ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – Picture this scenario: There are two teams. One has a quarterback throw for over 380 yards, 4 TDs and no interceptions, that team also has one receiver have three touchdowns, one receiver with over 120 yards receiving and another with 100 yards receiving and 280+ combined yards. The second team QB generates only 13 total completions the entire game.
If you were asked which team came out on top, you would choose the former.
That however, was the not the case Friday night as the Buck Pierce lead Winnipeg Blue Bombers were victorious over the Boatmen, 44-32.
QB Buck Pierce finished with a unimpressive 13 completions on 22 attempts, with only 200 passing yards and no touchdowns. His counterpoint Ricky Ray (also returning from an extended absence due to injury) finished 20-of-33 for 383 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
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The outing was Ray’s most efficient and perhaps best game as an Argonaut, finishing with his highest QB rating of the season at 141.4. Though he threw for 407 yards in week two against Calgary, he did have two interceptions in that contest.
Compounding Ray’s spectacular day was how he spread the ball around to his offensive weapons. Andre Durie lead all of Ray’s receivers in yardage with six receptions for 128 yards and one TD, while Chad Owens saw a revival with Ray back under centre to the tune of five catches for 108 yards.
Also back in action after a stint on the practice roster was Jason Barnes who had four receptions for 71 yards but was a huge red zone benefactor with three touchdowns on those four catches.
Ray continued to spread the love as he found Maurice Mann on two receptions for 50 yards and Spencer Watt on three receptions for 26.
In the end however, none of this mattered as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers dominated the all important ground game. Starting running back Chad Simpson ran roughshod over the Argos defence amassing 136 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Backup running back Will Ford added ten carries for 85 yards and Alex Brink chipped in with ten carries for 31 yards and two TDs on the ground.
This control of the ground game turned into a massive time of possession advantage for Winnipeg as they controlled the ball for 38:29 compared to just 21:31 for the Argonauts. This was well under the Boatmen’s season average time of possession which sat at 30:34 heading into week 17.
The Argonauts defence not only struggled in the run game but was also unable to take advantage of a typically turnover prone Winnipeg offensive unit. Leading the league with 20 thrown interceptions, the Double Blue were primed to continue their ball hawking ways against Winnipeg but due to the strong ground attack, the chance to pick off errant Buck Pierce passes was not there.
With a Saskatchewan Roughriders team that beat the Boatmen in all facets of the game in their first meeting at Rogers Centre in early October, the Argos will have to be very ready for Saturday night’s tilt at Mosaic.
Stay tuned to Argonauts.ca for the rest of the week as we preview the crucial matchup and get you all you need to know heading into Saturday afternoon.