Toronto at Ottawa - June 20, 2026 - Game Thread

[Stevoman]

Huge win!!!

It never felt in doubt but this game was way closer than it ever should've been.

All three phases played well. Obviously the turnovers hurt, not so much in having points scored against but in keeping the Argos from extending the lead.

[OV Argo]

Fair amount of Argo gear on display at Lansdowne today.


Very good game except for the 4 Kelly picks.

D was mostly solid and improved from last game IMO; what happened at safety with John playing most of the game - did not see Priester at all but he was listed as the starter on the depth chart? - surprised to see a rookie Canadian in there over Slwyka but John played well and got robbed of a nice pick. D-line had lots of rotation; rookie Gauthier goes in as an extra DB for some situations.

Kelly still has the strong, accurate arm and sees the field well; Mital is a beast - best overall receiver talent on the team IMO; nice to see rookie RB Smith getting more work, and he produces another big gainer on a short pass.

[shatto]

For a while in the second half I thought they were going to give the game away but in the end it was a well deserved win. You have to wonder if some of the hits on Kelly affected his performance in the second half.

[argolio]

Fair amount of Argo gear on display at Lansdowne today.


Very good game except for the 4 Kelly picks.

D was mostly solid and improved from last game IMO; what happened at safety with John playing most of the game - did not see Priester at all but he was listed as the starter on the depth chart? - surprised to see a rookie Canadian in there over Slwyka but John played well and got robbed of a nice pick. D-line had lots of rotation; rookie Gauthier goes in as an extra DB for some situations.

Kelly still has the strong, accurate arm and sees the field well; Mital is a beast - best overall receiver talent on the team IMO; nice to see rookie RB Smith getting more work, and he produces another big gainer on a short pass.

Priester got hurt.

[OV Argo]

Fair amount of Argo gear on display at Lansdowne today.


Very good game except for the 4 Kelly picks.

D was mostly solid and improved from last game IMO; what happened at safety with John playing most of the game - did not see Priester at all but he was listed as the starter on the depth chart? - surprised to see a rookie Canadian in there over Slwyka but John played well and got robbed of a nice pick. D-line had lots of rotation; rookie Gauthier goes in as an extra DB for some situations.

Kelly still has the strong, accurate arm and sees the field well; Mital is a beast - best overall receiver talent on the team IMO; nice to see rookie RB Smith getting more work, and he produces another big gainer on a short pass.

Priester got hurt.

During the game? - must have missed the play or not noticed him go down

[ArgoRavi]

Fair amount of Argo gear on display at Lansdowne today.


Very good game except for the 4 Kelly picks.

D was mostly solid and improved from last game IMO; what happened at safety with John playing most of the game - did not see Priester at all but he was listed as the starter on the depth chart? - surprised to see a rookie Canadian in there over Slwyka but John played well and got robbed of a nice pick. D-line had lots of rotation; rookie Gauthier goes in as an extra DB for some situations.

Kelly still has the strong, accurate arm and sees the field well; Mital is a beast - best overall receiver talent on the team IMO; nice to see rookie RB Smith getting more work, and he produces another big gainer on a short pass.

Priester got hurt.

It looked like a non-contact injury, perhaps an achilles.

[ArgoRavi]

Fair amount of Argo gear on display at Lansdowne today.


Very good game except for the 4 Kelly picks.

D was mostly solid and improved from last game IMO; what happened at safety with John playing most of the game - did not see Priester at all but he was listed as the starter on the depth chart? - surprised to see a rookie Canadian in there over Slwyka but John played well and got robbed of a nice pick. D-line had lots of rotation; rookie Gauthier goes in as an extra DB for some situations.

Kelly still has the strong, accurate arm and sees the field well; Mital is a beast - best overall receiver talent on the team IMO; nice to see rookie RB Smith getting more work, and he produces another big gainer on a short pass.

Priester got hurt.

During the game? - must have missed the play or not noticed him go down

OV, it happened between plays in the 2nd quarter; he suddenly went down with a non-contact injury.

[OV Argo]

For a while in the second half I thought they were going to give the game away but in the end it was a well deserved win. You have to wonder if some of the hits on Kelly affected his performance in the second half.

3 of those picks were outstanding plays though - and by back-up Ottawa D players - (Lucas Cormier - cast aside as a starter when they signed Allen from the Riders; and 2 by former EE starting safety Scott Hutter (wish the Argos had signed him this off-season) )

[TrueBlueGuy]

41-24. Its not often you can have 5 turnovers and come out even on the turnover battle.
The run defence was stellar, esp on the goal line stand in the 4th quarter. I don't think the Argos give up much loosing Priester and playing John, but John was hurt also. Hopefully it is a minor injury. For the most part it didn't look like there was a lot of pressure on the Ottawa QB, which will be a problem against the better QBs yet to come. They need an edge rusher who can get pressure.
Kelly was laser sharp in the first quarter, but lost his accuracy and perhaps his decision making as the game wore on, perhaps as a result of the hard hits he took in the first half.
Its a win

True...also not often you can take OVER 100 YARDS IN PENALTIES and still win. Lots to clean up but yup, a W feels good against RD.

[paulwoods13]

Offence is cooking, obviously. More than 500 yards (again), and 44 points. Kelly for the most part looks as good as he ever did in 2023, although he makes questionable decisions from time to time.

Mital is gearing up for a monster season, At this early stage he's in the MOP conversation (along with several others). It's too bad Argos weren't able to lock him up for 2028 as well as 2027. (Naylor reported they agreed on a contract for 2028, with the salary contingent on that year's post-rights-deal cap, but the league refused to approve it.) Hopefully he wants to stay well beyond 2027.

Hicks looked good again, but is still under-utilized. Smith looks like a real keeper.

The defence played better than last week, and got a bit of pressure on the pass rush. I'm still waiting for a breakout performance from Pickett. John looked very solid at safety in relief of Priester, who I assume is gone for a long time.

At this point Argos look to be in the middle tier of the league, behind Ham, Sask, Mtl and (surprisingly) Edm, and ahead of Ott and B.C. Tough to get an early read on Cal and Wpg.