 31-20 in the East semifinal on Nov. 12.

One week later, a 79-yard puntreturn touchdown by Christion Jones with 2:44 remaining in the fourth quarter helped Saskatchewan assume a 21-18 lead at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Ricky Ray took it from there, marching the Argos for a gamewinning touchdown despite facing a forbidding wind. The climactic drive was extended by the aforementioned Ray-Wilder connection.

One stop and the Roughriders’ next stop would have been Ottawa for the 105th Grey Cup.

As was the case against Saskatchewan, Ray made a series of crucial plays Sunday. The 38-year-old future hall of famer calmly moved his team into position for what turned out to be a 32-yard, game-winning field goal by Lirim Hajrullahu with 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

It was a shocking outcome, considering Calgary was wellpositioned to salt away the game. Then came the fumble, followed by the interception, and ... Toronto 27, Calgary 24. During a chain of events leading up to Matt Black’s Cupclinching pick, the Stampeders’ vulnerabilities were exposed.

Flaws were also evident during Saskatchewan’s two regularseason meetings with Calgary. The teams split the season series, even though Calgary failed to score a TD in either game.

The Stampeders won 15-9 at Mosaic Stadium on Sept. 24. The Roughriders won 30-7 at McMahon Stadium on Oct. 20.

Over those two games, it was apparent Jones — the Roughriders’ head coach, defensive coordinator, etc. — had solved the Stampeders’ offence.

It would have been intriguing, then, to see how Saskatchewan would have fared had it met Calgary once more.

One more defensive play would have been enough to propel the Roughriders into the championship game.

They were so close to defeating the team that ultimately captured the Cup.

Instead, Earl Grey’s grail was passed to Ray. But there is the nagging notion that another 38-year-old quarterback — the Roughriders’ Kevin Glenn — could have been front and centre.