Argos offence needs to bounce back

Last week’s big loss to the Stampeders was ‘embarrassing’

“No more repeats.”

That’s the rallying cry for the Argos and their inconsistent offence this week, as they prepare for a key home game against the B.C. Lions Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.

Toronto’s offence still has a bitter taste from last week’s dismal showing in a 29-2 loss in Calgary. With the Argos riding a four-game winning streak and looking like a strong bet to clinch first place in the CFL’s East Division, Toronto’s offence was bad enough to trump all the progress it had made up to that point.

Now, that first-place finish is questionable and the offence, which crossed the Stampeders’ 40yard line only once, must rebound convincingly against a Lions team that shredded the Argos 44-3 in the third week of the season.

“Our worst losses this year were long trips out west, the day before the game, and you can make all the excuses in the world about how uncomfortable we were,” Argos quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson said. “But we feel we play good at home. We have a winning record at home (4-3), and we want to play well in front of our fans.”

Bethel-Thompson is under a red glare after the offence stumbled badly in Calgary. His results this season, his first as the No.1 quarterback, have been mixed: He leads the

CFL in completions (321) and is 134 passing yards shy of his career high (4,024 yards in 2019), but he has also thrown a career-high 14 interceptions.

The Argos quarterback believes he has yet to play his best football. He also believes the Argos are the most talented team in the league.

“I think we all feel frustrated as to how the game went last week, It’s embarrassing to lose to a team that you know you’re better than … and not only to lose to them, but embarrass yourselves in front of them,” Bethel-Thompson said. “We’re the most talented team in the league, and we want to play up to that potential.”

The Argos head into Saturday’s game without linebacker Wynton McManis, one of the league’s top defensive players, who will be out at least four weeks with a knee injury.

Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie said Canadian Trevor Hoyte and Jonathan Jones will share the workload at linebacker, receiver Damonte Coxie won’t play, and Javon Leake will handle the returns instead of Brandon Banks

Dinwiddie called the offence together earlier this week, just after landing back in Toronto, to go over the Stampeders’ game tape. With four games remaining, the 8-6 Argos are just one win up on the 7-7 Alouettes for first place in the East. and the two teams close the season with a home-and-away series.

“I told our guys after the (Calgary) game — and our guys were concerned about the way we lost — I said, ‘We can’t hit the panic button, but we have to hit the urgency button,’ ” Dinwiddie said. “These games are very urgent and we understand that.”